Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Estado constitucional ecológico e democracia sustentada

2001; Coimbra University Press; Volume: 4; Issue: 8 Linguagem: Inglês

0874-1093

Carla Amado Gomes,

Environmental Sustainability and Education

The concepts of an Ecological Constitutional State and sustainable Democracy are founded upon the following ideas: (a) the constitutional state besides being a constitutional and social state must also be oriented by ecological principles; (b) the ecological state requires new forms of collective participation condensed in the expression of sustainable democracy. The compreehension of these topics is, frequently, hampered by inumerable discussions in terms of preconceptions and views on the ecological question. It might be useful, from the legal point of view, to try a legal approach in order to resolve these various problems. The first problem is related to the integrated or integrative conception of the environment understood as the global and sistematic protection of the environment. The second problem stems from the institutionalisation of fundamental ecological duties. A third question involves the legal justification of an ecological injunction conceieved as an adequate legal scheme to obtain public legal protection of the environment by concrete legal norms. The last field of problems relates to the integrative action by the administration, that is through the adoption of environmental regulatory strategies. Public administration must make an effort in order to create an inclusive community of environmentally conscious citizens. The construction of an ecological state is faced with tensions and legal conflicts that impose a methodical ponderation of private and public interests in environmental questions. Examples of these areas of tensions can be found in the legal regime relative to natural parks integrated in the Rede Natura 2000 and in the definition of the legal regime concerning liability relative to ecological damages. It is necessary, in this perspective, to format a scheme of liability that would assure the reparation of damages caused to biodiversity or damages derived from soil contamination. Responsabilty articulates itself with sustainable democracy when non governmental associations are allowed to defend the environment, initiate legal action, and file for liability due to environmental damages.