The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (UNCHN) also known as the Stockholm Conference was an international conference convened by the United Nations Organization held in Stockholm, Sweden between June 5 and 16, 1972. It was the first major conference organized on environmental issues, and marked a turning point in the development of international policy in this area.[1].
When the General Assembly decided to convene the Stockholm Conference, at the initiative of the Government of Sweden, Secretary General U Thant invited Maurice Strong to serve as Secretary General of the Conference.
The conference was opened and chaired by Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme and Secretary General Kurt Waldheim to discuss the state of the global environment. Attended by representatives of 113 countries, 19 intergovernmental organizations, and more than 400 intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations, it is widely recognized as the beginning of modern political and public awareness of global environmental problems.
At the meeting, a Declaration was agreed that contains 26 principles on the environment and development, an action plan with 109 recommendations, and a resolution.
One of the main results of the Stockholm conference was the creation of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).[2].
Some argue that this conference, and especially the scientific conferences that preceded it, had a real impact on the environmental policies of the European Community (which later became the European Union). For example, in 1973, the EU created the first Directive on Environmental and Consumer Protection, and composed the first Environmental Action Programme. This interest and research collaboration undoubtedly paved the way to deepen knowledge about global warming, which has given rise to agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol.[3].
Stockholm Declaration
Stockholm Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, meeting in Stockholm from June 5 to 16, 1972 and, mindful of the need for common criteria and principles that offer the peoples of the world inspiration and guidance to preserve and improve the human environment, proclaims that:
STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES
Expresses the common conviction that:.
Principle I. Man has the fundamental right to freedom, equality and the enjoyment of adequate living conditions in an environment of such quality that allows him to lead a dignified life and enjoy well-being and has the solemn obligation to protect and improve the environment for present and future generations. In this regard, policies that promote or perpetuate , racial segregation, discrimination, colonial oppression and other forms of oppression and foreign domination are condemned and must be eliminated.
Stockholm Declaration
Introduction
The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (UNCHN) also known as the Stockholm Conference was an international conference convened by the United Nations Organization held in Stockholm, Sweden between June 5 and 16, 1972. It was the first major conference organized on environmental issues, and marked a turning point in the development of international policy in this area.[1].
When the General Assembly decided to convene the Stockholm Conference, at the initiative of the Government of Sweden, Secretary General U Thant invited Maurice Strong to serve as Secretary General of the Conference.
The conference was opened and chaired by Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme and Secretary General Kurt Waldheim to discuss the state of the global environment. Attended by representatives of 113 countries, 19 intergovernmental organizations, and more than 400 intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations, it is widely recognized as the beginning of modern political and public awareness of global environmental problems.
At the meeting, a Declaration was agreed that contains 26 principles on the environment and development, an action plan with 109 recommendations, and a resolution.
One of the main results of the Stockholm conference was the creation of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).[2].
Some argue that this conference, and especially the scientific conferences that preceded it, had a real impact on the environmental policies of the European Community (which later became the European Union). For example, in 1973, the EU created the first Directive on Environmental and Consumer Protection, and composed the first Environmental Action Programme. This interest and research collaboration undoubtedly paved the way to deepen knowledge about global warming, which has given rise to agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol.[3].
Stockholm Declaration
Stockholm Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, meeting in Stockholm from June 5 to 16, 1972 and, mindful of the need for common criteria and principles that offer the peoples of the world inspiration and guidance to preserve and improve the human environment, proclaims that:
apartheid
Principle 2. The earth's natural resources, including air, water, land, flora and fauna and especially representative samples of natural ecosystems, should be preserved for the benefit of present and future generations through careful planning or management, as appropriate.
Principle 3. The land's ability to produce vital renewable resources should be maintained and, wherever possible, restored or enhanced.
Principle 4. Man has a special responsibility to preserve and judiciously manage the heritage of wild flora and fauna and their habitat, which are currently in serious danger from a combination of adverse factors. Consequently, when planning economic development, importance should be attached to the conservation of nature, including wild flora and fauna.
Principle 5. The earth's non-renewable resources must be used in a way that avoids the danger of their future depletion and ensures that all humanity shares the benefits of such use.
