GIOVANNI CORDINi

Protezione della natura e configurazione giuridica delle aree protette: aggiornamenti di diritto pubblico comparato

217

Gennaio-Aprile 2008

Anno LXXIII    n. 1

Summary - The protection of nature, governed by various spheres of jurisdiction, has been one of the first aspects considered in environmental law-making in many countries. Without going too far back in history, it may be noted that in the 19th  Century and in the first few decades of the 20th numerous examples may be found of laws setting up nature parks and protected areas, as well as measures regarding the conservation of the flora and fauna of the countryside. During the Industrial Revolution concern was expressed almost exclusively about its deleterious effects on the natural environment. Supporting this thesis it may be recalled that the first proposals for “integrated” conservation of the natural environment, by means of limitations and constraints,  bound up with the logic of the wilderness  (wild, uncontaminated land that should be kept as such), were made precisely in the United States, the country where modern industrial society is most widespread and deep-rooted. The first national parks were not designated at a moment when the contradictions inherent in the relationship between industrial development and quality of life were being verified. It was possible to conserve the entire countryside framework and its natural resources precisely because, in those sometimes inaccessible, wild places, no important human settlements had yet been established there. On  the other hand, countries where the natural environment is highly populated and protected nature areas have to co-exist with sizeable residential settlements, the legal system governing the organisation and management of these areas is greatly conditioned thereby. In such cases, the reference models are different and it is not opportune nor efficient, in an international or Community context, to look for solutions providing a uniform legal approach for managing protected areas. Such an attempt could arouse considerable reserve in the resident population and the administrators concerned. It would be better to adopt a functional approach aiming to integrate environmental conservation with other policies and broaden the territory under protection, taking account of  the peculiarities of the terrain but without negatively affecting the local economy.