Safety or Salamanders? Natural Hazards and Environmental Conservation in Comprehensive Planning

The stated purpose of Norwegian land use planning is to promote sustainable development. Environmental considerations are central in the planning process, but have to compete with many other goals and interests. In recent years, complexity, population density and similar factors have made the societ...

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Main Author: Eivind Junker
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2014-07-01
Series:Sustainability
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/6/7/4645
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spelling doaj-76d363cbbc654b25b578a14404123f3c2020-11-24T21:07:24ZengMDPI AGSustainability2071-10502014-07-01674645465710.3390/su6074645su6074645Safety or Salamanders? Natural Hazards and Environmental Conservation in Comprehensive PlanningEivind Junker0Department of Public and International Law, Faculty of Law, University of Oslo, P.O. box 6706 Sankt Olavs plass, 0130 Oslo, NorwayThe stated purpose of Norwegian land use planning is to promote sustainable development. Environmental considerations are central in the planning process, but have to compete with many other goals and interests. In recent years, complexity, population density and similar factors have made the society more vulnerable. Several major floods, landslides and other natural incidents have raised public awareness about the safety aspect of planning. At the same time, better knowledge about natural systems, including the effects of climate change, have increased the level of uncertainty. In this article, I consider the relation between environmental and safety considerations in planning from a legal perspective. While the examples and theoretical framework are from the Norwegian legal system, the overall analysis is general and, thus, relevant also outside the national jurisdiction. Rather than being opposite and directly competing goals, I argue that safety and conservation can be promoted by the same measures, often with mutual benefits. Thus, the current focus on societal safety can actually enhance the environmental aspect of sustainable development.http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/6/7/4645environmental lawland use planningsocietal safetyuncertaintyclimate changevulnerability
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Eivind Junker
spellingShingle Eivind Junker
Safety or Salamanders? Natural Hazards and Environmental Conservation in Comprehensive Planning
Sustainability
environmental law
land use planning
societal safety
uncertainty
climate change
vulnerability
author_facet Eivind Junker
author_sort Eivind Junker
title Safety or Salamanders? Natural Hazards and Environmental Conservation in Comprehensive Planning
title_short Safety or Salamanders? Natural Hazards and Environmental Conservation in Comprehensive Planning
title_full Safety or Salamanders? Natural Hazards and Environmental Conservation in Comprehensive Planning
title_fullStr Safety or Salamanders? Natural Hazards and Environmental Conservation in Comprehensive Planning
title_full_unstemmed Safety or Salamanders? Natural Hazards and Environmental Conservation in Comprehensive Planning
title_sort safety or salamanders? natural hazards and environmental conservation in comprehensive planning
publisher MDPI AG
series Sustainability
issn 2071-1050
publishDate 2014-07-01
description The stated purpose of Norwegian land use planning is to promote sustainable development. Environmental considerations are central in the planning process, but have to compete with many other goals and interests. In recent years, complexity, population density and similar factors have made the society more vulnerable. Several major floods, landslides and other natural incidents have raised public awareness about the safety aspect of planning. At the same time, better knowledge about natural systems, including the effects of climate change, have increased the level of uncertainty. In this article, I consider the relation between environmental and safety considerations in planning from a legal perspective. While the examples and theoretical framework are from the Norwegian legal system, the overall analysis is general and, thus, relevant also outside the national jurisdiction. Rather than being opposite and directly competing goals, I argue that safety and conservation can be promoted by the same measures, often with mutual benefits. Thus, the current focus on societal safety can actually enhance the environmental aspect of sustainable development.
topic environmental law
land use planning
societal safety
uncertainty
climate change
vulnerability
url http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/6/7/4645
work_keys_str_mv AT eivindjunker safetyorsalamandersnaturalhazardsandenvironmentalconservationincomprehensiveplanning
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