Environmental risk assessment in a democratic and global world.

摘要

High-profiled public policy failures have occurred in recent years worldwide. Now most countries are facing tremendous loss of public confidence over their capacity to react effectively to scientific issues. In order to enact legitimate policies and regain public trust, the present paper suggests the application of democratic safeguards within the decision making process, more precisely at the level of the environmental risk assessment. Current political institutions both at the national and international levels do not seem appropriate vehicles to efficiently carry democratic safeguards. A model of science-policy interaction involving the international scientific community is proposed in order to reach "the most acceptable level of scientific information" as the basis for national public policies.