The environmental movement is a collective action that started when civilization began to go upwards; the people everywhere began to think of the climate change. However, the list of environmental movements shows the history of different regions.
Many environmentalist groups have faced some challenging situations, and the fact didn’t remain limited within nature; some political and social issues got included in the movement.
Environmental Movement is a march to protect the environment from every level of toxicity & destruction. It’s a green flag to raise public ecological consciousness to save our home planet. The movement centered on ecology, health, and human rights.
More briefly, this movement is a combined action that began when civilization started to improve. People from every region began to think about the damage caused to the Industrial Revolution or climate change.
So, an environmental movement focuses on these core components-
- The protection of natural elements.
- Saving wild animals from extinction.
- Oppose any human organization that directly damages nature.
- Protestation against the already existing rules that go against nature.
These components are a few out of many rules that environmentalists try to achieve through environmental movements.
Environmental movements were not easy. Many environmentalists and social groups faced difficulties. In some cases, many political organizations got included in these movements.
In this write-up, I collectively organized the list of the environmental movement in one place. Thus, you can easily explore the history or timeline of the environmental movements and their ecological outcome, obstacle, and success ratio.
So stay tuned and enjoy the journey of how the environmental movement helps to shapes the world more green and clean.
Lets kickoff!!
How the Environmental Movement Started and who was the First to Recognize the Roadmap Towards Environmental Movement?
Many people understood the necessity of protecting the ecosystem and being conservative towards nature; people also shared knowledge thousands of years ago.
You can explore both Indian mythology and Greek history to find the push to protect our planet; so, let’s find out when it began and who started the movements.
That was about environmental protection in ancient times, but what about the modern environmental movement and who started the recent one? The former American president Nixon formed EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) along with Congress in 1970.
“Silent Spring” is a book published in 1962 in California, the USA; by Rachel Carson. Rachel Carson is the first inseparable name who starts the revolutionary journey to march the environmental movement. The book shows the American wildlife and the pesticide’s effects on the ecosystem; some treat it as a modern movement.
The first environmentalist who launched such a movement in the USA in 1970, and his name is Gaylord Nelson; he operated his team from Washington DC. The campaign started when the nation witnessed the oil spill and its side-effects on the earth; the activists have blocked roads.
A similar movement started in Russia simultaneously; therefore, you may conclude as the global environmental movements started between the 1960s and 1970.
At present, the way we live creates vise versa relations to our nature. Continuously we are shifting or distancing from nature. In this consumerism era, science has invented many branches only for individual betterment, which eventually became terrible for our environment; that led many people to participate in environmental pollution prevention.
However, you will see that most activists are public figures (student leaders, politicians, critical religious persons, writers, and industrialists) because they have a significant influence over people.
List of environmental movement : Let’s See the Historical Timeline and Origins of Environmental Movement
The concept slowly started to build with the global modernization and industrial revolution; the pre-movement actions already begun within the 15th-17th century. Though the initiatives started in the USA and Europe, later the wings spread worldwide as education reached everywhere.
Let’s have a brief discussion on the timeline of environmental movement history and their origins to clarify them.
| Time | Place of Movement | Significant Incident |
| Around 2000 years ago | Asian areas, including India and China; also advanced Peru. | The people in that region started to understand the importance of the natural elements, and they focused on soil preservation because their economy was based on agriculture. |
| In the 14th century | Roman Civilization | The locals noticed air and water pollution and took the initiatives to prevent them. |
| In the middle ofthe 16th century | In Europe | Pollution caused during the industrial revolution led people towards being more conscious about the environment. |
| In the early 19th century | Europe and the USA | The contemporary environmental movement started; it included in liberalism (a political program), and the target was to protect the countryside and wildlife. |
| In 1914 | Europe and Oceania | The first National Park was established, and the purpose was biodiversity conservation. |
| In 1923 | In New Zealand, | The Royal Forest & Birds Preservation Society started its journey to protect the ecological balance. |
| In the initial 1960s. | In Europe, | The Green Political Movement began, and many organizations started their activities under those parties for protecting the environment. |
| Between the 1970s and 1980s. | Tasmania, Australia, Indonesia, Europe, and the USA | Many accidents and natural calamities occurred due to pollution and modern revolutionary acts; that led people to start regional environmental movements. |
| —- | The developing countries or 3rd world areas | The environmentalist parties started fighting for a green economy; their purposes were to establish grass-roots democracy, fighting poverty, and getting human rights. |
| In 1973 | India (the rural areas of UP), | The Chipko Movement took place where the women also protested against deforestation. |
| In the last 2-decades of the 20th century. | In the American and European regions. |
The environmentalist political parties continually got successful, and the non-government organizations created a good impression on the public. |
| After 2000, | The occurrence started in Germany | Many organizations were divided; that’s why some parties’ leaders thought to be combined to spread the International platform activities.
