GREEN INFRASTRUCTURES FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF EUROPEAN INSTITUTIONS

The paper presents a research about the approach of green infrastructure (GI) in recent official documents elaborated by European Institutions including the European Commission (EC), the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) and the European Environment Agency (EEA). Green infrastructure is an emerging concept which has developed in the last decades being used by professionals from different areas of study such as landscape architecture, ecology, environmental engineering, forestry, agriculture, geography, spatial planning and regional development. The study is concerned on the understanding of the complex and multiple roles of green infrastructures for the future of environment and human society in the 21st century. The aim of the research is to emphasize significant issues regarding green infrastructures, such as terminology, benefits, opportunities for integrated development strategies and specific policies, in order to synthesize the current situation of green infrastructure management in Europe. Analyzed materials for the study include recent reports and communications of European institutions. Among these are Green Infrastructure (GI) ? Enhancing Europe’s Natural Capital (EC, 2013), The Multifunctionality of Green Infrastructure (EC, 2012), Green Infrastructure ? Natural Resource Care Areas. Opportunities and benefits (EEB, 2011), Building Green Infrastructure for Europe (EEB, 2008) and Green Infrastructure and Territorial Cohesion (EEA, 2011), the last being one of the most comprehensive official document in this direction. The conclusions of the study highlight the importance of integrating green infrastructures among European policies and among the opportunities to implement an EU Green Infrastructure strategy in order to enhance and conserve the natural capital in a sustainable manner.