The Coordination of Legal Systems in Environmental Protection
Introduction
The objective of this paper is to examine the issues involved while protecting the environment and coordinate with the Australian legal system to devise an action plan for civil law. Factors that control the right usage of environment are a legal requirement in many countries. Australia is not an exception to this mainly because of the availability of abundant natural resources present in the country. This calls for biodiversity legislations and laws to avoid abuse of natural resources. Since, environmental protection plays an important role in many fields there is increased control and authority from different players that often leads to disputes. Policy-makers and lawyers have often overlooked the representation of systems used in legitimate regulatory behavior in the context of environmental protection. Environmental regulations are based on certain models that are perceived and created to aide policy-makers. These models help legal professionals and policy-makers to understand technical aspects and adverse impact on the environment for correctly framing laws and in decision making.
Role of Environmental Models in Policies and Regulations
Environmental models play an increasing role in decision making. They act as a catalyst for policy making and also for devising regulatory strategies. Models are required to be understood for policy makers and lawyers because of their focus in dispute resolution. Despite the presence of models lawyers have not understood them fully well due to its administrative nature and it does not fall in the legal domain. In the United States a prestigious body for science policy-making, namely the National Research Council (NRC) provides definition for a model as: ‘a simplification of reality that is constructed to gain insights into select attributes of a particular physical, biological, economic or social system and can be of many different forms’ [ (NRC, 2007, p. 31) ]. Most of the environmental policy makers and lawyers start with an environmental model while conceptualizing environmental protection for ground water contamination, air quality, economic impact and many more. The models may be complex or simple depending on the scale of impact.
The models may be further classified to act as policy-catalyst models [ (S Jasanoff, 1998) ], institutional mandate models [ (Fisher, 2007) ] and regulatory strategy models [ (Renn & Schweizer, 2009) ]. The environmental regulations use models to link closely with the structure and logic of laws. In most of the advanced and democratic countries, a separate and dedicated environment modeling department is in place and a considerable amount of resources are spent on modeling exercises related to environmental protection. The experts designing the environmental models work in close coordination with the legal department and concurrently with the policy-making staff and also the enforcement units [ (Fisher, Pascual, & Wagner, 2010) ]. Models are the basic framework and grounds for making policies and bylaws in environmental protection. However, they tend to become controversial with different parties arguing for and against such action or legislations while implementation. These arguments and counter arguments are common across different authorities under both policy and in legal contexts. These further include the involvement of political debate, media discussions, conferences and lectures and also specific legal disputes. A typical example for dispute can be found in climate change models where the validity of data is in question on climate modeling practices. There are also instances where courts and legal panels have ruled out specific models as flawed. In order to resolve disputes and issues in the context of environmental protection a large number of lawyers and judges are involved. As judges do not have the competency to understand the technical aspects of environmental modeling, environmental modeling experts are involved.
Environmental models are constructed to provide different inner workings in a biodiversity conservation system. They are relevant to lawyers and policy makers in understanding the effects in implementation. The relevancy of models for judges and lawyers are further emphasized by five key points that include, * Models are simplified illustrations of reality * A model provides insights * Serves a purpose * Environmental models directly influence reality * It is an inter-disciplinary activity
Lawyers and judges have to engage critically in order to resolve issues that may arise while formulating regulations and they should not be treated in isolation.
Implementing Environmental Regulations
The effective implementation of environmental regulations depends upon many factors the most important factor is the design. In Australian context, the regulations are implemented using methods of persuasion and coercion depending upon the circumstance [ (Gunningham, 2011) ]. The Australian Capital Territories (ACT) have devised certain policies and regulations related to general environment protection. The implementation of their regulations includes, * Working with partnerships with businesses and communities * To send warnings in case of violations * Performing compulsory environmental audits for issuing protection orders * In case of violations or non-compliance the case is referred to the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) for decisions as appropriate or can lead to cancellation.
Influence of Common Law on the Development of Environmental Policy
Australia adopts laws that are shaped by the government system and mostly it is the parliamentary form of democracy. For many years, the landowner was free to use his/her land for exploiting natural resources. There were no regulations or laws to guide in the concept of sustainable development. The land owned by a family for instance was termed as private property. Outside of the boundaries of a private property people had free access to natural resources. Even the natural assets such as fisheries and wild animals were treated as public property and were available to everyone [ (Bates, 2005) ]. In Australia, the legal mechanism for the conservation to biodiversity protection is divided into three broad categories that include, * Specific legislations to protect biodiversity * Legislations that has significant application to biodiversity protection * Legislations that are not designed to protect biodiversity
The Australian government authority has the power and controls to categorize biodiversity protection and this authority is legally divided among different departments for responsibilities. Biodiversity conservative legislations are conferred upon government agencies in an ad hoc manner and some of the important powers granted to regulators include, * Clearance controls of native vegetation * Policies of environmental planning for the state * Assessment of environmental impact of development and the requirement for consultation or concurrence of government agencies * Legislations for the protection of wildlife and threatened species * Negotiation of property agreements with private landowners * Imposing of land management practices to prevent land degradation * Restrictions of water use and extraction.
The responsibility of environmental protection is not granted to individuals. The Catchment of Land Protection Act 1994 (Vic.), Section 20 states that all landowners must take reasonable steps for protection, that include, * Avoidance of land degradation * Conserve soil * Water resources are protected * Prohibited weeds are eradicated * Regionally controlled weds are prevented from growth and spread * Established pest animals are eradicated and their spread prevented
The above laws are directly enforced and they are strictly applied. Any breach of above legislation may invite court action or the issue of administrative orders for compliance by concerned authorities. The above legislations are further intended to work well with the existing laws and avoid issues related to protection.
Conclusion
Environmental protection is important for Australia as well as for every nation around the world. In Australia the situation is similar to other advanced democracies when it comes to environmental protection and biodiversity conservation. The existing laws are mostly traditional in nature that favors the landowner to exploit natural resources and this often results degradation of natural produce and or disputes. New legislations call for legal professionals to understand the concept of environmental conservation as a model to understand the inner workings and impact. The paper also highlights certain responsibilities required from its citizens to protect and mitigate the adverse impacts to the environment and biodiversity.
References
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Fisher, E. (2007). Risk Regulation and Administrative Constitutionalism. Hart Publishing.
Fisher, E., Pascual, P., & Wagner, W. (2010). Understanding Environmental Models in Their Legal and Regulatory Context. Journal of Environmental Law , 257.
Gunningham, N. (2011). Enforcing Environmental Regulation. Journal of Environmental Law .
NRC, N. R. (2007). Models in Environmental Regulatory Decision Making. Washington DC: National Academies Press.
Renn, O., & Schweizer, P.-J. (2009). Inclusive Risk Governance: Concepts and Application to Environmental Policy Making. Environmental Polic and Governance 174.
S Jasanoff, B. W. (1998). Human Choice and Climate Change - Volume One. Battelle Press.