Environmental Law

The 59th volume of Scandinavian Studies in Law is dedicated to environmental law scholarship from, or relating to, Scandinavia broadly construed, including the whole Nordic region.

Despite a regrettable lack of contributions from Norway the volume provides a reasonably broad and representative view of environmental law research in this region. One may argue that a Scandinavian, or Nordic, perspective on environmental law is made particularly interesting by the fact that the countries of this region have a reputation, and perhaps even more a self-perception, of being champions of environmental concerns and environmentally friendly policies and technologies. Whether this perception tallies with reality in all areas is contestable but the mere idea may have provided a special soil for the development of environmental law and environmental law research.

The region also has a particular legacy in the form of its geographic and personal links to the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (The Stockholm Conference) and the World Commission on Environment and Development (The Brundtland Commission).

These historic occurrences contributed greatly to pushing environmental issues up national and international agendas. Both also made a strong case for acknowledging the fundamental importance of the environment, including what today is known as ecosystems services, to human society and thus its (direct or indirect) significance for all areas of law and policy.