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Milestones |
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Stockholm Conference, 1972 |
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Rio Earth Summit, 1992 |
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Istanbul Conference on Human
Settlement,1996 |
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Millennium Development Goals,
2000 |
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World Summit on Sustainable
Development, 2002 |
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| Milestones: Stockholm 1972 |
Declaration Of
The United Nations Conference
On The Human Environment
The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment,
Having met at Stockholm from 5 to 16 June 1972,
Having considered the need for a common outlook and for common
principles to inspire and guide the peoples of the world in the
preservation and enhancement of the human environment,
Proclaims that:
Man is both creature and moulder of his environment, which gives him
physical sustenance and affords him the opportunity for
intellectual, moral, social and spiritual growth. In the long and
tortuous evolution of the human race on this planet a stage has been
reached when, through the rapid acceleration of science and
technology, man has acquired the power to transform his environment
in countless ways and on an unprecedented scale. Both aspects of
man's environment, the natural and the man-made, are essential to
his well-being and to the enjoyment of basic human rights--even the
right to life itself.
The protection and improvement of the human environment is a major
issue which affects the well-being of peoples and economic
development throughout the world; it is the urgent desire of the
peoples of the whole world and the duty of all Governments.
Man has constantly to sum up experience and go on discovering,
inventing, creating and advancing. In our time, man's capability to
transform his surroundings, if used wisely, can bring to all peoples
the benefits of development and the opportunity to enhance the
quality of life. Wrongly or heedlessly applied, the same power can
do incalculable harm to human beings and the human environment. We
see around us growing evidence of man-made harm in many regions of
the earth: dangerous levels of pollution in water, air, earth and
living beings; major and undesirable disturbances to the ecological
balance of the biosphere; destruction and depletion of irreplaceable
resources; and gross deficiencies, harmful to the physical, mental
and social health of man, in the man-made environment, particularly
in the living and working environment.
In the developing countries most of the environmental problems are
caused by under-development. Millions continue to live far below the
minimum levels required for a decent human existence, deprived of
adequate food and clothing, shelter and education, health and
sanitation. Therefore, the developing countries must direct their
efforts to development, bearing in mind their priorities and the
need to safeguard and improve the environment. For the same purpose,
the industrialized countries should make efforts to reduce the gap
themselves and the developing countries. In the industrialized
countries, environmental problems are generally related to
industrialization and technological development.
The natural growth of population continuously presents problems for
the preservation of the environment, and adequate policies and
measures should be adopted, as appropriate, to face these problems.
Of all things in the world, people are the most precious. It is the
people that propel social progress, create social wealth, develop
science and technology and, through their hard work, continuously
transform the human environment. Along with social progress and the
advance of production, science and technology, the capability of man
to improve the environment increases with each passing day.
A point has been reached in history when we must shape our actions
throughout the world with a more prudent care for their
environmental consequences. Through ignorance or indifference we can
do massive and irreversible harm to the earthly environment on which
our life and well-being depend. Conversely, through fuller knowledge
and wiser action, we can achieve for ourselves and our posterity a
better life in an environment more in keeping with human needs and
hopes. There are broad vistas for the enhancement of environmental
quality and the creation of a good life. What is needed is an
enthusiastic but calm state of mind and intense but orderly work.
For the purpose of attaining freedom in the world of nature, man
must use knowledge to build, in collaboration with nature, a better
environment. To defend and improve the human environment for present
and future generations has become an imperative goal for mankind--a
goal to be pursued together with, and in harmony with, the
established and fundamental goals of peace and of worldwide economic
and social development.
To achieve this environmental goal will demand the acceptance of
responsibility by citizens and communities and by enterprises and
institutions at every level; all sharing equitably in common
efforts. Individuals in all walks of life as well as organizations
in many fields, by their values and the sum of their actions, will
shape the world environment of the future. Local and national
governments will bear the greatest burden for large-scale
environmental policy and action within their jurisdictions.
International co-operation is also needed in order to raise
resources to support the developing countries in carrying out their
responsibilities in this field. A growing class of environmental
problems, because they are regional or global in extent or because
they affect the common international realm, will require extensive
co-operation among nations and action by international organizations
in the common interest. The Conference calls upon Governments and
peoples to exert common efforts for the preservation and improvement
of the human environment, for the benefit of all the people and for
their posterity.
Principles
States the common conviction that:
Principle 1
Man has the fundamental right to freedom, equality and adequate
conditions of life, in an environment of a quality that permits a
life of dignity and well-being, and he bears a solemn responsibility
to protect and improve the environment for present and future
generations. In this respect, policies promoting or perpetuating
apartheid, racial segregation, discrimination, colonial and other
forms of oppression and foreign domination stand condemned and must
be eliminated.
Principle 2
The natural resources of the earth, including the air, water, land,
flora and fauna and especially representative samples of natural
ecosystems, must be safeguarded for the benefit of present and
future generations through careful planning or management, as
appropriate.
Principle 3
The capacity of the earth to produce vital renewable resources must
be maintained and, wherever practicable, restored or improved.
Principle 4
Man has a special responsibility to safeguard and wisely manage the
heritage of wildlife and its habitat, which are now gravely
imperilled by a combination of adverse factors. Nature conservation,
including wildlife, must therefore receive importance in planning
for economic development.
