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.
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.
