| United Nations | A/RES/42/186 |
General Assembly
96th plenary meeting
11 December 1987
42/186. Environmental Perspective to the Year 2000 and Beyond
The General Assembly,
Recalling its resolution 38/161 of 19 December 1983 on the process
of preparation of the Environmental Perspective to the Year 2000 and
Beyond, in which it, inter alia, welcomed the desire of the Governing
Council of the United Nations Environment Programme to develop the
Environmental Perspective and transmit it to the General Assembly for
adoption, benefiting in carrying out that function from its
consideration of the relevant proposals made by a special commission,
which adopted the name World Commission on Environment and Development,
Welcoming the Environmental Perspective to the Year 2000 and
Beyond, prepared by the Intergovernmental Inter-sessional Preparatory
Committee on the Environmental Perspective to the Year 2000 and Beyond
of the United Nations Environment Programme, referred to in General
Assembly resolution 38/161, considered further by the Governing Council
of the United Nations Environment Programme at its fourteenth session
and adopted in its decision 14/13 of 19 June 1987, as a basis for the
further elaboration of its programme and operations, while
acknowledging that different views exist on some aspects,
Appreciating that concepts, ideas and recommendations contained in
the report of the World Commission on Environment and Development have
been incorporated into the Environmental Perspective,
1. Expresses its appreciation for the efforts of the Governing
Council of the United Nations Environment Programme and its
Intergovernmental Inter-sessional Preparatory Committee on the
Environmental Perspective to the Year 2000 and Beyond in the
preparation of the Environmental Perspective to the Year 2000 and
Beyond;
2. Adopts the Environmental Perspective to the Year 2000 and
Beyond, contained in the annex to the present resolution, as a broad
framework to guide national action and international co-operation on
policies and programmes aimed at achieving environmentally sound
development, and specifically as a guide to the preparation of further
system-wide medium-term environment programmes and the medium-term
programmes of the organizations and bodies of the United Nations
system, in the light of Governing Council decision 14/13;
3. Notes that the perceptions generally shared by Governments of the
nature of environmental problems, and their interrelations with other
international problems, and of the efforts to deal with them include the
following:
(a) An international atmosphere of peace, security and co-operation,
free from the presence and the threat of wars of all types, especially nuclear
war, in which intellectual and natural resources are not wasted on armaments
by any nation, would greatly enhance environmentally sound development;
(b) The imbalance of present world economic conditions makes it
extremely difficult to bring about sustained improvement in the world's
environmental situation; accelerated and balanced world development and
lasting improvements in the global environment require improved world economic
conditions, especially for the developing countries;
(c) Since mass poverty is often at the root of environmental
degradation, its elimination and ensuring equitable access of people to
environmental resources are essential for sustained environmental improvements;
(d) The environment puts constraints on as well as provides
opportunities for economic growth and social well-being; environmental
degradation, in its various forms, has assumed such proportions as can cause
irreversible changes in ecosystems, which threaten to undermine human
well-being; environmental constraints, however, are generally relative to the
state of technology and socio-economic conditions, which can and should be
improved and managed to achieve sustained world economic growth;
(e) Environmental issues are closely intertwined with development
policies and practices; consequently, environmental goals and actions need to
be defined in relation to development objectives and policies;
(f) Although it is important to tackle immediate environmental problems,
anticipatory and preventive policies are the most effective and economical in
achieving environmentally sound development;
(g) The environmental impacts of actions in one sector are often felt in
other sectors; thus internalization of environmental considerations in
sectoral policies and programmes and their co-ordination are essential for the
achievement of sustainable development;
(h) Since conflicts of interest among population groups, or among
countries, are often inherent in the nature of environmental problems, the
participation of the concerned parties is essential in determining effective
environmental management practices;
(i) Environmental degradation can be controlled and reversed only by
ensuring that the parties causing the damage will be accountable for their
actions, and that they will participate, on the basis of full access to
available knowledge, in improving environmental conditions;
(j) Renewable resources, as part of complex and interlinked ecosystems,
can have sustainable yields only if used while taking into account system-wide
effects of exploitation;
(k) The safeguarding of species is a moral obligation of humankind and
should improve and sustain human well-being;
(l) Building awareness at various levels of environmental conditions and
management, through the provision of information, education and training, is
essential for environmental protection and improvement;
(m) Strategies to deal with environmental challenges have to be flexible
and should allow for adjustments to emerging problems and evolving
environmental management technology;
(n) International environmental disputes which are growing in number and
variety, need to be resolved by peaceful means;
4. Welcomes as the overall aspirational goal for the world community
the achievement of sustainable development on the basis of prudent management
of available global resources and environmental capacities and the
rehabilitation of the environment previously subjected to degradation and
misuse, and the aspirational goals to the year 2000 and beyond as set out in
the Environmental Perspective, namely:
(a) The achievement over time of such a balance between population and
environmental capacities as would make possible sustainable development,
keeping in view the links between population levels, consumption patterns,
poverty and the natural resource base;
(b) The achievement of food security without resource depletion or
environmental degradation and restoration of the resource base where
environmental damage has been occurring;
(c) The provision of sufficient energy at reasonable cost, notably by
increasing access to energy substantially in the developing countries, to meet
current and expanding needs in ways which minimize environmental degradation
and risks, conserve non-renewable sources of energy and realize the full
potential of renewable sources of energy;
(d) The sustained improvements in levels of living in all countries,
especially the developing countries, through industrial development that
prevents or minimizes environmental damage and risks;
(e) The provision of improved shelter with access to essential amenities
in a clean and secure setting conducive to health and to the prevention of
environment-related diseases, which would, at the same time, alleviate serious
environmental degradation;
(f) The establishment of an equitable system of international economic
relations aimed at achieving continuing economic advancement for all States
based on principles recognized by the international community, in order to
stimulate and sustain environmentally sound development, especially in
developing countries;
5. Agrees that the recommendations for action contained in the
Environmental Perspective should be implemented, as appropriate, through
national and international action by Governments, intergovernmental and
non-governmental organizations and scientific bodies;
6. Requests the Governing Council to keep under review the extent to
which the long-term environmental actions recommended in the Environmental
Perspective have been implemented and to identify any new environmental
concerns that may arise;
7. Calls special attention to section IV of the Environmental
Perspective, which spells out instruments of environmental action, to be used
as support in addressing, as appropriate, problems dealt with in previous
sections of the Environmental Perspective;
8. Stresses the essential role of the United Nations Environment
Programme within the United Nations system in catalyzing environmentally sound
and sustainable development, and agrees with the Governing Council that this
role should be strengthened and that the resources of the Environment Fund
should be substantially increased with greater participation;
9. Endorses the priorities and functions for the United Nations
Environment Programme set out in paragraph 117 of the Environmental
Perspective;
10. Decides to transmit the text of the Environmental Perspective to all
Governments and to the governing bodies of the organs and organizations of the
United Nations system as a broad framework to guide national action and
international co-operation on policies and programmes aimed at achieving
environmentally sound and sustainable development;
11. Calls upon the governing bodies of the organs and organizations of
the United Nations system to consider the Environmental Perspective and take
it into account in the development of their own medium-term plans and
programmes as relevant to their own mandates;
12. Requests the governing bodies of relevant United Nations
organizations to report regularly to the General Assembly on the progress made
in achieving the objectives of environmentally sound and sustainable
development in line with paragraph 114 of the Environmental Perspective;
13. Invites the Governing Council to report to the General Assembly at
its forty-fourth session on the implementation of the present resolution and
the relevant provisions of the Environmental Perspective.