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In the 21st century, the World Environment Summit started its programs; the essential persons focused on conservation, pollution, preservation, and war effects besides financial investments, tourism, and trades; nearly 180 countries participate in that.
List of 6 Most Environmental Movement of History that shaken the world:
Most of these movements happened in the 19th century. These movements enabled people to act and prevent further destruction of nature.
- The Chipko Movement in 1973
- Climate Strike of 2019
- Green Movements, Late 19th Century
- Anti Nuclear Movements in America, 1970-1980
- The Earth Day Movement of 1970
- Danish Environmental Movement in 1969
The Chipko Movement in 1973:
The Chipko movement is also known as the women’s movement in India. Rural women in India, who are entirely dependent on agricultural cultivation, livestock management, and household works, lost everything in natural calamities such as floods, soil erosion, and landslides. Deforestation on a massive scale led to this inhuman situation.
To prevent deforestation, women gathered and started the Chipko movement in 1973. This movement was able to stop deforestation and changed the natural state of women in society. The Chipko movement started in Uttar Pradesh’s Chamoli district (now Uttarakhand) and spread to India’s other districts in no time.
Climate Strike of 2019
The climate strike is a series of environmental movements that occurred recently worldwide. Major protests began in early 2019 and took place on important dates and recurring through weekly groupings. Among some events, Greta Thunberg’s “Fridays for Futures” protest inspired millions of school students worldwide, which resulted in skipping class and protest to call for climate action.
Extinction Rebellion is also an independent group that protested in the climate strike. Their actions led to civil disobedience and created urgency in policy conversations surrounding environmental development.
Green Movements, Late 19th Century
What is the green movement? Well, the green movement is a series of movements that occurred during the late 19th century. Active environmentalists influenced people all over the world to support greenery.
These movements aimed to make the world a better place where animals can live alongside humans, no deforestation and growing more trees to prevent soil erosion.
Furthermore, the green movement targeted energy sources and clean water supplies.
Anti Nuclear Movements in America, 1970-1980
The anti-nuclear movement of the USA is also a part of environmental movements. More than 80 anti-nuclear groups directly oppose all types of nuclear energy. These non-government organizations have delayed the installation of new nuclear plants and compelled the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to enforce more effective safety regulations for nuclear power plants.
Inspired by these movements, other countries also did the same anti-nuclear movements.
The Earth Day Movement of 1970
The first earth day was on 22 April 1970. On that day, over 20 million people stood together and took the streets across the United States to protest against environmental destruction. The cause was oil spilled from Santa Barbara in the USA waters. People understand the devastating effects of oil in the water. The excellence of that blue marble pictured from space compared bleakly with the unfavorable situation of the Earth that they knew from the ground.
The Wisconsin senator Gaylord Nelson led this campaign which was authorized from a temporary office in Washington DC. This movement was mostly conducted by college students. However, the festivities were free for everyone.
The Earth day movement also happened at the same time as the civil rights movement.
Danish Environmental Movement in 1969
NOAH is a Denmark environmental organization that was established on 9 March 1969. The establishment day of NOAH was quite crucial for the environmental movements later on.
Copenhagen University students, connected initially to natural-science and studies, thought their university lacked environmental perspectives in research and general politics. With the previously existing student organization NOA, the student’s council invited many former activists, politicians, professors, and journalists. Former activists remember that more than one thousand people took part in the day, which consisted of lectures, films, and shows on the pollution of land, water, and air.
The main activities were scheduled in a big auditorium. However, the organizers had something different in mind. They wanted the audience to feel how natural destruction can change the future of humans’ living conditions. To achieve that, organizers filled the hallway with garbage, and an artificial beach was created.
When the audience was seated in the auditorium, organizers closed the doors from outside and ignited the garbage; the room filled with black smoke rapidly. They make the show more realistic by scattering realistic polluted water in the crowd, animating a dead goldfish, and a lot of noise.
NOAH establishment day was more than an environmental movement. It was an act of returning the destruction that we are causing every day to nature.
List of 3 Most Important Environmental Movement In History-
Many environmental movements were held globally; some were regional, and others were international, but many of them have created a history that everyone will remember.
Let’s know about 3-most important environmental movements in History; each of them is global & large.
3 Important environmental movements in History are-
- Conservation Movement.
- Green Movement.
