PLES, entrusted by the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA), initiated this research project in September 2008. Conducted by Professor Jiunn-rong Yeh, director of the PLES, with the cooperation of Professor Wen-Chen Chang and Professor Hsin-Chun Wang, members of the PLES, this project is aimed at reexamining current environmental dispute resolutions and sought to establish a comprehensive environmental liability mechanism.

    In Taiwan, disputes on public nuisance have emerged rapidly since 1990s. Due to the lack of effective resolution mechanisms, however, these nuisances ended up with political negotiation and sometimes violent street protests, resulting in significant social costs and establishing no precedent for future disputes. Although the Public Nuisance Disputes Resolution Act was already enacted in 1992, when the complexity, uncertainty, intensity of environmental issues increased, the resolution mechanism it created has not delivered satisfaction and relevant institutional mechanisms must be reexamined thoroughly. Article 33 of the Environmental Basic Act prescribes that the national government shall establish the environmental dispute resolution mechanism to provide proper institutions for dispute resolution, emergency measures, compensation, and indemnification. Faced with Taiwan’s unique social context and rapidly changing global climate, establishing an environmental liability mechanism that suits both local needs and global responsibility is a very serious challenge.

    Against such backgrounds, this project has three primaries. First, it is to delineate the structure of environmental disputes in Taiwan and reexamine the capability of existing legal resolutions. Secondly, it is to study recent developments of environmental insurance and funds both at local and global levels. Finally, it is to reexamine the institutional deficiency, if any, of the existing environmental dispute mechanism and to establish a more comprehensive and effective liability system for future environmental disputes. 

    An emerging scheme is to incorporate the function of existing public nuisance dispute resolution to the environmental liability mechanism. In addition to adjustments of relevant procedural and substantial legal conditions for the unique feature of environmental issues, this project attempts to introduce environmental insurance and environmental funds to properly redistribute environmental liability. It also seeks to address issues on transnational environmental disputes and respond to emerging issues of global climate change.