A Study on the conflict between Environment Protection and Economic Development through the Theory of Environment Justice－Using Su-Hua Highway Public Policy as An Example

• Main Authors: Huang, Yu-Hui, 黃育輝
• Other Authors: Lin, Yung -Chung
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2013
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/18078837488726702986

碩士 === 華梵大學 === 哲學系碩士班 === 101 === Ever since the Taiwan government threw out the idea of moving industries to the east up until the commencement of the Su-Hua Highway in 2011, the voice from both for and against sides about the construction have never stopped during the 2 decades. The original construction plan for the Su-Hua Highway was aimed for economic profits. For the purpose of industry development to sacrifice the concept of ecological sustainability would not only cause the injustice in interests allocation and environmental risks but also induce the confrontation between environmental protection and economical development. The theme of the study is to discuss the environmental and economical impact results from the Su-Hua Highway. The paper first states the justice concepts of representative figures of the 18th and 19th centuries and the modern point of view of environmental justice . Then it illustrates the course of development, engineering design and effectiveness, and controversial issues which occurred during the transition of Su-Hua Highway. This study also takes John Rawls’s theory of justice as a base to explain that utilitarianism and libertarianism is not sufficient to serve as the theoretical basis of the environmental justice. Environmental justice is elaborated from the unjust phenomenon of the society, which should take the procedural justice, the difference principle, and the savings principles of John Rawls’s theory of justice into consideration to stabilize the demonstration of environmental justice. If the environmental justice could include ecological integrity, it would serve not only the norm of moral and ethical but also solve the predicament caused by developing environmental sustainability and economics through reflecting on environmental justice. The United States held a Summit Conference and put forward 17 principles regarding environmental justice in 1991; so has Taiwan’s government promulgated the Basic Law of the Environment in December 2002. In addition, global climate anomalies, loss of species, and many other events also arouse the international attention and awareness towards environmental risks. This study discovers that, with the changes of time and space, the priority of developing has gradually transferred from pursuing economic growth to the importance of natural environmental. And to achieve human sustainability, the ultimate goal has become to balance environmental and economic development. The study advocates practicing and sharing a just and environmental sound society through the procedural justice, the difference principle, and justice between generations. It also expects that, in the future, the government would take social justice into consideration when planning other developing projects or policies as they did with the Su-Hua Highway transition project. It believes that with cautious review of impact which could possibly results from all kinds of developing activities and taking living environment condition of all the citizens and future generations seriously would promise a justice sustainable environment and stainable development of human society, economic and environment.