ANNEX
Environmental Perspective to the Year 2000 and Beyond
CONTENTS
Paragraphs Page
I. INTRODUCTION ................................... 1 - 4 7
II. SECTORAL ISSUES ................................. 5 - 68 9
A. Population .................................. 5 - 9 9
B. Food and agriculture .........................10 - 25 11
C. Energy .......................................26 - 35 18
D. Industry .....................................36 - 47 21
E. Health and human settlements .................48 - 59 25
F. International economic relations .............60 - 68 29
III. OTHER ISSUES OF GLOBAL CONCERN ...................69 - 86 32
A. Oceans and seas ..............................70 - 73 32
B. Outer space ..................................74 - 75 33
C. Biological diversity .........................76 - 81 34
D. Security and environment .....................82 - 86 34
IV. INSTRUMENTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION ..............87 - 120 35
A. Assessment ...................................88 - 93 35
B. Planning .....................................94 - 99 36
C. Legislation and environmental law ...........100 - 104 38
D. Awareness building and training .............105 - 109 39
E. Institutions ................................110 - 120 40
I. INTRODUCTION
1. Awareness of environmental issues has been growing during the past
decade. This awareness has emerged among and within the Governments as they
have addressed environmental problems singly, bilaterally, regionally and
globally. The establishment of ministries for environmental conservation and
enhancement is but one sign of this growth of common concern. Much of this
concern has crystallized in the decisions of the Governing Council of the
United Nations Environment Programme. Despite these noteworthy developments,
and the emergence in the world community of many shared perceptions regarding
environmental problems and actions, environmental degradation has continued
unabated, threatening human well-being and, in some instances, the very
survival of life on our planet.
2. To meet this challenge, the overall aspirational goal must be
sustainable development on the basis of prudent management of available global
resources and environmental capacities, and the rehabilitation of the
environment previously subjected to degradation and misuse. Development is
sustainable when it meets the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet theirs.
3. The following are some shared perceptions of Governments of the nature
of environmental issues and their interrelations with other international
problems and the efforts to deal with them:
(a) An international atmosphere of peace, security and co-operation,
free from the presence and the threat of wars of all types, especially nuclear
war, in which intellectual and natural resources are not wasted on armaments
by any nation, would greatly enhance environmentally sound development;
(b) The imbalance of present world economic conditions makes it
extremely difficult to bring about sustained improvement in the world's
environmental situation. Accelerated and balanced world development and
lasting improvements in the global environment require improved world economic
conditions, especially in the developing countries;
(c) Since mass poverty is often at the root of environmental
degradation, its elimination and ensuring equitable access of people to
environmental resources are essential for sustained environmental improvements;
(d) The environment puts constraints on as well as provides
opportunities for economic growth and social well-being. Environmental
degradation, in its various forms, has assumed such proportions as can cause
irreversible changes in ecosystems which threaten to undermine human
well-being. Environmental constraints, however, are generally relative to the
state of technology and socio-economic conditions, which can and should be
improved and managed to achieve sustained world economic growth;
(e) Environmental issues are closely intertwined with development
policies and practices; consequently, environmental goals and actions need to
be defined in relation to development objectives and policies;
(f) Although it is important to tackle immediate environmental problems,
anticipatory and preventive policies are the most effective and economical in
achieving environmentally sound development;
(g) The environmental impacts of actions in one sector are often felt in
other sectors; thus, internalization of environmental considerations in
sectoral policies and programmes and their co-ordination are essential for the
achievement of sustainable development;
(h) Since conflicts of interest among population groups, or among
countries, are often inherent in the nature of environmental problems,
participation of the concerned parties is essential in determining effective
environmental management practices;
(i) Environmental degradation can be controlled and reversed only by
ensuring that the parties causing the damage will be accountable for their
actions, and that they will participate, on the basis of full access to
available knowledge, in improving environmental conditions;
(j) Renewable resources, as part of complex and interlinked ecosystems,
can have sustainable yields only if used while taking into account system-wide
effects of exploitation;
(k) The safeguarding of species is a moral obligation of humankind, and
should improve and sustain human well-being;
(l) Building awareness at various levels of environmental conditions and
management through the provision of information, education and training is
essential for environmental protection and improvement;
(m) Strategies to deal with environmental challenges have to be flexible
and should allow for adjustments to emerging problems and evolving
environmental management technology;
(n) International environmental disputes, which are growing in number
and variety, need to be resolved by peaceful means.
4. Environmental problems cut across a range of policy issues and are
mostly rooted in inappropriate development patterns. Consequently,
environmental issues, goals and actions cannot be framed in isolation from the
development and policy sectors from which they emanate. Against this
background, and in the light of General Assembly resolution 38/161 of 19
December 1983, the present document reflects an intergovernmental consensus on
growing environmental challenges to the year 2000 and beyond, in six main
sectors. In addition, the document discusses briefly other issues of global
concern which do not fit easily under the sectoral headings and considers
instruments for environmental action, including the role of institutions in
dealing with environmental issues. Throughout the Environmental Perspective,
an attempt has been made to reflect consistently the interdependent and
integrated nature of environmental issues. Under each sectoral heading, this
document covers: the issue; the outlook; the goal to be aspired to in dealing
with the issue; and recommended action. While drawing upon the report of the
World Commission on Environment and Development, the Environmental Perspective
has sought to delineate, in an organized manner, the elements of shared
perceptions, environmental issues, aspirational goals and the agenda for
action envisaged for the Environmental Perspective by the Governing Council
and the General Assembly.
II. SECTORAL ISSUES
A. Population
1. Issue and outlook
5. Issue: The optimum contribution of human resources for the achievement
of sustainable development has not been realized. Yet population levels,
growth and distribution will continue to overload the capacities of the
environment in many countries. Rapid population growth, among other factors,
has exacerbated poverty. The negative interaction between population and
environment has tended to create social tensions.
6. Outlook: People are the most valuable asset anywhere for the betterment
of economic and social conditions and the quality of life. Yet, in a number
of countries, the momentum of population growth today, coupled with poverty,
environmental degradation and an unfavourable economic situation, has tended
to create serious disequilibria between population and environment and to
aggravate the problem of "environmental refugees". Traditions and social
attitudes, especially in rural areas, have been a major impediment to
population planning.
7. World population may exceed 6 billion by the year 2000. Several
countries have achieved population equilibrium as defined by low birth and
death rates and high life expectancies. But, for a large part of the
developing world, this has not happened because of unfavourable economic
conditions. Over 90 per cent of the net addition to the world's population
between now and the year 2025, when the world population may exceed 8 billion,
will occur in the developing countries. Many of them already suffer from
desertification, fuelwood deficits, and loss of forests. Population planning
would help, but is not sufficient, to achieve equilibrium between population
and environmental capacities. Countries have not yet related population
planning to development planning, nor have they linked population and
environmental action for mutually reinforcing improvements. Equally, there is
the need for more concern for human progress and social justice as factors
influencing human resources development and environmental improvement.