- Climate Movement
Let’s brief these three important historical environmental movements-
Conservation Movement-
You can also consider it as nature conservation that is also known as a political, environmental, and social activity where everybody can spontaneously participate. However, the purpose was to protect natural elements (fisheries, water, forestry, and soil); it started in the 19th century.
The movement started in the USA, which deliberately expanded to the outer world later; it even reached the Indian jungles.
Green Movement-
When people hear about it they often ask what green movement is and who started it for a particular purpose. It began in the late 19th century, and the people active were the environmentalists who think a lot of other creatures and their lives besides humankind.
This movement’s primary objective was to make the planet a better place to live, where creatures can stay along with the world’s prosperity; moreover, it targeted the energy sources and clean water supply.
Climate Movement-
The movement developed in recent times, the initial stage of the 21st century; Copenhagen’s activities focused on the climate. It works on different arising issues due to climate change; moreover, another section functions for various social scopes.
Later, it collaborated with the United Nations and took the organization to an international level; its largest event was held on 21 September 2014, in New York with 4,00,000 activists.
Now it’s time to discuss the most successful environmental movement in history lets begin
5 Most Successful Environmental Movements in the History
Unnumbered environmental activities took place in the world, but each of them couldn’t be successful; let’s see 5-successful movements in history:
- Back to Nature Movement
- Early Movement in the USA
- Green Political Movement
- Chipko Movement
- Green Party Movement
Back to Nature or Back to the Land movement wasagri cultural activities; it depicts self-sufficiency, autonomy, social, and land reform. On the other hand, the USA’s early movement was a revolution; John Muir and Henry David Thoreau contributed a lot.
Moreover, everything got a new direction after setting up the Sierra Club; the rest of the 3-movements are also regional and international successful activities.
However, many laws and acts like Clean Water, Clean Air, Ozone Gas Protection, etc. are also successful ones during recent times besides the organizations and parties’ positive results.
A Timeline View of American (the USA) Environmental Movement
| Timeline | Environmental Movement |
| 1832 | Hot Spring Reservations established. |
| 1864 | Yosemite Valley’s opening. |
| The longest-running environmental activity. | From the 1st Earth Day to school strike in the USA. |
| 1st March 1872 | Yellowstone National Park Act |
| 1916 | National Park Service Organic Act |
| In May 1900 | Lacey Act waspassed to protect wildlife and prevent deforestation. |
| In July 1918 | Migratory Bird Treaty Act started its journey to protect the native birds. |
| 1949 | UN Scientific Conference on Conservation &Utilization of resources. |
| In 1955 | Air Pollution Control Act prevented air contamination after the smog incident in Los Angeles. |
| 1961 | World Wildlife Foundation |
| On 11 February 1968, | 1300 workers of the sanitation industry went on strike to protest racism; it was an environmental justice movement. |
| 1969 | National Environmental Policy Act |
| 1970 | Clean Air Act |
| 1972 | Clean Water Act |
| 1992 | UN Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro |
| 2017 | First National Clean up Day |
Many other strikes and peaceful movements for the environment and justice, but this list of environmental movements is what you can’t escape.
5-Top Most Environmental Movement in the USA
Let’s see the top-5 environmental movements in USA for environmental betterment that deserve to be mentioned.
- Environmental Justice Movement (in 1980)
- Rachael Carson’s Movement (in 1962)
- John Muir’s Movement (in 1903)
- Green Environment Movement (between 1830-1840)
- Community Right-to-know Act(1986)
The first one mentioned in the list of environmental movements is one of the most significant activities; it started in 1982after the then-president decided to bring 6000 trucks of soil with a toxic substance.
Moreover, another issue that came up was racism among people; the communities with black persons and the minorities were looked down upon. So, the purpose was to preserve the soil and essential natural items besides ensuring the minor communities’ safety.
The movement took a lot of time to succeed; the law passed in the 1st stage of the 21st century when George W. Bush was the American president, and he took notice. Thus, the government started to treat the people equally and took the necessary actions to protect the people living near industries.
List of Top Most Environmental Movement in Africa
Maybe the actions started slightly late in the African area, but it also participated and became a part of environmental movements; let’s see the top-5 movements in Africa:
- The Movement for Ogoni people(1990)
- Green Belt Movement (1977)
- The Conservation Movement (1820-1830)
- Ecology Movement (during the mid 19th century)
- Environmental Health Movement (in the initial 20th century)
The 1st one in the list is MOSOP (Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People); 11-groups work for a total population of0.7 million people living in Nigeria. The purpose was to provide social security to the indigenous people living there; it was a successful one.
The movement started after a 3-weeks lasting blow-out that caused massive pollution during the 1970s; later, the Federations got affiliations from the UN Organizations, and it won the right livelihood awards.
