Earth Summit

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Earth Summit

The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the Rio
de Janeiro Earth Summit, the Rio Summit, the Rio Conference, and the Earth Summit (Portuguese:
ECO92) was held in Rio de Janeiro from 3 to 14 June in 1992 was the first large international
conference focused on global environmental questions since the 1972 UN meeting in Stockholm.

It was inspired and guided by remarkable document of 1987 i.e brumdtland report

The conference presented and introduced the concept of sustainable development as a strategy for
the future to the world public, and developed the action program. • The Earth Summit resulted in
the following documents:

I.Rio Declaration on Environment and Development : it is a series of principle defining rights and
responsibilities of the state

It states that they must build international agreements that protect the integrity of the global
environmental and the developmental system. The twelve core principles of the Declaration are: a)
State Sovereignty

b) Right to development

c) Sustainable development

d) Right to life and a healthy environment

e) Duty not to cause environmental harm

f) Intergenerational equity

g) Precautionary principle

h) Common but differentiated responsibilities (meaning developed countries and underdeveloped


countries share common, but unequal burdens)

i) Duty to assess environmental impacts

j) Right of public participation/ Environmental democracy (Obligates governments to establish a


process for citizens and NGOs to obtain environmental information)

k) Common heritage in mankind

l) Common concern of mankind

II.Agenda 21: agenda 21 is one of the major documents that came out of United Nations‟ Rio
Summit on Environment and Development in 1992. • It is a comprehensive plan of action,
recommended by UN summit to be taken globally, nationally, and locally by organizations of the
United Nations System, governments, and major groups in every area in which human impacts on
the environment
Promotes roles for all. Everyone governments, business, trade unions, scientists, teachers,
indigenous people and youth have roles to play in achieving sustainable development and should be
involved in the decision making processes. • Encourages the reduction of environmentally and
socially detrimental processes, but within a framework which allows economic success.

. The Agenda 21 was divided into four Sections: SECTION I. – Social and Economic dimensions
SECTION II – Conservation and Management of Resources for Development SECTION III –
Strengthening the Role of Major Groups SECTION IV – Means of Implementation

1 III.Forest Principles: All nations should take part in “the greening of the world” through planting
and conserving forests. • Forests should be managed in order to meet the social, economic,
ecological, cultural and spiritual needs of present and future generations. • Unique examples of
forest should be protected, for example ancient forests and forests with cultural, historical, spiritual
and religious importance. • Pollutants that harm forests should be controlled. • Forestry plans
should consider the non-economic values of forests and the environmental consequences of their
management. Forest degradation should be avoided

IV.Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) : The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was
opened for signature at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro on 5 June 1992 and entered into force on
29 December 1993.The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is an international legally-binding
treaty with three main goals: i.conservation of biodiversity; ii.sustainable use of biodiversity; iii.fair
and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the use of genetic resources. Its overall objective is
to encourage actions, which will lead to a sustainable future. With its three objectives, the CBD is
often seen as the key international instrument for sustainable development.

) V.Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) : he United Nations Framework Convention


on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was signed by about 150 countries in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992
indicating widespread recognition that climate change is potentially a major threat to the world‟s
environment and economic development. • The ultimate objective of the Convention is to stabilize
greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would not jeopardize climate. • The
Convention also requires all Parties to develop, periodically update, publish, and make available to
the Conference of the Parties (COP) their national inventories of anthropogenic emissions of all
greenhouse gases not controlled by the Montreal Protocol

Sustainable development: the Brundtland Report defines, ‘sustainable development’


as ‘development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising on the
ability of the future generations to meet their own needs. It means improving the quality of human
life while at the same time living in harmony with nature and maintaining the carrying capacity of
the life supporting ecosystem.

THE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE ‘Precautionary Principle’ plays a significant


role in determining whether the development process is sustainable or not. Precautionary Principle
underlies sustainable development which requires that the developmental activity must be stopped
and prevented if it causes serious and irreversible environmental damageThe Precautionary Principle
ensures that a substance or activity posing a threat to the environment is prevented from adversely
affecting it, even if there is no conclusive scientific proof linking that particular substance or activity
to the environmental damage. Inadequacies of science are the real basis that has led to the
emergence of Precautionary Principle. The Principle is based on the theory that it is better to be on
the side of caution and prevent environmental harm which may indeed become irreversible.

The Precautionary Principle has been given utmost importance in the United Nation’s Conference on
Environment and Development held at Rio in 1992.

Principle 15 of the ‘Rio Declaration’ states: “In order to protect the environment, the precautionary
approach shall be widely applied by the States according to their capabilities, where there are
threats as serious as of irreversible environmental degradation.”

The Supreme Court of India in case of Vellore Citizens’ Forum v. Union of India, held that the
Precautionary Principle is a part of the environmental law of the country.

Precautionary Principle The essential ingredients of Precautionary Principle are: z

 Environmental measures by the State Government & the statutory authorities like state
pollution boards must anticipate, prevent and attack the causes of environment
degradation.
 Where there are threats of serious and irreversible damage, lack of scientific certainty
should not be used as a reason for postponing measures to prevent environmental
degradation

The Supreme Court also recognized the Precautionary Principle, which is one of the
principles of sustainable development. It was said that in the context of municipal law, the
Precautionary Principle means : -

(1) Environmental measures – To anticipate, prevent and attack the causes of


environmental degradation.
(2) Lack of scientific enquiry should not be used to postpone measures for
prevention of environmental degradation.
(3) The onus of proof is on the actor, developer or industrialist to show that his
action is environmentally compassionate.

‘ the Polluter Pays Principle’


‘the Polluter Pays Principle’ has been enacted to make the party responsible for producing ‘pollution’
to pay for the damage done to the natural environment. In simple words “The Polluter Pays Principle
is the commonly accepted practice that those who produce pollution should bear the

costs of managing it to prevent damage to human health or the environment

The credit for popularizing the ‘Polluter Pays Principle’ for the first time goes to Organisation for
Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
The Supreme Court of India interpreted ‘Polluter Pays principle’ as the absolute liability for harm to
the environment extends not only to compensate the victims of pollution but also the cost of
restoring the environmental degradation.

The Environment Protection Act, 1986 expressly empowers the government “to take all such
measures as it deems necessary or expedient for the purpose of protecting and improving the
quality of environment”

The ‘Polluter Pays Principle’ has been incorporated into the European Community Treaty. Article 102
Rule 2 of the Treaty states that environmental considerations are to play a part in all the policies of
the community, and that action is to be based on three principles: i. The need for preventive action;
ii. The need for environmental damage to be rectified at source; and iii. That the polluter should pay
The ‘Polluter Pays Principle’ finds prominent place in the ‘Rio Declaration of 1992’. Principle 16 of
the Declaration proclaims that national authorities should endeavour to promote the
internationalization of environmental costs and the use of economic instruments, taking into
account the approach that the polluter should bear the cost of pollution, with due regard to the
public interest and without distorting international trade and investment.

The ‘Polluter Pays Principle’ exposes the polluter to two fold liability namely: (i) Compensation to the
victims of pollution; and (ii) Ecological restoration But despite its different impact on pollution, the
doctrine of Polluter Pays Principle is limited in the sense that it can be applied only at the remedial
stage i.e. after the pollution has already taken place. It means one may “pay and pollute”.

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