2. Goal and recommended action
8. Goal: The achievement over time of such a balance between population
and environmental capacities as would make possible sustainable development,
keeping in view the links between population levels, consumption patterns,
poverty and the natural resource base.
9. Recommended action:
(a) Development planning which takes into account environmental
considerations should be an important instrument in achieving population
goals. Countries should identify the rural and urban areas with acute
population pressures on the environment. The environmental problems of large
cities in developing countries should receive special attention. As poverty
increases, economic development decreases and population rates grow,
development plans should give special attention to population-related
programmes aimed at improving environmental conditions at local levels;
(b) Significant changes in natural resources should be monitored and
anticipated. This information should be fed back into sub-national and
national development plans and related to the planning of spatial distribution
of populations;
(c) Land and water use and spatial planning should bring about a
balanced distribution of population through, for example, incentives for
industrial location, and for resettlement and development of
intermediate-sized towns, keeping in view the capacities of the environment;
(d) Public works, including food-for-work programmes, should be designed
and implemented in areas of environmental stress and population pressures,
with a view to providing employment and simultaneously improving the
environment;
(e) Governments and voluntary organizations should increase public
understanding, through formal and non-formal education, of the significance of
population planning for environmental improvement and the important role of
local action. The role of women in improving the environment and in
population planning should receive special attention, as social changes that
raise the status of women can have a profound effect in bringing down
population growth rates;
(f) Private enterprise, and industry in particular, should participate
actively in the work of governmental and non-governmental organizations aimed
at relieving population and environmental stress;
(g) Education should be geared towards making people more capable of
dealing with problems of excessive population density. Such education should
help people acquire practical and vocational skills to enable them to become
more self-reliant and enhance their participation in the improvement of the
environment at the local level;
(h) International agencies, notably, the United Nations Fund for
Population Activities, the United Nations Children's Fund, the International
Labour Organisation, the World Health Organization and the World Food
Programme, should give priority attention to the geographical areas
experiencing acute population pressures on the environment. They should
reflect sensitivity to environmental improvement in the design and
implementation of their population-related programmes. Multilateral and
bilateral development assistance should be increased to finance innovative
projects to make population programmes more effective by relating them to
environmental improvement;
(i) Population policies must have a broader focus than controlling
numbers. Governments should work on several fronts: to achieve and maintain
population equilibrium, to expand the carrying capacity of the environment and
improve health and sanitation at local levels, to develop human resources
through education and training, and to ensure equitable distribution of the
benefits of economic growth.
B. Food and agriculture
1. Issue and outlook
10. Issue: The shortage of food in many developing countries creates
insecurity and environmental threats. The quest to meet rapidly growing food
needs, combined with insufficient attention to the environmental impact of
agricultural policies and practices, has been causing great environmental
damage. This includes: degradation and depletion in the form of loss of soil
and forests; drought and desertification; loss and deterioration of the
quality of surface and ground water; reduction in genetic diversity and of
fish stocks; damage to the sea floor; waterlogging, salinization, and
siltation; soil, water and air pollution; and eutrophication caused by
improper use of fertilizers and pesticides and by industrial effluents.
11. Outlook: While food production capabilities have increased greatly over
the last three decades, self-reliance in food production has not been achieved
in many countries. In the absence of proper environmental management, the
conversion of forests and grassland into cropland will increase land
degradation. For example, in sub-Saharan Africa desertification and frequent
droughts are major concerns causing large-scale migration from rural areas.
In most developing countries the pressure on the natural resources, including
those in the public domain, is a serious concern. In some developed countries
loss of land productivity from excessive use of chemicals and loss of prime
quality land to urbanization are major concerns.
12. Soil erosion has increased in all regions: increased intensity of land
use has resulted in the reduction of fallowing which, in turn, has undermined
soil conservation, management of moisture and control of weeds and diseases in
small holder agriculture. The main causes of soil erosion have been
deforestation, overgrazing and overworking of farmland. Inappropriate
patterns of land use and inadequate access to land are other factors which
have been at work. Some off-site impacts have been flooding, reduction in
hydro-electric capacity, reduced life of irrigation systems and declines in
fish catches. The world's rivers may be carrying 24 billion tons of sediment
to the seas annually. Technologies which make optimal use of natural
resources, minimum tillage, fallowing and drought-, pest- and
disease-resistant varieties, combined with mixed cropping, crop rotation,
terracing and agro-forestry, have kept erosion under control in some places.
13. Nearly one third of all land is at risk from desertification. Over the
last quarter century the population in arid lands has increased by more than
80 per cent. Since the adoption in 1977 of the Plan of Action to Combat
Desertification awareness of the problem has grown and so have
organizational efforts to deal with it. But the basic elements of the action
needed, namely, to stop the process, to rehabilitate degraded lands, and to
ensure their effective management, do not yet receive the attention they
urgently need. Although long-term economic returns on investments in the
control of dryland degradation are high, insufficient resources are being
devoted to it.
14. Forests cover approximately one third of all land. Tropical forests
occupy over 1.9 billion hectares, of which 1.2 billion hectares are closed
forests, and the remaining open tree formations. Although the rate of tree
plantations in the tropics has accelerated recently (about 1.1 million
hectares annually), it amounts to only about one tenth of the rate of
deforestation. Use of forest land for agriculture through shifting or
sedentary cultivation, increasing demand for fuelwood, unmanaged clearance and
logging, burning and conversion for pastoral purposes are the main factors
behind tropical deforestation. In semi-humid and dry climates fire can be a
significant cause as well. Widespread deforestation has brought about
far-reaching changes in tropical forest ecosystems, which no longer can
perform well their essential functions of water retention, climate control,
soil conservation and provision of livelihood.
15. Timber, an increasingly scarce commodity, has become the subject of
extensive international negotiations. The International Tropical Timber
Agreement, ratified in 1985, aims at promoting international trade in
industrial wood and environmental management of tropical forests. The
Tropical Forestry Action Plan, prepared under the auspices of the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, puts forward five priority
areas aimed at: forestry land use planning, forestry-based industrial
development, fuelwood and energy planning, conservation of tropical forest
ecosystems and institutional support for better forestry management.
16. There have been significant changes in weather patterns as a result in
part of loss of forests and vegetation cover. This has reduced river flows
and lake levels and also lowered agricultural productivity. Irrigation has
greatly improved arability in many areas of uncertain, or inadequate,
rainfall. It has also been playing a vital role in the Green Revolution.
Inappropriate irrigation, however, has wasted water, washed out nutrients and,
through salinization and alkalinization, damaged the productivity of millions
of hectares. Globally, salinization alone may be removing as much land from
production as the land being irrigated, and about half of the land under
surface irrigation may be saline or waterlogged. Excessive use of ground
water for irrigation has resulted in lower water tables and semi-arid
conditions.
