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The Stockholm Declaration and Action Plan defined principles for the preservation and enhancement of the natural environment, and highlighted the need to support people in this process. One of the decisions outlined in the Stockholm Declaration was the formation of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). The Conference indicated that "industrialised" environmental problems, such as habitat degradation, toxicity and acid rain, were not necessarily relevant issues for all countries. In particular, development strategies were not meeting the needs of the poorest countries and communities. However, it was the pending environmental problems that dominated the meeting and led to wider public environmental awareness.
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:
1. 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 the right to life
itself.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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 cooperation 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
cooperation 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 ill 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 favorable 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 coordinated 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 arc 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 9
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, disseminates information of an educational nature on the need
to project and improve the environment in order to enable mal 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 cooperate 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
cooperative spirit by all countries, big and small, on an equal footing.
Cooperation 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 coordinated, 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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