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The basic idea of integrated environmental protection is to protect the environment as a whole rather than to limit emissions into different environmental media (water, air, or soil) separately. This requires administrative agencies charged with implementing environmental legislation to take a holistic approach to controlling adverse environmental impacts. Recent environmental legislation has increased the difficulties of engaging in truly integrated environmental protection by using a rather wide-ranging concept of “environment” with includes factors such as biodiversity, climatic factors, human health, cultural heritage including architectural and archaeological heritage as well as the interrelationship between the above factors (see, e. g., Directive 2001/42/EC, Annex I, section f).

Inevitably, both European and national environmental legislation frequently uses rather vague terms which creates additional difficulties in implementing environmental law. For instance, section 18 of the German Nature Conservation Act addresses “significant deterioration of ecological functions and potentials” and the EC Directive on environmental impact assessment (85/337/EC) covers projects having “likely significant effects on the environment.”

The basic assumption underlying the research training program is that due to the complexity of the factual situation and due to limitations on human knowledge truly integrated environmental protection will be achievable only in approximation. Therefore the research training program attempts to determine the extent to which reasonable efforts at drafting and implementing environmental laws might result in truly achieving this aim. It emphasizes close cooperation of science and jurisprudence in developing specific standards to implement vaguely worded environmental legislation. On the one hand, the research training program endeavours to provide a valid scientific basis for the application of environmental statutes in force. This corresponds to the traditional approach which enlists scientists to assist in determining the scope of application of vague statutory language written by lawyers. On the other hand, the research training program attempts to propose an improved legal terminology for use in future environmental legislation. It also addresses the extent to which the idea of integrated environmental protection has been implemented and practised abroad (including non-EU nations). The study program particularly emphasizes improving the doctoral student’s ability to engage in interdisciplinary cooperation and to develop interdisciplinary solutions to issues of environmental protection.