17. Fisheries potential has not yet been tapped sufficiently or in such ways
as to ensure sustainable yields, particularly in the developing coastal
States, which do not possess the necessary infrastructure, technology or
trained manpower to develop and manage fisheries in their exclusive economic
zones. Excessive fishing activities have led to overexploitation of several
important fish stocks and the exhaustion of some. By the year 2000, annual
fish supplies may fall short of demand by about 10 to 15 million tons.
Regional agreements on co-ordination of national fishing policies for
licensing procedures, catch reporting, monitoring and surveillance have begun
to consider sustainability of yields and use of appropriate technology. The
World Conference on Fisheries Management and Development established a
framework and programmes of action for fisheries management.
18. Freshwater fish farming and aquaculture now produce annually about
8 million tons of fish. In Europe and in South and South-East Asia,
aquaculture has made important strides. Whether as part of a traditional way
of supplementing farm incomes and protein intake or as an industry, carefully
practised aquaculture holds great promise for integrated environmental
management and rural development in many countries.
19. The use of high-yielding seed varieties has multiplied agricultural
output but has led to a reduction in the genetic diversity of crops and an
increase in their vulnerability to diseases and pests. The emerging
technology of direct gene transfer, or transfer of the symbiotic
nitrogen-fixing capacity of leguminous crops to cereals, can greatly increase
production and reduce costs. Also, the spread of gene banks, through the
International Board for Plant Genetic Resources, and the work of the
International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology should improve
the prospects for genetic diversity, and thereby enhance agricultural
productivity.
20. Overuse of pesticides has polluted water and soil, damaging the ecology
of agriculture and creating hazards for human and animal health. Pesticides
have to be used to increase agricultural production, but their indiscriminate
use has destroyed natural predators and other non-target species and increased
resistance in target pests. More than 400 insect species are believed to be
resistant to pesticides and their number is increasing.
21. Use of chemical fertilizers per capita has increased fivefold between
1950 and 1983. In some countries excessive use of fertilizers, along with
household and industrial effluents, has caused eutrophication of lakes,
canals, irrigation reservoirs, and even coastal seas through runoffs of
nitrogen compounds and phosphates. Ground water has also been polluted by
nitrates in many places, and nitrate levels in rivers have risen steadily over
the last two decades. Degradation of the quality of surface and ground water,
caused by chemicals, including nitrates, has been a significant problem in
developed and developing countries alike.
22. In North America, Western Europe and some other areas, food surpluses
have accumulated as a result in part of farm price subsidization. The push to
produce more in response to incentives, coupled with excessive use of
fertilizers and pesticides, has led to degradation and soil erosion in some
countries. Similarly, export subsidization of food grains by some countries
has undermined agricultural exports of some others, and also led to
environmental neglect of farmland. In some countries, however, there is a
trend towards reducing the scale of farming, encouraging organic farming,
restoring the natural beauty of the countryside and diversifying the rural
economy.
23. In the developing countries, farmers receive too little for their
produce, and production is thereby discouraged. City dwellers often buy food
at subsidized prices, and peasants may receive only a fraction of the market
price. In countries where farmers have begun to receive better prices for
their produce, agricultural production has increased and soil and water
management has improved. When equitable agricultural prices are accompanied
by technical assistance for environmental management of farming, they can help
improve the quality of life in the countryside as well as in cities, partly by
stemming the flow of rural-urban migration. Upward adjustment of food prices
is, however, a politically sensitive issue, especially in situations of low
resource productivity, low income, large-scale unemployment and slow economic
growth.
2. Goal and recommended action
24. Goal: The achievement of food security without resource depletion or
environmental degradation, and restoration of the resource base where
environmental damage has been occurring.
25. Recommended action:
(a) Policies of Governments for using agricultural land, forests and
water resources should take into account degradation trends as well as
evaluation of potentials. Agricultural policies should vary from region to
region to reflect different regional needs, encouraging farmers to adopt
practices that are ecologically sustainable in their own areas and promote
national food security. Local communities should be involved in the design
and implementation of such policies;
(b) Policy distortions that have caused undue pressures on marginal
lands, or taken away prime farmland for urbanization, or led to environmental
neglect of natural resources, have to be identified and eliminated;
(c) Governments should design and implement regulatory measures, as well
as taxation and price policies and incentives, aimed at ensuring that the
right of owning agricultural land carries an obligation to sustain its
productivity. Long-term agricultural credits should require farmers to
undertake soil conservation practices, including keeping a portion of land
fallow, where appropriate;
(d) Governments should promote equity in means for food production and
in distribution. Governments should design and implement comprehensive
agrarian reforms to improve the levels of living of farm workers who lack
land. Governments should take decisive action to turn the terms of trade in
favour of farmers, through pricing policy and government expenditure
reallocation;
(e) Governments should ascertain direct and indirect environmental
impacts of alternative crop, forestry and land use patterns. Fiscal and trade
policies should be based on such environmental assessments. Governments
should give priority to establishing a national policy and to creating or
strengthening institutions to restore areas where natural factors and land use
practices have reduced productivity;
(f) In the national development plans and agricultural programmes of
countries experiencing desertification, dryland rehabilitation and management
have to figure prominently. Better systems of early warning against drought
and other dryland disasters have to be developed, with the World
Meteorological Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations, the United Nations Environment Programme and the relevant
regional organizations playing appropriate roles;
(g) Sound forest policies should be based on an analysis of the capacity
of the forests and the land under them to perform various functions.
Programmes to conserve forest resources should start with the local people.
Contracts covering forest use will have to be negotiated or renegotiated to
ensure sustainability. Clear-cutting of large forest areas should be avoided
and replanting of logged forestry areas should be required. Portions of
forests should be designated as protected areas to conserve soil, water,
wildlife and genetic resources in their natural habitat;
(h) Social and economic costs of deforestation, including clear-cutting,
have to be estimated and reported on in relation to the periodic national
reporting on the economic performance of forestry. Similarly, the damage
costs of waterlogging and salinization have to be reported in conjunction with
the reporting on irrigation and agricultural production. The loss of land to
deserts and its consequences for food production, trade, employment and income
have to be made part of the annual reporting on economic growth. Economic
policies and planning have to reflect such environmental accounting;
(i) In areas experiencing deforestation and lack of forest resources,
economic and other incentives should be introduced to manage forests and woody
vegetation from an environmental standpoint and to promote tree nurseries,
tree farming and fuelwood plantations. Local communities should be encouraged
to take major responsibility for such undertakings;
(j) Projects should be designed and implemented to promote
afforestation, agro-forestry systems, water management and soil conservation
measures, such as land contour-levelling and terracing, in areas of
environmental stress. Such projects should respond to the needs of the local
people for food, fodder and fuel, while increasing the long-term productivity
of natural resources. Environmental improvement schemes should become a
regular part of national relief, rural employment and income-support schemes
to sustain development in regions prone to drought or other environmental
stress;
(k) Within the framework of a national water policy, which should
facilitate an intersectoral and integrated approach to water development and
use, technical, economic and organizational means have to be geared to
improving efficiency of water use in farming and animal husbandry. Emphasis
on ground-water storage in drylands should improve assurance of water
availability. Improvements in water application techniques to minimize
wastage, co-ordination of farming patterns with water supply, and such pricing
of water as would cover the cost of its collection, storage and supply, should
be introduced to conserve water in scarcity areas;
(l) In the choice of technology and the scale of irrigation
environmental costs and benefits should be taken into account. Decentralized
and small-scale irrigation have to receive special attention. Proper drainage
to prevent salinization and waterlogging has to accompany irrigation.
