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