Principle 6. The discharge of toxic substances or other materials and the release of heat must be put to an end, in quantities or concentrations such that the environment cannot neutralize them, so that serious or irreparable damage is not caused to ecosystems. The just fight of the people of all countries against pollution must be supported.
Principle 7. States should take all possible measures to prevent pollution of the seas by substances that may endanger human health, damage living resources and marine life, impair recreational opportunities or hinder other legitimate uses of the sea.
Principle 8. Economic and social development is essential to ensure a favorable living and working environment for man and to create on earth the necessary conditions to improve the quality of life.
Principle 9. Environmental deficiencies caused by the conditions of underdevelopment and natural disasters pose serious problems and the best way to remedy them is accelerated development through the transfer of considerable amounts of financial and technological assistance that complements the internal efforts of developing countries and the timely aid that may be required.
Principle 10. For developing countries, price stability and adequate income from commodities and raw materials are essential elements for environmental management, since both economic factors and ecological processes must be taken into account.
Principle 11. The environmental policies of all States should be aimed at increasing the current or future growth potential of developing countries and should not impair that potential or impede the achievement of better living conditions for all, and States and international organizations should take appropriate steps to reach agreement to address the economic consequences that may result, at the national and international levels, from the application of environmental measures.
Principle 12. Resources should be allocated to the conservation and improvement of the environment, taking into account the special circumstances and needs of developing countries and any costs that may arise for these countries from including measures for environmental conservation in their development plans, as well as the need to provide them, upon request, with further international financial assistance for this purpose.
Principle 13. In order to achieve a more rational management of resources and thus improve environmental conditions, states should adopt an integrated and coordinated approach to their development planning so as to ensure the compatibility of development with the need to protect and improve the human environment for the benefit of their population.
Principle 14. Rational planning constitutes an indispensable instrument to reconcile the differences that may arise between the demands of development and the need to protect and improve the environment.
Principle 15. Planning should be applied to human settlements and urbanization with a view to avoiding harmful impacts on the environment and obtaining maximum social, economic and environmental benefits for all. In this regard, projects aimed at colonialist and racist domination must be abandoned.
Principle 16. In regions where there is a risk that the rate of population growth or excessive population concentrations will harm the environment or development, or where low population density may impede the improvement of the human environment and hinder development, demographic policies should be implemented that respect fundamental human rights and have the approval of the Governments concerned.
Principle 17. Competent national institutions should be entrusted with the task of planning, managing or controlling the use of environmental resources of the states with a view to improving the quality of the environment.
Principle 18. As part of their contribution to economic and social development, science and technology must be used to discover, avoid and combat the risks that threaten the environment, to solve environmental problems and for the common good of humanity.
Principle 19. Educational work on environmental issues is essential, aimed at both young generations and adults and paying due attention to the less privileged sector of the population, to broaden the bases of a well-informed public opinion and of conduct by individuals, companies and communities inspired by the sense of their responsibility regarding the protection and improvement of the environment in all its human dimension. It is also essential that the mass media avoid contributing to the deterioration of the human environment and, on the contrary, disseminate information of an educational nature about the need to protect and improve it, so that man can develop in all aspects.
Principle 20. Scientific research and development regarding environmental problems, both national and multinational, should be encouraged in all countries, especially developing countries. In this regard, the free exchange of up-to-date scientific information and transfer experience should be supported and assisted in order to facilitate the solution of environmental problems; Environmental technologies must be made available to developing countries under conditions that favor their wide dissemination without constituting an excessive economic burden on these countries.
Principle 21. In accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law, states have the sovereign right to exploit their own resources in application of their own environmental policy and the obligation to ensure that activities carried out within their jurisdiction or under their control do not harm the environment of other states or areas beyond national jurisdiction.
Principle 22. States should cooperate to further develop international law regarding responsibility and compensation for victims of pollution and other environmental damage caused to areas outside their jurisdiction by activities within the jurisdiction or control of such states.
Principle 23. Without prejudice to the criteria that may be agreed upon by the international community and the standards that must be defined at the national level, in all cases it will be essential to consider the value systems prevailing in each country and the applicability of standards that, although valid for the most advanced countries, may be inadequate and of high social cost for developing countries.