Development assistance has to play a vital role in improving productivity of
existing irrigation, reducing its environmental damage and adapting it to the
needs of small-scale, diversified agriculture;
(m) The traditional rights of subsistence farmers, particularly shifting
cultivators, pastoralists, and nomads, must be protected from encroachment.
Provision of infrastructure, services and information should help modernize
nomadic life-styles without damaging their traditionally harmonious
relationships with ecosystems. Programmes of land clearance and resettlement
should be based on an assessment of their environmental, along with their
social and economic, impacts. Agro-industry, mining and schemes of
geographical dispersal of settlements should also aim at improving
environmental conditions in rural areas;
(n) Public education, information campaigns, technical assistance,
training, legislation, standard setting and incentives should be oriented
toward encouraging the use of organic matter in agriculture. The use of
fertilizers and pesticides has to be guided, inter alia, through training,
awareness building and appropriate price policies, so as to establish
integrated nutrient supply systems responsive to environmental impacts.
Similarly, subsidies, which have led to the overuse or abuse of chemical
fertilizers and pesticides, have to be phased out;
(o) Decentralized storage facilities, with the upgrading of traditional
methods to ensure protection of stored grains, should receive attention in the
planning of support services for rural and agricultural development;
(p) Where the agricultural frontier has extended in an uncontrolled
manner, Governments should make special efforts to expand the area under
woodland and nature reserves;
(q) Satellite imagery, aerial photography and geographical information
systems of assessing and monitoring should be deployed to establish natural
resource data bases. Such data should be made available, freely or at a
nominal charge, to the countries in need. The United Nations Environment
Programme should co-ordinate international programmes in this field. Such
data collection and their socio-economic analyses should facilitate the design
and implementation of land use and natural resource development plans, and
improve international co-operation in the environmental management of
transboundary natural resources;
(r) In international co-operation, priority should be given to schemes
aimed at strengthening skills and institutional capabilities in the developing
countries in fields such as applied genetics, agro-forestry, organic
recycling, integrated pest management, crop rotation, drainage,
soil-conserving ploughing, sand-dune stabilization, small-scale irrigation and
environmentally sound management of fresh-water systems;
(s) Biotechnology, including tissue culture, conversion of biomass into
useful produce, micro-electronics and information technology, should be
deployed, after assessing carefully their environmental impacts and cost
effectiveness, with a view to promoting environmental management of
agriculture. Governments should enhance the access of farmers to such
technologies through national policies and international co-operation.
Research should be intensified on new technologies urgently needed in regions
which have unreliable rainfall, uneven topography, and poor soils.
Governments should also set up targets for the development of cadres of
professionals specializing in environmental management of soil, water and
forests and in biotechnology with a multi-disciplinary and integrated outlook;
(t) Aquaculture should be developed to the fullest, where possible in
conjunction with farming, using low-cost, simple, labour-intensive
technology. Co-operation for environmental management of marine living
resources and fisheries should be intensified, through technical assistance as
well as conventions and agreements;
(u) Because of women's important role in agriculture in many developing
countries, they should be provided with adequate education and training
opportunities. They should also have the necessary power to take decisions
regarding agriculture and forestry programmes;
(v) Distortions in the structure of the world food market should be
minimized, and the focus of production should be shifted to food deficit
countries. In developed countries incentive systems should be changed to
discourage overproduction and foster improved soil and water management.
Governments must recognize that all parties lose through protectionist
barriers, and redesign trade and tax policies using environmental and economic
criteria;
(w) International agreements should be concluded in respect of
agricultural price policies, with a view to minimizing waste and mismanagement
of food and natural resources in agriculture. Such agreements should aim at
bringing about an international division of labour in agriculture in
conformity with the long-term capabilities of countries in agricultural
production. In this context, consideration should be given to strengthening
the work of the World Food Programme through the establishment of a world food
bank from which countries could draw food supplies in emergency situations;
(x) Special attention should be given to protection and careful
development of wetlands, particularly in view of their long-term economic
value;
(y) Sustainable exploitation of living wild resources should receive
special consideration in the light of its contribution to achieving food
security.
C. Energy
1. Issue and outlook
26. Issue: There are vast disparities in the patterns of energy
consumption. Accelerated economic growth and growing populations require a
rapid expansion in energy production and consumption. Major problems in this
regard include: depletion of the supplies of, and inadequate access to,
fuelwood, and environmental impacts of fossil energy production, transmission
and use, for example, acidification of the environment, accumulation of
greenhouse gases and consequent climatic change. Although energy is crucial
to the development process, there has been little concerted action to balance
environmental imperatives and energy demands.
27. Outlook: About three fourths of the world's energy consumption is in
the form of fossil fuels: oil, coal, and natural gas. The remainder is
supplied mainly by biomass, hydropower and nuclear power. The main problems
caused by fossil fuel use are: air pollution, acidification of soil, fresh
water and forests, and climatic change, especially warming of the atmosphere.
The costs of controlling these problems and of dealing with their
environmental and health impacts have been enormous. New and renewable
sources of energy, including solar, wind, ocean and geothermal, are being
developed but are unlikely to make a significant contribution during the rest
of this century.
28. International oil prices are fluctuating. The immediate economic impact
of lower prices has been significant, yet the momentum of efforts to improve
energy efficiency and to develop alternatives for fossil fuels, which began in
the wake of high oil prices, may decline.
29. Though developing countries account for about one third of the world's
energy consumption, many of them do not have adequate access to energy. Most
of them depend on oil imports and on biomass and animal energy. Wood, which
provides energy to about half of the world's people, is becoming scarce, and
overcutting has devastated the environment. Some countries have made progress
in developing biogas while improving the environment, but the potential of
biogas remains largely untapped. Given the needs of industrialization and the
trends of population growth, energy needs will increase tremendously during
the coming decades. If energy efficiency measures are not put in place, it
will not be possible to meet those needs.
30. Many countries have made efforts to control air pollution by setting
standards and introducing appropriate equipment in factories as well as
automobiles, and by developing clean technologies for cooking, space heating,
industrial processes and power generation. But attempts to deal with urban
and industrial air pollution have often effectively transported the problem,
for example, in the form of acid deposition, to other areas and countries. At
least 5 to 6 per cent of the European forests may have already died because of
acidification. As a first step, some European countries have agreed on a
technical co-operation programme to monitor and control long-range
transmission of some air pollutants. Reducing emissions of sulphur dioxide
and nitrogen oxides, however, is rather costly, although effective reduction
technologies have been introduced in some countries. On the other hand, no
effective technologies exist to control carbon dioxide accumulation which can
markedly change climate. Moreover, available technology is not being fully
utilized. The difficulty is to determine up to what level the damage costs of
polluting fossil fuels should be accepted and how much to invest in scientific
research to develop clean technologies.