Principle 5
The non-renewable resources of the earth must be employed in such a
way as to guard against the danger of their future exhaustion and to
ensure that benefits from such employment are shared by all mankind.
Principle 6
The discharge of toxic substances or of other substances and the
release of heat, in such quantities or concentrations as to exceed
the capacity of the environment to render them harmless, must be
halted in order to ensure that serious or irreversible damage is not
inflicted upon ecosystems. The just struggle of the peoples of all
countries against pollution should be supported.
Principle 7
States shall take all possible steps to prevent pollution of the
seas by substances that are liable to create hazards to human
health, to harm living resources and marine life, to damage
amenities or to interfere with other legitimate uses of the sea.
Principle 8
Economic and social development is essential for ensuring a
favourable living and working environment for man and for creating
conditions on earth that are necessary for the improvement of the
quality of life.
Principle 9
Environmental deficiencies generated by the conditions of
under-development and natural disasters pose grave problems and can
best be remedied by accelerated development through the transfer of
substantial quantities of financial and technological assistance as
a supplement to the domestic effort of the developing countries and
such timely assistance as may be required.
Principle 10
For the developing countries, stability of prices and adequate
earnings for primary commodities and raw materials are essential to
environmental management since economic factors as well as
ecological processes must be taken into account.
Principle 11
The environmental policies of all States should enhance and not
adversely affect the present or future development potential of
developing countries, nor should they hamper the attainment of
better living conditions for all, and appropriate steps should be
taken by States and international organizations with a view to
reaching agreement on meeting the possible national and
international economic consequences resulting from the application
of environmental measures.
Principle 12
Resources should be made available to preserve and improve the
environment, taking into account the circumstances and particular
requirements of developing countries and any costs which may emanate
from their incorporating environmental safeguards into their
development planning and the need for making available to them, upon
their request, additional international technical and financial
assistance for this purpose.
Principle 13
In order to achieve a more rational management of resources and thus
to improve the environment, States should adopt an integrated and
co-ordinated approach to their development planning so as to ensure
that development is compatible with the need to protect and improve
environment for the benefit of their population.
Principle 14
Rational planning constitutes an essential tool for reconciling any
conflict between the needs of development and the need to protect
and improve the environment.
Principle 15
Planning must be applied to human settlements and urbanization with
a view to avoiding adverse effects on the environment and obtaining
maximum social, economic and environmental benefits for all. In this
respect, projects which are designed for colonialist and racist
domination must be abandoned.
Principle 16
Demographic policies which are without prejudice to basic human
rights and which are deemed appropriate by Governments concerned
should be applied in those regions where the rate of population
growth or excessive population concentrations are likely to have
adverse effects on the environment of the human environment and
impede development.
Principle 17
Appropriate national institutions must be entrusted with the task of
planning, managing or controlling the environmental resources of
States with a view to enhancing environmental quality.
Principle 18
Science and technology, as part of their contribution to economic
and social development, must be applied to the identification,
avoidance and control of environmental risks and the solution of
environmental problems and for the common good of mankind.
Principle 19
Education in environmental matters, for the younger generation as
well as adults, giving due consideration to the underprivileged, is
essential in order to broaden the basis for an enlightened opinion
and responsible conduct by individuals, enterprises and communities
in protecting and improving the environment in its full human
dimension. It is also essential that mass media of communications
avoid contributing to the deterioration of the environment, but, on
the contrary, disseminate information of an educational nature on
the need to protect and improve the environment in order to enable
man to develop in every respect.
Principle 20
Scientific research and development in the context of environmental
problems, both national and multinational, must be promoted in all
countries, especially the developing countries. In this connection,
the free flow of up-to-date scientific information and transfer of
experience must be supported and assisted, to facilitate the
solution of environmental problems; environmental technologies
should be made available to developing countries on terms which
would encourage their wide dissemination without constituting an
economic burden on the developing countries.
Principle 21
States have, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations
and the principles of international law, the sovereign right to
exploit their own resources pursuant to their own environmental
policies, and the responsibility to ensure that activities within
their jurisdiction or control do not cause damage to the environment
of other States or of areas beyond the limits of national
jurisdiction.
Principle 22
States shall co-operate to develop further the international law
regarding liability and compensation for the victims of pollution
and other environmental damage caused by activities within the
jurisdiction or control of such States to areas beyond their
jurisdiction.
Principle 23
Without prejudice to such criteria as may be agreed upon by the
international community, or to standards which will have to be
determined nationally, it will be essential in all cases to consider
the systems of values prevailing in each country, and the extent of
the applicability of standards which are valid for the most advanced
countries but which may be inappropriate and of unwarranted social
cost for the developing countries.
Principle 24
International matters concerning the protection and improvement of
the environment should be handled in a co-operative spirit by all
countries, big and small, on an equal footing. Co-operation through
multilateral or bilateral arrangements or other appropriate means is
essential to effectively control, prevent, reduce and eliminate
adverse environmental effects resulting from activities conducted in
all spheres, in such a way that due account is taken of the
sovereignty and interests of all States.
Principle 25
States shall ensure that international organizations play a co-ordinated,
efficient and dynamic role for the protection and improvement of the
environment.
Principle 26
Man and his environment must be spared the effects of nuclear
weapons and all other means of mass destruction. States must strive
to reach prompt agreement, in the relevant international organs, on
the elimination and complete destruction of such weapons.
21st plenary meeting 16 June 1972
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