You all know that Kenya is an integral part of the bigger Africa; so, it’s essential to know about Kenya’s topmost environmental movement.
Green belt movement mentioned in the 2nd position is the most significant activity held in Nairobi, Kenya; it was a movement for environment conservation & social development.
Professor Wangari Mathai started it with the National Women Council and planted 51,000 trees in 1977; according to the 2003 report, the motto was to make people aware of self-determination, environment, poverty, human rights, &equity.
The act included women to make them active, educated, and conscious besides using them in the reforestation program.
List Of Top Most Environmental Movements in India
India has witnessed so many movements from the previous century to protect the environment because they have unknowingly polluted the surroundings; moreover, the awareness started to grow after a longer time than the other global areas.
- Bishnoi Movement (Jodhpur) (in 1700)
- Appiko Movement (another important activism)(1983)
- Jungle Bachao Movement (To prevent deforestation) (1982)
- Silent Valley Movement (Probably in UP) (1973)
- Tehri Dam Conflict (the most violent one) (the 1980s-1990s)
Bishnoi Movement was the first environmentalist activity in the Indian territory (Jodhpur, Rajasthan); it was a social, religious movement besides the environmental issue. The activities started from the 14th century for the non-violent nature worshipper group, which later continued.
Anyway, the area became slightly restricted after 363 people were killed from the Bishnoi community during the protest against deforestation; it didn’t impact the Indian constitution.
List Of Top Most Environmental Movements in the Middle East
The Middle East is another vital part of the world that is connected globally to all continental areas; let’s see the environmental movements that took place there:
- The Conservationists Movement(the 1800s)
- Setting the United Arab Emirates Wildlife Society & NGOs (2001)
- Trans-boundary Conservation & Peace Building (2013)
- Regional Treaties of Middle East (in the 1970s)
- Post-war Conservation (after 2000s)
You can see that most movements & activism are based on conservations because the food habit, wars, & hostile environment make the place a challenging to live for both human & other creatures.
Amir Hossein Khaleghi was one of the most prominent conservationists of the middle-east; the NGOs face many difficulties to make people aware of the wildlife’s necessity; only the boundary and regional agreements saw the light of success.
5-Top List of Environmental Movements in Australia
If you want to know the list of environmental movements, you must include the Australian ones; let’s check the list:
- The land care Movement (1986)
- The Anti-liter Movement (1964)
- The Rise of Green Movement(the 1860s)
- Anti-nuclear Movement (1972-73)
- Major Government Action (2009)
The Land care movement’s purpose was to provide the wildlife a better space and prevent soil erosion; the green & anti-nuclear was also an international platform. Moreover, the anti-nuclear movement opposed uranium mining; the Friends of Earth & Australian Conservation Foundation was involved in the activism.
Top 5 List of Environmental Movements in Canada
The early awareness built up from the 18th century, but it took a lot of time to spread and take a strong position; let’s have the list:
- National & Provincial Parks Set up. (after the 1860s)
- The Enlargement of Environmentalism (in the early 1900s)
- Conservation Movement (19th century)
- Economy over Environment (1980)
- Youth Movement in Canada (2019)
Each of them has specific purposes; all of them are useful and successful; however, the Australian groups preserved the natural elements; the last one, “Youth Movement” has been a recent activism, after 2000.
5 List of Environmental Movements in the UK
The UK has always been advanced in environmental movements since the Victorian era or 18th century; so, the nation has witnessed much activisms for our nature, and let’s see the list:
- Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. (1824)
- The Amenity Movement (between the 1930s-1940s)
- Voluntary Movements by the National Trust (1926)
- Protecting Nature’s Balance (1988)
- Environmental Direct Action Movement (1991)
The last one in the list is one of the recent movements, launched in 1991 by the Earth First group; that was the most prominent activism in the modern era, and other groups also joined.
Moreover, people from various societies participated in the whole process, and the utmost purpose was to protest against the excessive usage of nuclear energy.
Top 5 List of Environmental Movements in Germany
Germany is one of the most civilized European countries; therefore, have a look at the topmost movements for the environment in that area:
- The Early Environment Movement (in the 19th century)
- Reduce Carbon Emission (2015)
- The German Environmental Movement (middle of 19th century)
- The German Green Youth Movement (1994)
- German Anti-Nuclear Movement (the 1960s-1970s)
Germany has been the most prosperous country in environmental activisms; therefore, it’s one of the cleanest countries in the whole of Europe. However, you can mark the 3rd and 4th movements as the biggest and most successful ones over the years.