31. Energy is often used in wasteful ways. The costs of this waste are
being borne by all, but mostly by the poor. Moreover, part of these costs are
being transferred to children, future generations and other countries.
Several countries have experimented successfully over the last decade with
conservation of energy for domestic use, improved efficiency of energy in
industry and agriculture and adoption of energy mixes to minimize
environmental damage. In some countries the nature of industrial growth has
been changing in ways which economize on energy, for example, rapid growth of
electronic, recreation and service industries. Consequently, there has been a
noticeable delinking of economic growth from increase in energy consumption.
Energy savings, renewable sources and new technologies can reduce energy
consumption while maintaining the momentum of economic growth.
32. While oil exploration and coal mining have received great attention, the
potential of natural gas has not been realized. Considerable quantities are
being wasted in the absence of necessary infrastructure and investment. The
world also has a relatively untapped capacity to develop hydropower. In the
past, environmental planning has not received adequate attention in hydropower
development. Decentralized small-scale hydropower schemes are not yet used on
a significant scale, although they may be capable of providing economical,
efficient and environmentally sound sources of energy.
33. Nuclear energy is widely used as a source of electricity, and the
International Atomic Energy Agency has formulated guidelines to ensure that it
is developed and used safely. The problems associated with it include the
risk of accidental contamination, which can spread quickly over long
distances, and the safe handling and disposal of radioactive wastes, including
decommissioned nuclear reactors.
2. Goal and recommended action
34. Goal: The provision of sufficient energy at reasonable cost, notably
by increasing access to energy substantially in the developing countries, to
meet current and expanding needs in ways that minimize environmental
degradation and risks, conserve non-renewable sources of energy and realize
the full potential of renewable sources of energy.
35. Recommended action:
(a) Governments' energy plans should systematically take into account
environmental requirements. Energy efficiency policies coupled with
environmentally sound energy production and appropriate energy mixes should be
pursued to achieve sustainable energy consumption patterns. National efforts
should be supported by international co-operation, especially scientific
research, establishment of standards and transfer of technology and
information;
(b) Energy pricing, taxation, trade and other policies should take into
account the environmental costs of all forms of energy. Subsidies for fossil
fuels should be progressively phased out. Private enterprise, consumers and
government institutions should be provided with economic incentives to make
greater use of renewable sources of energy. Where needed, international
co-operation should facilitate the exploration for and environmentally sound
production of energy;
(c) Information should be made available on the harmful environmental
impacts of intensive use of fossil fuels. Urban and industrial air pollution,
accumulation of greenhouse gases and the attendant climatic change, as well as
transfrontier transport of air pollutants in all regions must receive urgent
attention, including monitoring by appropriate methods. Standards must be set
and enforced within and among countries, and conventions and agreements should
be concluded to deal with these problems. In this context, the "polluter pays
principle" should be accepted. Governments should ensure that clean
technologies are put into practice on a wider scale than in the past at the
local level. The United Nations system, in conjunction with other
intergovernmental bodies, should improve access to information on renewable
sources of energy and on efficient energy use;
(d) In view of the significance of fuelwood, national programmes of
afforestation and of environmental management of woodlands should receive
increased resources. Agro-forestry programmes, tree plantations and village
woodlots should receive special encouragement in countries experiencing
fuelwood deficit. Commercial cutting of fuelwood should be subjected to
rigorous scrutiny and control, in view of its environmental costs.
Application of fuel-efficient stoves and charcoal should be encouraged.
Pricing of fuelwood should be guided by the consideration of sustaining
supplies consistent with needs;
(e) As biogas can be an important source of energy, the existing
technology for the use of agricultural, animal and human wastes should be
applied more widely by means of incentives and guidance. Technical
co-operation among developing countries should play a vital part in this
process, bearing in mind its sanitation and agricultural benefits;
(f) Decisions on large-scale hydropower projects should be guided by
analysis of social costs and benefits in the light of likely environmental
impacts. Small-scale hydropower schemes should receive particular attention
since they could facilitate simultaneous attainment of environmental, economic
and social objectives;
(g) Renewable energy sources should receive high priority and should be
applied on a wider scale than in the past, giving full consideration to their
environmental impacts. Technologies to develop renewable sources of energy,
such as wind, geo-thermal and especially solar, should receive particular
attention. International co-operation should facilitate this process;
(h) International co-operation should aim at the creation of a regime
for the safe production and use of nuclear energy, as well as the safe
handling of radioactive waste, taking into account, through appropriate
mechanisms including prior consultations, the interests and concerns of
countries that have decided not to produce nuclear energy, in particular
concerns regarding the siting of nuclear plants close to their borders. This
regime should extend globally to encompass observance of comparable standards
and procedures on management of reactors and the sharing of information and
technology for nuclear safety. The Convention on Early Notification of a
Nuclear Accident and the Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear
Accident or Radiological Emergency should be complemented by bilateral and
subregional agreements and should also lead to technical co-operation among
countries on environmental management of nuclear energy.
D. Industry
1. Issue and outlook
36. Issue: Industrial development brings obvious benefits, but it
frequently entails damage to the environment and to human health. The main
negative impacts are: wasteful use and depletion of scarce natural resources;
air, water and soil pollution; congestion, noise and squalor; accumulation of
hazardous wastes; and accidents with significant environmental consequences.
Industrialization patterns and the consequent exploitation of natural
resources and environmental degradation have been markedly unbalanced. The
prospect for accelerated, yet environmentally sound world industrial
development, is slim in the absence of concerted international action.
37. Outlook: Although some efforts to deal with environmental problems of
industry have been made, negative impacts will grow in magnitude if not
addressed methodically now. A promising trend is the steadily growing
awareness of industrial environmental risks throughout the world. While this
awareness increasingly informs and influences public policy, environmental
knowledge remains as yet markedly uneven. In the absence of mechanisms for
the unhindered sharing of environmental knowledge, Governments and industry
may import hazardous materials and allow establishment of processes discarded
elsewhere. Inadequate knowledge at the grassroots level of changes in the
environment, and of their causes as well as economic implications, impedes
participation of the concerned people in decision-making on siting of
industrial plants and choice of industrial technology.
38. Natural resources have been used wastefully in industry. Recently, a
number of countries have made significant progress in developing and adopting
low-waste and clean industrial technologies and in recovering as well as
recycling scarce industrial raw materials. New materials and processing
technologies have made it possible to save raw materials and energy resources
and to reduce environmental stress. Nevertheless, in many countries
resource-intensive processes persist in the absence of suitable policies and
access to proper technology.
39. Uncontrolled industrial practices have led to unacceptably high levels
of harmful or toxic substances in the air, the pollution of rivers, lakes,
coastal waters and soil, the destruction of forests, and the accumulation of
carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases which threaten to cause climatic
changes, including a global warming of the atmosphere. Sea levels may rise
considerably as a result. Industrial production and emission of
chlorofluorocarbons threaten a significant depletion of the ozone layer,
leading to increased ultraviolet radiation.
