Environmental Protection in United Kingdom

Background

Significant developments in environmental law can be traced back to the 1800s; and dealt largely with public health concerns initially. Only since the 1970s however, has “environmental law” as a separate concept formed to tackle the objective of “sustainable development” Common law too has played an equally vital part in between these developments. Indeed, the purpose of environmental laws from 1800s to present has shifted. This shift in purpose shall be discussed, but firstly, taking into considerations the definitions of “purpose”, “environment”, and “law”; the question shall be interpreted to ask what the intention of the values are in law and policy,concerning the air, land, and water. Victorian environmental law reflected very muchthe concerns of “nuisances” to public health. Industrialisation only accentuated these concerns within popular values and provisions were taken to intentionally rid the people of such ?nuisance?. An early example of this creeping concern is the Factories Act 1833.

Victorians had mere appreciation of “nuisance”. What would be considered as pollution in modern perspective was seen as an indicator of prosperity in Victorian Britain. Nevertheless, public health concerns materialised in environmental “nuisance” law. To illustrate, the Smoke Abatement (Metropolitan) Act 1853 provided for the control of the nuisances from smokes and vapours in the air dangerous to human health.

Author: Annonym

Resources

See Also

Further Reading

• Environmental Protection in the Encyclopedia of Britain
• Environmental Protection in the Osborn’s Concise Law Dictionary
• Environmental Protection in the Halsbury’s Laws of England
• Environmental Protection in the Stroud’s Judicial Dictionary of Words and Phrases
• Environmental Protection in the Jowitt’s Dictionary of English Law
• Environmental Protection in the New Oxford Companion to Law
• Environmental Protection in the Words and Phrases Legally Defined
• Environmental Protection in the Oxford Dictionary of Law