Sustainability through Participation? International, European and comparative perspectives - SustaiNET

SustaiNet是一个由来自德国、意大利和挪威的年轻研究人员组成的网络。他们认为“通过参与实现可持续性”这一专题既重要又相关，需要进一步讨论。“可持续性”和“参与性”目前似乎是解决许多环境问题的灵丹妙药：它们涵盖了气候变化、排放控制或城市规划等主题。尽管如此，这两个概念的确切法律特征仍需进一步说明。它们的教条嵌入性以及与它们相关的实际权利或义务仍然需要确定。尤其是这两个概念之间的关系还不够清楚。它们之间的联系体现在环境法领域的许多法律文书中。尽管如此，诸如参与是否作为可持续发展的工具等问题仍然存在。同样，人们需要评估是否以及是否存在参与可能阻碍实现可持续发展目标的情况。SustaiNET解决了可持续发展和参与的法律细节以及它们之间的联系。它遵循归纳法、功能法和比较法。SustaiNET从对特定参考领域(如食品法、投资法或环境法)的可持续性和参与度进行比较分析开始。它集中于确定这些参考领域的法律文件之间的系统关系。这是进一步对这两个概念及其关系作出理论结论的基础。归根结底，这使SustaiNET能够定义可持续性和参与性的功能、内容和法律后果。SustaiNet的目标是将他们的发现出版在一本编辑过的书中。这本书的总体目标是定义这两个概念的法律内容，超越口语化，并脱离其他学科，如社会科学。该书还打算为国家以及其他私人行为者界定与可持续性和参与有关的权利和义务。因此，预计将有助于建立关于可持续性和参与性的具体法律词汇，并为这一专题开辟新的研究视角。具体地说，SustaiNet将讨论两个具体的欧洲机构(欧洲研究理事会的成本行动方案和维戈尼别墅方案)的联合研究申请。这两个项目似乎最适合SustaiNet目前的组成，SustaiNet联合了来自挪威、意大利和德国的研究人员。

SustaiNET is a network of younger researchers from Germany, Italy and Norway. They consider the topic „sustainability by participation“ important and relevant, and in need of further adressing. „Sustainability“ and „participation“ currently seem a panacea to many environmental problems: they cover topics apart as climate change, emission control or town planning. Still, the exact legal characteristics of both concepts need further specification. Their dogmatic embeddedness, as well as the actual rights or duties associated with them still need to be identified. Especially the relationship between both concepts is not sufficiently clear. Their connection transpires from many legal instruments in the field of environmental law. Nonetheless, questions, such as whether participation serves as an instrument to sustainability remain. Likewise, one needs to assess if and whether there are situations in which participation may stymie the realization of sustainability goals. SustaiNET addresses the legal specifics of sustainability and participation as well as their connection. It follows an inductive, functional and comparative approach. SustaiNET starts from a comparative analysis of sustainability and participation in specific reference areas (such as food law, investment, or environmental law). It concentrates on the systematic relationship of those legal documents which determine those reference areas. This serves as a basis for further theoretical conclusions on the two concepts, and their relationship. Ultimately, this allows SustaiNET to define the functions, contents and legal consequences of sustainability and participation. SustaiNET aims to publish their findings in an edited book. The book's overall goals are to define the legal contents of both concepts beyond the colloquial and in dissociation from other disciplines, such as the social sciences. The book also intends to define those rights and obligations associated with sustainability and participation, for the state, as well as for other private actors. Thus it is envisaged to contribute to the establishment of a specific, legal vocabulary on sustainability and participation and to open new research perspectives on this topic. Specifically, SustaiNET will discuss joint research applications two specific European outlets (the COST-Action programme of the European Research Council and the Programme of the Villa Vigoni). Those two programmes seem to fit best to the current composition of SustaiNET, which unites Researchers from Norway, Italy and Germany.