40. Recently, there has been an increase in the seriousness of industrial
accidents, particularly in the chemicals industry. Even in the developed
countries, the state of preparedness to meet such contingencies has been
inadequate. Also, frameworks for international co-operation in such
situations have been lacking. A crucial problem has been the lack of timely
warning and of full sharing of information on the nature and magnitude of the
hazards at local and regional levels.
41. With industrial growth and spread, the transport, storage and disposal
of chemical, toxic and radioactive wastes will pose an increasingly serious
challenge. The "polluter pays principle" has been applied with good results
in some countries, but in many others it is still not applied at all, so that
the source of environmental damage often is not held accountable for the harm
caused. In the pursuit of rapid industrialization, some polluting industries
may be relocated from other countries. As many developing countries do not
possess the technical or institutional capability to analyse or monitor
environmental implications of industrial processes, products or wastes, they
are vulnerable to industrial environmental damage.
42. Many developed countries have successfully applied technology, policies
and institutional and legislative frameworks to deal with industrial
pollution. Several have succeeded in innovating or applying low-waste or
clean technologies. The Industry and Environment Office of the United Nations
Environment Programme has produced publications with extensive and detailed
information on environmentally sound technologies in specific industries.
Thus, although environmental hazards of industrial processes, products and
wastes persist, there is available considerable experience, expertise and
technology to prevent industrial accidents and implement environmentally
responsible practices.
43. Technical innovation has opened up promising opportunities for achieving
mutually supportive economic and environmental objectives. Properly guided
technology can transform patterns of industrialization and improve the
international division of labour. Innovation in micro-electronics and
opto-electronics has revolutionized information and communications industries
and could lead to geographical dispersal of industry. These innovations hold
promise for developing countries suffering from the twin problems of excessive
industrial concentration in urban areas and relative neglect of rural areas.
44. In the decades ahead, the developing countries will depend more and more
on industry, including processing of their own raw materials, for incomes and
employment. In contrast, in some developed countries, the pattern of industry
is changing in the direction of knowledge-intensive, energy-saving, and
materials-saving activities. Moreover, leisure and service industries have
begun to play a significant part in this change.
45. Countries have been coming together to forge agreements on preventive
measures to contain global, regional and transfrontier environmental impacts
of industrial products and processes. Examples of this encouraging trend
include: conventions and protocols for the control of land-based sources of
marine pollution within the frameworks of various regional seas programmes;
the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer and the evolving
international consensus on the control of emission of chlorofluorocarbons; the
Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution and its Co-operative
Programme for the Monitoring and Evaluation of Long-range Transmission of Air
Pollutants in Europe; and the Cairo Guidelines and Principles for the
Environmentally Sound Management of Hazardous Wastes, sponsored by the
United Nations Environment Programme. Such international co-operation can
extend into many areas of industrial environmental management and many
geographical regions. Moreover, industry itself, following the World Industry
Conference on Environmental Management convened in 1984 by the United Nations
Environment Programme, is increasingly ready to undertake environmental
responsibilities.
2. Goal and recommended action
46. Goal: Sustained improvements in levels of living in all countries,
especially the developing countries, through industrial development that
prevents or minimizes environmental damage and risks.
47. Recommended action:
(a) Governments should implement policies to assist in the transition of
economies characterized by the wasteful use of natural resources and raw
materials and dependence on their export, to environmentally sound industrial
development. National efforts to plan and implement environmentally sound
industrial policies should be intensified. Governments should introduce
incentive schemes to help establish facilities for recovery and recycling of
scarce raw materials. The transfer of industrial technology and skills from
developed to developing countries to arrest environmental degradation
associated with industry should be internationally supported. The United
Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Environment Programme, the
Economic Commission for Europe, and the United Nations Industrial Development
Organization should intensify efforts in this direction;
(b) Governments should introduce programmes to monitor air, soil, fresh
water and coastal pollution from industrial emissions and effluents, and
hazardous industrial activities, where such programmes do not already exist;
(c) Governments should establish and enforce environmental standards,
and should provide fiscal and other incentives to industry for the
retro-fitting of equipment for pollution control. They should also ensure
penalties for non-compliance, in conformity with the "polluter pays
principle". International organizations should co-operate with Governments in
establishing global or regional standards;
(d) Governments should require periodic reports by industries on
measures implemented to protect and improve the environment, especially those
industries involving high environmental and health risks;
(e) Industrial enterprises should carry out environmental impact and
social cost-benefit analyses prior to the siting and design of industrial
plants. Governments should ensure that such analyses are carried out and made
public. Governmental policies should facilitate the location of industries in
areas which would relieve urban congestion and encourage rural development.
Industries which use each others' products and wastes should be located near
each other;
(f) Governments and industrial enterprises should be receptive to the
views of citizen groups, community associations, labour organizations and
professional and scientific bodies in arriving at and implementing decisions
on industrial siting, design and technologies to meet the environmental,
economic and social needs of the people;
(g) Chambers of commerce and federations of industry should collaborate
actively in implementing emissions standards and pollution control measures.
They should establish mechanisms to bridge the gap in environmental management
knowledge and capabilities among their members. Such co-operation should also
be encouraged among small-scale producers;
(h) Transnational corporations should comply with the environmental
legislation of the host country, while respecting similar legislation of the
home country. Legislation could include requirements for public environmental
audits of the activities of transnational corporations and local enterprises.
In accordance with proposed international codes of conduct, transnational
corporations should establish progressively in the host countries the skills
and technological capabilities needed for environmentally sound management of
industry, even in the absence of legislation on desirable environmental
standards;
(i) International industrial collaboration, like national industry,
should be subjected to environmental impact assessments;
(j) Countries, especially developing countries, should, as a matter of
urgency, design and implement research, training and manpower-planning
programmes to strengthen the management of hazardous industrial processes and
wastes;
(k) International organizations, including the United Nations
Development Programme, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization,
the World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations, the World Meteorological Organization and the International
Labour Organisation, and intergovernmental organizations, such as the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and the Council for
Mutual Economic Assistance, should ensure that their programmes will
progressively strengthen the capacities of the developing countries for
designing and implementing industrial operations along environmentally sound
lines. They should also assist in establishing or strengthening information
services on environmental and health implications of industrial processes,
products and wastes. In addition, access of the developing countries to
information and data on environmentally benign technologies should be
promoted, including risk management techniques;
(l) International co-operation for the monitoring of the accumulation of
carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases and of their impacts on climate and
sea levels must be strengthened to encompass both the conclusion of
international agreements and the formulation of industrial strategies to
mitigate the environmental, economic, and social impacts of potential
changes. Intergovernmental negotiations, based on the Vienna Convention for
the Protection of the Ozone Layer, should lead to agreements on the reduction
of ozone-depleting substances;
(m) Within the framework of their existing legal and technical
activities, United Nations organizations, especially the United Nations
Environment Programme, in closer co-operation with regional organizations,
should progressively establish international agreements and monitoring
mechanisms to deal with spills and other industrial accidents, particularly
chemical; to control the transportation, storage, management and disposal of
hazardous industrial wastes; and to settle disputes involving damages and
claims for compensation. United Nations and regional organizations should
encourage Governments to extend the "polluter pays principle" to transboundary
problems;
(n) The International Register of Potentially Toxic Chemicals programme
of the United Nations Environment Programme should maintain and improve its
assistance to Governments in assessing whether producing, marketing,
distributing or disposing of any industrial substances, including chemicals
and wastes, are potentially damaging to health and environment.