Principle 24. All countries, large or small, must deal, in a spirit of cooperation and on an equal footing, with international issues relating to the protection and improvement of the environment. It is essential to cooperate, through multilateral or bilateral agreements or other appropriate means, to effectively control, avoid, reduce and eliminate the harmful effects that activities carried out in any sphere may have on the environment, taking due account of the sovereignty and interests of all states.
Principle 25. States will ensure that international organizations carry out coordinated, effective and dynamic work in the conservation and improvement of the environment.
Principle 26. It is necessary to free man and his environment from the effects of nuclear weapons and all other means of mass destruction. States should strive to reach early agreement, in relevant international bodies, on the complete elimination and destruction of such weapons.[4].
The action plan consisted of three general types of action:.
a) The global human environment assessment program (Global Surveillance);
b) Human environment management activities;
c) International measures auxiliary to national and international evaluation and management action.
Additionally, these general types of action were broken down into 109 recommendations.[2].
References
[1] ↑ .1972 por John Baylis, Steve Smith.La globalización de la política mundial (3ª ed). Oxford. Oxford University Press. P.454-455.
[3] ↑ Björn-Ola Linnér and Henrik Selin, The Thirty Year Quest for Sustainability: The Legacy of the 1972 UN Conference on the Human Environment, Ponencia presentada en la Convención Anual de la Asociación de Estudios Internacionales, de Portland, Oregon, EE.UU., 25 de febrero - 01 de marzo 2003, como parte del panel "Instituciones y producción de conocimiento para la gobernanza ambiental" (co-autor Henrik Selin). p. 3.
Principle I. Man has the fundamental right to freedom, equality and the enjoyment of adequate living conditions in an environment of such quality that allows him to lead a dignified life and enjoy well-being and has the solemn obligation to protect and improve the environment for present and future generations. In this regard, policies that promote or perpetuate apartheid, racial segregation, discrimination, colonial oppression and other forms of oppression and foreign domination are condemned and must be eliminated.
Principle 2. The earth's natural resources, including air, water, land, flora and fauna and especially representative samples of natural ecosystems, should be preserved for the benefit of present and future generations through careful planning or management, as appropriate.
Principle 3. The land's ability to produce vital renewable resources should be maintained and, wherever possible, restored or enhanced.
Principle 4. Man has a special responsibility to preserve and judiciously manage the heritage of wild flora and fauna and their habitat, which are currently in serious danger from a combination of adverse factors. Consequently, when planning economic development, importance should be attached to the conservation of nature, including wild flora and fauna.
Principle 5. The earth's non-renewable resources must be used in a way that avoids the danger of their future depletion and ensures that all humanity shares the benefits of such use.
Principle 6. The discharge of toxic substances or other materials and the release of heat must be put to an end, in quantities or concentrations such that the environment cannot neutralize them, so that serious or irreparable damage is not caused to ecosystems. The just fight of the people of all countries against pollution must be supported.
Principle 7. States should take all possible measures to prevent pollution of the seas by substances that may endanger human health, damage living resources and marine life, impair recreational opportunities or hinder other legitimate uses of the sea.
Principle 8. Economic and social development is essential to ensure a favorable living and working environment for man and to create on earth the necessary conditions to improve the quality of life.
Principle 9. Environmental deficiencies caused by the conditions of underdevelopment and natural disasters pose serious problems and the best way to remedy them is accelerated development through the transfer of considerable amounts of financial and technological assistance that complements the internal efforts of developing countries and the timely aid that may be required.
Principle 10. For developing countries, price stability and adequate income from commodities and raw materials are essential elements for environmental management, since both economic factors and ecological processes must be taken into account.
Principle 11. The environmental policies of all States should be aimed at increasing the current or future growth potential of developing countries and should not impair that potential or impede the achievement of better living conditions for all, and States and international organizations should take appropriate steps to reach agreement to address the economic consequences that may result, at the national and international levels, from the application of environmental measures.
Principle 12. Resources should be allocated to the conservation and improvement of the environment, taking into account the special circumstances and needs of developing countries and any costs that may arise for these countries from including measures for environmental conservation in their development plans, as well as the need to provide them, upon request, with further international financial assistance for this purpose.
