The Evolution of Environmental Rights in Taiwan

Without constitutional provisions on environmental rights, democratization and globalization have significantly promoted human rights related to environmental issues. In the last two decades, democratization has raised the rights consciousness of Taiwanese society and mobilized massive environmental movements and legislation. In addition, the process of globalization has not only drawn Taiwan’s attention to international environmental issues but also pushed Taiwan to comply with international human rights standards. Taiwan enacted the Act to Implement the ICCPR and ICESCR in 2009, attempting to provide more comprehensive protection of human rights in Taiwan. Yet, in spite of this growth in human rights consciousness, people in Taiwan have little, and very differentiated, understanding of “environmental rights.” The question of how to understand and conceptualize environmental rights within Taiwan’s development is crucial for future generations. This chapter defines environmental rights as a collection of rights that provide legal protection against environmental problems. By analyzing environmental rights within the dynamics of environmental threats, the social/political context, and laws, it is argued in this chapter that the substance of environmental rights is evolving within these contexts and the times. In Taiwan, environmental rights have evolved alongside political, social and economic development. From personal injury to legal rights and human rights, the evolution of environmental rights in Taiwan can be divided into three distinct periods that coincide with the country’s democratization. In the pre-democratic period, environmental harm remained a personal grievance and did not generate legal claims. During the process of democratization, massive enactment of, and progress on, environmental law provided a legal basis for environmental claims and transformed them into legal rights. Following democratic consolidation, however, privatization and climate change have brought new challenges to environmental rights in Taiwan. Yet, this period has seen the introduction of international human rights jurisprudence and an increasing emphasis on procedural rights in Taiwan that may provide opportunities to further enrich environmental rights in Taiwan.