While Europe has not had water development projects on the scale of those seen in Asia, Africa, Latin America or North America, there have nevertheless been significant projects. Some of the most controversial projects have been on the Danube River, in Australia, the Czech Republic, and in other countries.

Extensive arrays of hydroelectric dams have also been constructed in Sweden and Norway; these dams, and plans for additional projects, also became in the 1980s the focus of considerable controversy. As opposition to further dams in the Nordic countries has become stronger, dam builders from those countries have expanded their activities in various countries in the South.

Sources:
o Lövgren, Lars, "Moratorium in Sweden: An Account of the Dams Debate"; Maria Vedin, "The Dams Inside"; and Øystein Dalland, "The Last Big Dam in Norway: Whose Victory?", pp. 21-30, 31-39, 41-56, in: Ann Danaiya Usher, ed., Dams as Aid: A political anatomy of Nordic development thinking, (London: Routledge, 1997).
o Pearce, Fred, The Dammed, pp. 256-262 [profile of controversies
over dams on the Danube during the 1980s.]