Stockholm Declaration is a common
outlook and common principles to inspire and guide the peoples of the world in
the preservation and enhancement of the human environment.
}The declaration is
divided in to two part:
◦Seven truth about
environment
◦26 principals
Seven truth about
environment:
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.
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.
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