Editor's Foreword

Abstract

Laws dealing with different aspects of the environment have often developed at different times and with distinct philosophical approaches—so much so that it is sometimes questionable whether environmental law can be said to be a truly coherent discipline. In The Progression Towards Ecological Quality Standards , William Howarth of the University of Kent attempts to seek greater synthesis in two key areas of contemporary environmental law—pollution control and nature protection. Using water as his common medium, he shows how UK pollution law, heavily influenced by European Community law, is currently driven by the need to attain environmental quality objectives based on precisely formulated environmental standards. He argues that nature protection law dealing with the water environment now needs to see a similar development in the use of ecological quality standards as a core legal mechanism. The Water Framework Directive has indeed made use of such standards, but Professor Howarth, though...