5th Global Conference
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Conference Programme, Abstracts and Papers
Monday 3rd July - Thursday 6th
July 2006
Mansfield College, Oxford
Session 11: Public Participation, Fiscal Systems and
Environemntal Justice
Chair: Martha Steigman
Public Participation in a Transition Country: The
Case of Oil Shale Mining in North-Eastern Estonia
Maie
Kiisel
Department of Journalism and Communication, University of
Tartu, Estonia and
Estonian Green Movement (FoE), member of the Board
The aim of the article
is to discuss on the sustainability of post-Soviet
transition countries from the environmental issues point of view. The
early post-Soviet time can be characterized by the lack of its inner
reflexivity (civil society, public participation and communication,
argumented and research-based decisions). How does joining of EU affect
the development of active communities, public discussion, informed and
democratic decision-making concerning ecological problems of Estonia?
Albeit Estonian public consciousness feeds the image of knowledge and
information society, the planning traditions of Estonia have not
remarkably changed after joining EU. The opinion of experts (NGOs,
scientists), local people and international treaties is rarely taken
into
account during environmental decision-making process.
The empirical analysis and theoretical discussion focuses on the case
of
oil shale mining in North-Eastern part of Estonia. Estonian energy is
based on local fossil natural resources – oil shale which causes
high CO2
emissions and is energetically very ineffective. Although Estonia is
supposed to be actively searching for alternative energy sources, the
energy companies and government still do not want to pay attention to
this
issue. The land for new mines is bought from their owners and consequences
like loss of water, landslide, dust and noise are partly compensated
to
local people. However, the mining companies do not cover the whole damage,
including social consequences – people are leaving from the district
to
towns, which jeopardizes the sustainability of the district. People in
the
mining district have started to stand up for their right to environment
(from 2004). Article is based on focus-group interviews with people in
defence of their local community. How do they reflect on the
sustainability of the region and decisionmaking process of Estonia? Can
the problems of oil shale mining become an agenda for national debate?
Fiscal Systems for Environmental Justice
Devendra
Kumar
Department of Economics, Rajdhani College, Delhi University, Delhi, India
The effective preservation of Environmental Justice and sustainable development, presupposes micro level participation and high compliance rates to ensure target fulfillment. Given the targets for environmental preservation, if we consider the alternative fiscal strategies for target achievement, then high levels of compliance may be achieved by designing tax systems with high levels of tax compliance motivation ratios. If a viable strategy is to target the growth of natural purification systems like aforestation especially in the urban areas, we may consider property tax incentives for tree planations. Thus the private and social benefits may be equalized at the margin to achieve an optimum level of environmental protection. The same principle may be applied to water harvesting in order to conserve ground water levels in areas of ground water depletion. The concept of environmental justice may be extended to the sphere of pre-prepared foodstuffs and the need to re-define appropriate levels of disclosure for preservatives and other additives. The need to visit this area is highlighted by the growing realization that public health is increasingly endangered by laxity in this sphere. Applicable tax rates may be linked to the level of disclosure in the case of various foodstuffs with the goal of improving the quality of pre-prepared food. It is seen that the growing dependence of families on such foodstuffs and the decline of cooking from fresh foods due to a change in lifestyles is impacting public health and is an intergral part of environmental justice.
Environmental Justice and Hazardous Waste Controversies
in Taiwan
Mei-Fang
Fan
Department of Public Administration and Institute of
Public Policy,
Tamkang University, Taipei, Taiwan
This paper examines environmental justice in the context of existing disputes over industry waste and incinerators ash in a Hakka town (a unique ethnic group of the Han Chinese) in Hsinchu County, Taiwan. Considering that incinerator ash continues to pile up at incinerator sites across Taiwan, the Environmental Protection Agency introduced the BOO (Build-Operate-Own) program in 2001. Most of the local residents did not know anything about the project until the local government signed the contract with a private company in September 2003. In response to this, a self-help association has been set up to fight against the plan. The research is based on documentary analysis and in-depth interviews, supplemented by focus groups, participant observation and numerous informal conversations. The analysis presents local reasoning and citizen activism in safeguarding their homeland. It also highlights citizens’ demand for recognition of the local contextual knowledge of ordinary citizens, greater participation in decision-making, and how environmental justice has been given a specific meaning. It concludes with implications for environmental justice discourses and risk management.