If you want to know more about the environmental movements in the 21st century, you should choose the Green Youth Movement. Students boycott classes and participate in the activities with various placards; they proved that the young generation is very conscious.
What Are the Environmental Movement Goals?
No matter what motto or purposes you have to start a movement for the environment, the fundamental requirement remains the same; they are:
- The movements protect the Earth from soil erosion, water, air pollution, keeping balance in the ecology, etc.
- Some activities held to ensure the wildlife’s safety and maintain biodiversity because each creation contributes a lot to nature.
Some are considered social, environmental movements because the leaders want to sort out various social issues besides protecting nature; that’s why many political personalities also involve themselves.
You often heard the terms “Radical Environmental Movement”, lets find out what’s the meaning of and what’s the relationship between the radical environmental movement and the environmental movement. Lets explore the topics.
What Is the Meaning of the Radical Environmental Movement?
The radical environmental movement is an initial step towards conserving nature, and the word refers to a molecule or tiny thing. On the other hand, the environmental movement means that it’s starting something big; many leaders have gathered people to do that.
Philosophy, religion, politics, and other segments are related to it; radical environmental movement is the branch of the worldwide more significant step.
The movement began as leaderless activity; that is to protect the mother earth, and the activists have always worked to keep balance in the ecosystem. The first organized group for a partial environmental movement was formed in the initial 1970s; its name is Green peace.
The group first confronted the whaling ships and nuclear weapons; it opposed the usage of such items because they could damage the environment, which would be irrecoverable. Moreover, the weapons and ships can excrete highly radioactive molecules; that can be harmful to humans.
Environmentalism, Environmentalist, and the environmental movement are closely related together. Let’s clarify the Environmentalism topic with a definition along with a list of famous Environmentalist.
What Is the Meaning of Environmentalism: Explain Briefly
While you are acquiring the environmental movement list, you should also know what environmentalism is; it’s the primary stage of the activisms. The term refers to an ideology or philosophy that depicts environmental awareness and inspires one to be protective of nature.
People have understood the necessity and took many steps when they felt that the current situation might be harmful to the planet and their health; many social, religious, ecological & political interests are also connected with environmentalism.
Environmentalism, Environmentalist, and the environmental movement are closely related together. Let’s clarify the Environmentalism topic with a definition along with a list of famous Environmentalist.
See the List of 15 Famous Environmentalists Past and Present
- John Muir (1838-1914) was a naturalist & a writer.
- Rachael Carson (1907-1964) was the founder of the modern environmental movement.
- Edward Abbey (1927-1989) was an author and Monkeywrenching who contributed a lot.
- Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) was a famous author and ecologist.
- Julia Butterfly Hills (1974-) is one of the famous and alive environmentalists now.
- Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) was an activist who was also a philosopher besides being a writer.
- Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) was a conservationist & politician.
- Gifford Pinchot (1865-1946) was a famous forester & conservationist.
- Chico Mendes (1944-1988) was a famous activist who worked for Brazil.
- Wangari Mathai (1940-2011) was a political activist beside an environmental movement.
- Gaylord Nelson (1916-2005) was an activist & environmentalist.
- David Brower (1912-2000) was a pioneer activist in the environmental movement.
- Jan Gehl is an influencer of environmental movements.
- Greta Thunberg is one of the best future leaders of environmental activities.
- Paul Hawken is an intellectual climate leader.
Final Thoughts on List of Environmental Movements in World
Knowing the list of environmental movement is not enough nowadays; therefore, the article is useful because it allows you to know each detail of various historical environment activities.
However, you can take it as an inspiring speech that can lead you towards being eco conscious and do something green for our planet; moreover, you can understand the backgrounds of any movement that occurred and carry it as a peaceful one.
You should also contribute to the movements or propose revolutionary acts to protect our nature as an eco conscious social person.
Environmental movements are still happening in the 21st century. Even in this COVID-19 pandemic, environmentalists are working hard to carry out their duty and responsibilities. So, the list of the environmental movement is never finished and will continue.
Still, you can gain some crucial knowledge about historical environmental movements in the world through this article. Who knows, maybe you may be inspired to oppose whale hunting in the North Pacific Ocean, disposal of plastic bags, and save trees of Nigeria (The highest deforestation country).
And finally, for people to be involved in the environmental movement and act on current issues, they must know and skills to do so. Only spending time close to nature and an eco-friendly lifestyle is not enough for environmental safeguard. Instead, it is essential for the environmental movement (sometimes referred to as the ecology movement), including conservation and green politics. It is diversified with the philosophical, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues.
Even without doing anything or trying to live eco-friendly, you still can contribute by taking a pledge to protect the environment.