扮演政府永續經營的監督者與守護者

行政會永續會余範英委員（余紀忠文教基金會董事長）

永續發展，是永遠的進行式，更是個永遠沒有終點的長期目標。個人擔任永續委員多年，從參與永續會各項會務及觀察政府部會的推動績效上，感覺國內在推動永續工作雖有些許成就，但囿於許多體制與背景因素，使永續會的功能受到相當侷限。

永續會目前運作的缺點，個人認為有以下幾點：

1. 開會期程不定或長期停開，且負責首長未每次出席。
2. 永續會決議未如環境基本法第29條所規定：決策交由相關部會執行。使決議未能發揮實質效能，常束之高閣。
3. 相關部會的永續議題相關施政、決策，未事先照會或邀請永續會成員討論，致使永續會無法參與或扮演督導角色。

目前永續會的設置法源為環境基本法，予人永續會只關注環境的印象，與永續會應兼顧環境、經濟、社會三層面的理想，仍有一段距離，同時政府相關經濟、社會決策也缺少永續會的聲音。建議未來能爭取將永續會設置在行政院組織法中，一來符合組織設置的程序要求，二來也可提高永續會層級，使功能更彰顯。

其次，永續會不應只存在中央政府的組織架構與決策流程中，為反映當前國人普遍重視環保永續，各個地方也強調永續的重要，包括環境基本法、設置要點等永續會法源，都應明文規定提供永續會足夠資源，並要求地方政府設置永續會，強化中央與地方政府永續會之縱的整合，讓全國上下明白、參與、實踐永續家園的理念。

再者，國內的永續發展推動上，尚有許多與民眾互動的落差亟需磨合，如：環境生態的涵養保育與經濟發展競爭需求的落差，永續概念與制度政策連接的落差，公民社會與政府治理管理之間、在地與全球永續策略之間，在在需要彌平存在已久的鴻溝，儘速接軌。

深自期許，迨政府組織改造啟動後，永續會改隸屬國家發展委員會，並重新研擬永續會設置要點，以徹底改進上述缺失，讓永續會功能確實發揮，敦促國家進步，落實永續經營台灣的政策目標；永續會委員之遴選、運作規則、永續會相關會議（如工作會議、委員會議）的召開、決策流程及後續追蹤，亦應法制化，並隨時檢討。

未來永續會設置要點應認知，法令只是最低限度要求，在設置要點條文中，應授與永續會實質的發展空間與賦予權限，如能配合擁有理想之主事者共同努力，當能追隨國際潮流，擴大視野格局、呼應民間需求，讓永續會恰如其分地扮演政府永續經營的監督者與守護者。

Playing the Role of Overseer and Guardian for the Government

by council member Alice Yu, Chairwoman of the Yu Chi-chung Cultural and Educational Foundation

Sustainable development is perpetually continuous. It is also a long-term goal with

no end in sight. I have been a member of the National Council for Sustainable Development (NCSD) for a number of years. From my participation in the affairs of the council, and from my observation of the promotional efforts on the part of various government agencies, I feel that the Taiwan Government has made some achievements in promoting sustainable development. It is also incumbent upon me to say, however, that the functions of the NCSD have been constrained to some extent due to some institutional and contextual factors.

In my personal opinion, the shortcomings of the NCSD are as follows:

1. Its meeting schedules are not stable. Often the meetings are held irregularly or indefinitely postponed; and the officials in charge often fail to show up.
2. The resolutions of the council are not consigned to the related ministries for proper implementation as per Article 29 of the Basic Environment Act, resulting in the lack of real performance. More often than not, these resolutions were shelved for good.
3. When ministries or other government agencies make decisions on policies or governance related to sustainable development, they often fail to notify council members or invite them to join the discussion process. As a result, the council members are unable to play the role of an overseer or guardian.

At present, the legal base for the installment of the NCSD is the Basic Environment Act. This gives people the impression that our government only emphasizes environmental protection. This is a far cry from the ideal that our government should pay equal attention to environmental protection, economics, and society. In the meantime, our government’s decision making in the economics and society realms lacks the voice of the NCSD. I am of the opinion that we should vie to have the NCSD incorporated into the Organic Laws of the Executive Yuan. For one thing, this will comply with the procedural requirements of an organizational setup. And, for another, this will elevate the council to a higher level, thus highlighting its function.

Secondly, the council should not exist only in the organizational structure and decision-making process of the central government. To reflect that our citizens attach universal importance to environmental sustainability, and that our local governments also stress the importance of sustainable development, the Basic Environment Act, together with its set of guidelines, should explicitly stipulate that sufficient resources be provided to the council, and that the local governments should install their respective councils for sustainable development as well. Only by strengthening the vertical integration between the councils for sustainable development in the central and local governments can we make our citizens understand, participate, and practice the concept of sustainable homes.

Moreover, in terms of the promotion of sustainable development within our country, there are tremendous gaps that need to be closed in interacting with our citizens. For instance, there are gaps between the demands of ecological conservation and economic development, the concept of sustainable development and system policies to enforce the concept, a civilian society and official governance, local and global policies of sustainable development, so on and so forth. All these chasms have been long existing and need to be bridged so we can arrive at a convergence and consensus.

It is my sincere hope that, with the kick-off of the reform of our governmental structure, the Council for Sustainable Development could be subsumed under the National Development Council, and the set of guidelines for the installment of the Council for Sustainable Development could be revamped as well, so that the above-mentioned shortcomings could be amended, and the functions of the council could be brought back to life. In this way, the progress of our nation can be ensured, and the policy goal of sustainable development for Taiwan can be achieved. As for the selection of council members, the council’s rules of operation, the convocation of meetings (such as work meetings and members’ meetings), the decision-making process and follow-up checking, these should all be institutionalized and subject to review at any time.

In the future, the set of guidelines for the installment of the NCSD must beware that laws are only minimum requirements. In the provisions of the guidelines, the council should be endowed with substantial room for development and real power which, coupled with the joint efforts of an ideal-minded chairman, should be able to keep abreast of international trends, expand its vista and perspective, echo the demand of the general public, and allow the council to appropriately play the role of being an overseer and guardian of our government.