UMWELTGESETZBUCH UND UMWELTGESAMTPLANUNG

摘要

It has been a long-term project to codify unsystematic and disjointed German environmental laws in a coherent Environmental Code (Umweltgesetz-buch). Former attempts at codification have produced various, widely discussed drafts, but in the end no code was enacted. Recently, the federal Department of the Environment has spearheaded an effort that might gradually result in the introduction of such a code. This article discusses the preferred role and function of general environmental planning provisions within the forthcoming Environmental Code. Environmental planning laws currently on the books are highly fragmented, differ significantly in concept, and lack common principles of environmental planning. Thus, there is a need for a general and systematic environmental planning concept that is able to integrate and combine different types of plans with environmental concerns. Furthermore, (in particular European) environmental law tends towards 'integrated' solutions covering all aspects of environmental impact. As a result, planning law will become increasingly important because the complexity of a holistic approach cannot be managed without a coherent preliminary planning process. Nonetheless, this analysis does not advocate establishing a separate planning chapter within the forthcoming Environmental Code. Rather, it concludes that environmental planning concerns should be treated as questions of regional development planning. In particular, the principle of sustainable development requires consideration of ecological, economic, and social, including cultural, questions, and their interaction as parts of a complete and comprehensive whole. That can only be achieved with a complex and holistic planning law that is not limited to strictly environmental concerns. Therefore, a general environmental planning law should be established as a separate but functionally integrated part of the code.