The principle of integration

and its dilemmas

Hans Chr. Bugge

Professor of Environmental Law
University of Oslo

FACULTY OF LAW, UNIVERSITY OF OSLO

The “principle of integration” is at the
core of sustainable development.
The “narrow” understanding: Integration of all
environmental effects when considering a new
project (the EU Directive on integrated pollution
prevention and control – “IPPC-directive”).

The “broad” understanding: Integration of

environmental/sustainable development objectives
into the development process, and thus into the
policy definition and implementation of various
economic and social sectors.
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Rio declaration principle 4

“In order to achieve sustainable development,

environmental protection shall constitute an
integral part of the development process and
cannot be considered in isolation from it.”

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The Treaty of the European
Community article 6

“Environmental protection requirements must

be integrated into the definition and
implementation of (all) Community policies
and activities (referred to in Article 3), in
particular with a view to promoting
sustainable development.”

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 One of the ”roots” of the principle:
The 1987 ”Brundtland report”

The report defines sustainable development and

lists seven “strategic imperatives” to achieve it,
including:

- “merging environment and economics in

decision making”.

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Brundtland contd.

“…Approaches to environmental policy can be

broadly characterized in two ways. One …
reflects an approach to environmental policy,
laws, and institutions that focuses on
environmental effects. The second reflects
an approach concentrating on the policies
that are the sources of those effects. These
two approaches represent distinctively
different ways of looking both at the issues
and at the institutions to manage them.”
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 • “Sustainable development objectives should be
incorporated in the terms of reference of those
cabinet and legislative committees dealing with
national economic policy and planning as well
as those dealing with key sectoral and
international policies.

• ….the major central economic and sectoral

agencies of governments should now be made
directly responsible and fully accountable for
ensuring that their policies, programmes, and
budgets support development that is
ecologically as well as economically
sustainable.”
FACULTY OF LAW, UNIVERSITY OF OSLO
What does this mean?
Not only that environmental issues and effects
must be assessed and taken into account by
sector authorities.

The objective and content of important policies

in reality must be modified in substance in
order to ensure long term environmental
protection and sustainable development.

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The two dimensions of environmental
policy integration:

• “Horizontal integration”: across social and

economic policy sectors

• “Vertical integration”: at all levels within each

sector

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 Some fundamental problems

Integration of environmental objectives and

considerations requires that sector authorities work
with objectives, issues and problems which

• they do not necessarily know much about

• they do not identify with
• which may be (seen as) contrary to what they see
as their primary task and “mission”
• which are often also (seen as) against the interests
of “their” corresponding private sector.

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”The dilemma”
• Sustainable development requires that each
economic and social sector is “directly
responsible and fully accountable” for
ensuring ecological sustainability of its policy
and measures,

• But……

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…how can this be achieved if and when
• environmental protection and long term
sustainability is perceived as contrary to the
objective and “paradigm” of the sector?

• the environmentally sound and the preferable

solutions in the long term are often not (seen
as) neither cost-effective (in the narrow sense)
nor in its interest by the sector itself and the
sector authority?

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..and…how can we avoid fragmentation and
ensure consistency in environmental
management, when:
• responsibility for “the environment” rests with
numerous different sector institutions and
authorities, with “mixed feelings”, and all valuing
and weighing environmental issues differently,

• authority is also divided between several levels

of government, including local government with
considerable independence and self-
determination – seen as an important value in
itself.

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 These problems are real and must be
thoroughly addressed in the discussion and
development of environmental law and
sustainable development law.

They require that we broaden the concept

and perspectives of environmental law to
also cover fundamental issues of
constitutional law, property law, and
important parts of economic law/sector law,

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Can this problem of ”the tilted playing field” be
overcome?

How can environmental sustainability become

an important part of the sector ”paradigm”,
terms of reference and fundamental goals …
instead of being seen, too often as
something to oppose, circumvent, or avoid?

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We have to critically study and assess sector
legislation and decision-making,

How is it constructed in the perspective of

environmental sustainability?

What are the positive incentives, the policy

guidelines, and the legal framework for
exercising sector authority to this effect?

Is this a question of law, or of economics,

technology, politics…..?

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”This is a question of political will and
priorities…”, but what can law do?

• How can international law and constitutional law

serve this purpose?

• How to ensure that environmental objectives are

on an equal legal footing with sector objectives,
and fully integrated in sector policies?

• How to ensure, through legal means, consistency

across sectors and levels of authority?

• How to ensure “accountability”?

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Integration through international
environmental law

States’ obligations in environmental treaties must

be translated into obligations for all relevant
sectors, and not only for the environmental
sectors and authorities in the narrow sense.

It is a role for environmental lawyers to clarify

the meaning of these obligations to various
sectors.

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Integration through constitutional law

Many states have sustainable development and/or

protection of the environment laid down in their
constitution, as obligation for the state and/or rights
for the citizens.

It is a role for environmental lawyers to give these

rules real meaning across economic and social
sectors.

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 How to legally strengthen environmental
protection in sector legislation?
• Procedural rules: identify and remove formal
loopholes and other weaknesses in EIA and SEA
systems, and strengthen the link between the
assessment and the substantive decision.

• Substantial rules: sector legislation must

“internalize” the objective of sustainability, and
clarify what this implies. It must include proper
incentives to this effect, and lay down necessary
legal obligations and frames for decisions.
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• Develop new and more consistent ways to value
environmental goods and services, and internalize
such valuing requirement in sector legislation.

• Strengthen environmental quality norms and the

ecosystem approach as a guiding legal concept

• Strengthen the legal status of comprehensive,

cross-sectoral spatial planning systems.

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How to ensure “accountability”?
• An open, transparent public administration, and
participation are essential elements, but not enough.
• Access to courts, in particular for environmental interest
groups is essential, but usually not enough.

• Strong environmental protection authorities are still very

important and necessary – not an ”either/or”, but not
enough.

• Are ”independent” institutions such as ”environmental

auditors”, ”ombudsman for future generations” realistic
alternatives, or are they ”contrary to democracy”?
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 Conclusion
• The principle of (sectoral) integration is a key
to sustainable development.

• But at this stage it may often rather be a part

of the problem than a part of the solution.

• The development of environmental law

should focus on this challenge: How sector
law could be further developed and applied in
order to support the objective of sustainable
development.
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 Thank you!

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