Principle 13. In order to achieve a more rational management of resources and thus improve environmental conditions, states should adopt an integrated and coordinated approach to their development planning so as to ensure the compatibility of development with the need to protect and improve the human environment for the benefit of their population.
Principle 14. Rational planning constitutes an indispensable instrument to reconcile the differences that may arise between the demands of development and the need to protect and improve the environment.
Principle 15. Planning should be applied to human settlements and urbanization with a view to avoiding harmful impacts on the environment and obtaining maximum social, economic and environmental benefits for all. In this regard, projects aimed at colonialist and racist domination must be abandoned.
Principle 16. In regions where there is a risk that the rate of population growth or excessive population concentrations will harm the environment or development, or where low population density may impede the improvement of the human environment and hinder development, demographic policies should be implemented that respect fundamental human rights and have the approval of the Governments concerned.
Principle 17. Competent national institutions should be entrusted with the task of planning, managing or controlling the use of environmental resources of the states with a view to improving the quality of the environment.
Principle 18. As part of their contribution to economic and social development, science and technology must be used to discover, avoid and combat the risks that threaten the environment, to solve environmental problems and for the common good of humanity.
Principle 19. Educational work on environmental issues is essential, aimed at both young generations and adults and paying due attention to the less privileged sector of the population, to broaden the bases of a well-informed public opinion and of conduct by individuals, companies and communities inspired by the sense of their responsibility regarding the protection and improvement of the environment in all its human dimension. It is also essential that the mass media avoid contributing to the deterioration of the human environment and, on the contrary, disseminate information of an educational nature about the need to protect and improve it, so that man can develop in all aspects.
Principle 20. Scientific research and development regarding environmental problems, both national and multinational, should be encouraged in all countries, especially developing countries. In this regard, the free exchange of up-to-date scientific information and transfer experience should be supported and assisted in order to facilitate the solution of environmental problems; Environmental technologies must be made available to developing countries under conditions that favor their wide dissemination without constituting an excessive economic burden on these countries.
Principle 21. In accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law, states have the sovereign right to exploit their own resources in application of their own environmental policy and the obligation to ensure that activities carried out within their jurisdiction or under their control do not harm the environment of other states or areas beyond national jurisdiction.
Principle 22. States should cooperate to further develop international law regarding responsibility and compensation for victims of pollution and other environmental damage caused to areas outside their jurisdiction by activities within the jurisdiction or control of such states.
Principle 23. Without prejudice to the criteria that may be agreed upon by the international community and the standards that must be defined at the national level, in all cases it will be essential to consider the value systems prevailing in each country and the applicability of standards that, although valid for the most advanced countries, may be inadequate and of high social cost for developing countries.
Principle 24. All countries, large or small, must deal, in a spirit of cooperation and on an equal footing, with international issues relating to the protection and improvement of the environment. It is essential to cooperate, through multilateral or bilateral agreements or other appropriate means, to effectively control, avoid, reduce and eliminate the harmful effects that activities carried out in any sphere may have on the environment, taking due account of the sovereignty and interests of all states.
Principle 25. States will ensure that international organizations carry out coordinated, effective and dynamic work in the conservation and improvement of the environment.
Principle 26. It is necessary to free man and his environment from the effects of nuclear weapons and all other means of mass destruction. States should strive to reach early agreement, in relevant international bodies, on the complete elimination and destruction of such weapons.[4].
The action plan consisted of three general types of action:.
a) The global human environment assessment program (Global Surveillance);
b) Human environment management activities;
c) International measures auxiliary to national and international evaluation and management action.
Additionally, these general types of action were broken down into 109 recommendations.[2].
References
[1] ↑ .1972 por John Baylis, Steve Smith.La globalización de la política mundial (3ª ed). Oxford. Oxford University Press. P.454-455.
[3] ↑ Björn-Ola Linnér and Henrik Selin, The Thirty Year Quest for Sustainability: The Legacy of the 1972 UN Conference on the Human Environment, Ponencia presentada en la Convención Anual de la Asociación de Estudios Internacionales, de Portland, Oregon, EE.UU., 25 de febrero - 01 de marzo 2003, como parte del panel "Instituciones y producción de conocimiento para la gobernanza ambiental" (co-autor Henrik Selin). p. 3.