Address Poverty Issues Of Environmental Law

It is undoubted that Environmental Law can address environmental problems;but it seems quite puzzling that Environmental Law can address poverty issues,which is likely to result in nobody has conducted systematic research on this topic so far in China.However, it is not a ’fresh’ topic in the field of academic research in foreign countries.As early as 1992, Luke W-Cole,an American scholar, has proposed to draw up ’Environmental Poverty Law’on the basis of the view that Environmental Law and its traditional implementation can not effectively meet the need of the poor. Moreover, poverty has been increasingly a concern in the field of environmental protection practice over the world. Industrial civilization has brought enormous economic prosperity, but at the same time showed a picture for us that more and more people become poverty while environmental degradation become more greatly. A lot of empirical studies have concluded that since ’vacuum belt’ of environmental issues does not exist scholars in the field of environmental law have to give up the will that regard environmental problems as the only important goals, and that as a tool to adjust multiple interests Environmental Law has to concern about the poverty problem.The logical basis of the topic ’address poverty issues of environmental law’ is not the hypothesis that poverty is the main cause of environmental problems; on the contrary, from international level environmental problems are mainly caused by industrialization. In fact, this topic comes from the in-depth reflection process on ’what use’,’for whom use’ and ’how to use or to develop’ of Environmental Law.Law is a tool to adjust interest,and so it is for Environmental Law.The goal of Environmental Law is to achieve the harmony between man and nature and between people by appropriate self-control of individual desire and individual expansion nature and by coordination between the interests of people. What is the appropriate degree to control individual desire? Is it fair and sensible to deprive the right to get tomorrow breakfast from natural resources of the poor for ensuring wild flowers bloom tomorrow? Whether or not Environmental Law will not only protect the basic survival and development rights of the poor, but also tie to the poor’a new yoke’? Is it possible that Environmental Law which regards environmental problems as the only important goal will lead to poverty? The logical basis of analysis of the paper is based on answers to this series of questions. The paper aims to demonstrate the rationality of Environmental Law addressing poverty issues from theoretical level, and tries to explore ways to deal with poverty issues. In order to achieve the analysis purpose, the paper around the topic and applying the logical approach that’what should address’-’why should address’-’how to address’carries out studies.Ending poverty has long been the dream of mankind. Even it is no exaggeration to say that the history of human life is the history of poverty reduction and anti-poverty.With the gradual deepening understanding of poverty from ’income poverty’ to ’capability poverty’ to ’a comprehensive social phenomenon of lack’, and the origin view of poverty which on the basis of rights and institution analysis, we can no longer ignore the role of law in anti-poverty. Since Environmental Law can not dealt with any poverty issues, it is the first step to identify what types of poverty can be adjusted.Guiding by ’ideal-type’ methodology of Max Weber, the paper according to human practice divides poverty addressed by Environmental Law into two types,and defines them as ’primary poverty’ and ’secondary poverty’.And this classification will be verified in chapter 3 of the paper. Furthermore, this classification is based on the default goal, just an analysis tool not fully reproduce the reality.Then the paper demonstrate the reasonableness of the topic from two aspects including theoretical analysis and review of international environmental legal policy.From the theoretical level, with the evolution from industrial civilization to civilization Environmental Law in addressing environmental problems caused by primary poverty and the vicious circle between poverty and environmental problems,is almost impossible to turn blind eyes to the poverty.When the poor lack of rights and corresponding ability to save themselves, Environmental Law should save them to ensure meeting interests of them which is the requirement of substantive principle of justice. In front of the situation of resource scarcity and unequal initial allocation of resources, it is necessary for Environmental Law to achieve ’secondary justice’ through protecting rights to access basic resources of the poor.’Secondary justice’ of Environmental Law is also reflected on compensation for’special victims’in environmental protection in order to not cause poverty. Despite laws and regulations which plays the role of environmental protection have emerged long ago, but after the United Nations Conference on Human Environment in Stockholm in 1972 its independence department of law status has been recognized. Meanwhile, poverty, as an old ’friend’,has also gone into the vision of international environmental law. From Stockholm to Rio de Janeiro, then to Johannesburg, declarations adopted at these meetings repeatedly combines poverty and environmental issues under the topic of development, which warn us pay much attention on the importance of ’the general question under the horizon of the legal world’. World Bank and Asian Development Bank whose ultimate task is to combat poverty through practices have realized that environmental policies can play role in poverty alleviation.On the basis of rationality, last two chapters of the paper respectively from principles and systems explore ways to deal with primary poverty and secondary poverty. Intra-generational equity principle, the principle of state responsibility and the principle of public participation are ’universality’ principles to deal with primary poverty and secondary poverty. For primary poverty, Environmental Law applies principles with aims to achieve’ interests’ coexistence’ including the principle of survival priority and rational use, the principle of declining protection; for secondary poverty, Environmental Law applies principles with aims to achieve ’interests’ coincrease’ including the principle of environmental protection priority and fair use, the principle of compensation from the beneficiaries and the principle of benefit from conservation. Environmental Law applies two category systems to dealt with primary poverty and secondary poverty. One category is around the center of ’empowerment’, such as real right system of natural resources and community management system. The other category is around the center of ’compensation’, such as ecological compensation system and social relief system of environmental tort liability.In China ’address poverty issues of environmental law’ is a new and complex topic, as well a topic with theoretical and practical significance. How to serve for ’livelihood’ better is the most important priority in the current and future work of our party and government. Premier Wen Jiabao has repeatedly pointed out that everything we do is let the people live a happier life with more dignity and to make society more just and more harmonious; and with particular emphasis on more attention to the poor and to vulnerable groups. The paper is just standing on the basis of many scholars’ research work. To throw out a minnow to catch a whale, wish ’address poverty issues of environmental law’ will become a new excitement in the academic research field of Environmental Law.