Non-Doctrinal Methods: Fundamental Challenges and Possible Directions

This chapter draws together strands from the preceding chapters. It explains why non-doctrinal methods are necessary. Together, the chapters recognise that protecting the environment and environmental social justice requires an effective system involving not only doctrine but also organisational arrangements, implementation infrastructures and processes, and meta-governance that ensures integrity and continuous improvement and adjustment. Research in environmental law, therefore, must go beyond traditional methods. This chapter summarises themes discussed in this book and considers how technological, epistemological and methodological innovations are creating new opportunities for environmental law research. This chapter highlights three fundamental challenges environmental law researchers must address to make optimal contributions to ecological sustainability and social justice. It stresses that environmental law research must continue to accommodate non-empirical considerations, such as beliefs, values and politics; however, if it is to cope effectively with the subject matter of environmental governance, it must more consciously adopt a scientific approach to enable continuous improvement. The challenge is for environmental law to develop scientific methods that accommodate the epistemological considerations of law. So far, this challenge has not been adequately addressed and which this book makes a step towards addressing. The legal research community has demonstrated a capacity to be innovative, but it needs to mature further to reach its potential.