ABSTRACT
Europe could certainly be described as a proactive actor in developing environmental law and as a great supporter of ecological awareness. Many of the European nations are engaged in earnest efforts to develop sustainable practices in land use, consumption of natural resources and to maintain a rich level of biodiversity. The grassroots of this ecological awareness could be found in the history of environmental activism in Europe from the late nineteenth-century conservation and naturalist movements. Although some distinctions could be made between countries and regions, the role of Europe in ecological political awareness cannot be denied: northern Europe has traditionally defended the idea that humans hold a responsibility toward natural environment and that global environmental issues should be a highest preoccupation for international community; in eastern Europe, activism arose in the late 1980s linked to the issue of environmental degradation and human health; in southern Europe, political movements were created around local issues and campaigns (Hillstrom and Collier Hillstrom, 2003: 223–42). Today, most European countries participate actively in important international environmental instruments and play a dynamic role to elaborate innovative tools to conserve Europe’s natural heritage (Romi, 2004).