E. Health and human settlements
1. Issue and outlook
48. Issue: Despite considerable advances in dealing with problems of health
and human settlements, the environmental basis for further improving the
situation is deteriorating. Inadequate shelter and basic amenities, rural
underdevelopment, overcrowded cities and urban decay, lack of access to clean
water, poor sanitation and other environmental deficiencies continue to cause
widespread disease and death, ill-health and intolerable living conditions in
many parts of the world. Poverty, malnutrition and ignorance compound these
problems.
49. Outlook: Human ability to prevent disease has grown greatly over the
last few decades, mainly owing to scientific achievements and better access to
sanitation, clean water and safe waste disposal. In many developed countries
better living conditions have helped prevent disease and have enhanced average
life expectations. In the developing countries, however, achievements have
lagged behind what is technically feasible.
50. More than 4 million children under the age of five die of diarrhoea in
the developing countries annually. Even when it does not cause death,
diarrhoea saps vitality and stops physical and mental growth. Malaria is
another water-borne disease which infects about 100 million annually. Typhoid
and cholera are similarly endemic in the developing countries. Bilharzia and
river blindness are other common diseases caused by mismanagement of water.
Sleeping sickness, caused by the tsetse fly, effectively denies the use of
vast tracts of land in Africa for pastoral or settlements development. The
burning of coal, oil, wood, dung and agricultural wastes build up dangerous
concentrations of toxic gases in houses and factories, and chronic heart and
lung diseases, bronchitis, emphysema and asthma are the result.
51. In warm, humid countries where storage is inadequate, aflatoxins in food
cause liver cancer. On the other hand, over-use of fertilizer has caused
excessive nitrate levels in ground water, endangering children's health, and
nitrate run-offs have led to eutrophication of surface waters and
contamination of shellfish. Phosphates in fertilizer have caused high
concentrations of cadmium in food. Further, pesticides, herbicides and
fungicides pose a direct threat to health in the rural areas when their use is
not properly guided. Over-use of pesticides has also led to high levels of
pesticide residue in food.
52. About a billion people do not have adequate shelter, and millions
practically live on the streets. By the year 2000, about 2 billion people, or
40 per cent of the developing countries' population, will live in cities and
towns, thereby putting pressure on city planners and Governments. Most
developing countries already do not have the resources required to provide
housing and services to the people who need them. The influx of refugees in
some developing countries has exacerbated health, shelter and environmental
conditions. Also, where rural settlements are widely dispersed, health,
housing and infrastructural services become practically unattainable.
53. About one third of all city and town dwellers in the developing
countries live in slums and shanties, with no help or infrastructural support
whatever, and often under adverse conditions. The inexorable trend towards
urbanization will ensure that by the year 2000, 15 of the world's 20 largest
urban metropolitan areas will be in the developing countries. Simultaneously,
rural environmental degradation reinforces migration to urban areas even when
people are unable to earn incomes high enough to ensure decent housing and
there is no prospect of meeting their infrastructural needs.
54. There are three main environmental aspects of urbanization:
characteristics of the dwelling - living space, ventilation, sanitation, water
supply, waste disposal, recreation space, domestic energy; ambient
environmental situation - air pollution, water pollution, environmental risks
and hazards, noise, stress and crime; and environment of the area surrounding
the urban centres - deforestation, soil erosion, changes in micro-climate.
Between a quarter and a half of all urban residents in the developing
countries live in unhealthy and degraded dwellings. Consequently, diarrhoea,
dysentery and typhoid are common, and there are periodic outbreaks of cholera
and hepatitis. Tuberculosis and other respiratory diseases spread easily in
ill-ventilated, damp and crowded surroundings.
55. Excessive concentrations of industry and commerce in a few urban centres
often reflect a dualistic development pattern, implying a relative neglect of
rural and agricultural development. Concentrations of people, settlements and
income and employment opportunities often become mutually reinforcing in such
a situation. People continue to migrate to the urban areas even if their
expected incomes are not high enough to ensure decent housing, or there is no
prospect of their infrastructural needs being met. Thus, the problems of safe
disposal of toxic and hazardous wastes, control of air and water pollution,
collection and disposal of domestic wastes and provision of clean drinking
water assume gigantic proportions, requiring enormous finance and great
organizational and technical capabilities. Photochemical smog, oxides of
nitrogen and sulphur, hydrocarbons, lead, mercury, cadmium poisoning, carbon
monoxide, polychlorinated biphenyls, asbestos and other particulate matter
along with the respiratory and gastroenteritic diseases and malnutrition,
cause serious damage to public health. The consequent stress of living in
such conditions contributes to social tensions and outbreaks of violence and
unrest. When industrial accidents or natural disasters occur, loss of life
and human suffering follow on a large scale because of the congestion, lack of
organizational and technical capacities and vulnerability.
56. Heavy urban concentrations have also placed excessive demands on natural
resources and polluted and degraded surrounding areas. High land prices have
caused good agricultural land to be used for construction and speculation.
Urban firewood demand has led to widespread deforestation, soil erosion and
even changes in micro-climate.
57. The congestion of settlements near factories multiplies the health risks
of chemicals production in the developing countries. The accumulation of
toxic wastes and their inappropriate disposal similarly endanger the health of
millions. Awareness of the risks to human health posed by environmental
contamination has increased greatly. Such risks arise partly through an
absence of environmental regulation and management capability. Most developed
countries have succeeded in reducing environmental pollution and its risks and
impacts. International co-operation has also progressed on several fronts:
national programmes launched under the International Drinking Water Supply and
Sanitation Decade, the World Health Organization/United Nations Children's
Fund Programme on Primary Health Care, the Onchocerciasis Control Programme in
Africa in the Volta River basin, the United Nations Environment
Programme/World Health Organization/International Labour Organisation
International Programme on Chemical Safety, the dissemination of information
on chemicals of environmental concern through the International Register of
Potentially Toxic Chemicals of the United Nations Environment Programme, the
International Code of Conduct on the Distribution and Use of Pesticides of the
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and its accompanying
technical guidelines, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations/United Nations Environment Programme Panel of Experts on Integrated
Pest Control, the United Nations Development Programme/World Bank/World Health
Organization Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases,
the World Health Organization/Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations/United Nations Environment Programme Panel of Experts on Environmental
Management of Disease Vector Control, the specification of radiation dose
limits by the International Commission on Radiological Protection, and the two
recent international Conventions adopted under the auspices of the
International Atomic Energy Agency on exchange of information and assistance
in the event of a nuclear accident, are some examples.
2. Goal and recommended action
58. Goal: The provision of improved shelter with access to essential
amenities in a clean and secure setting conducive to health and to the
prevention of environment-related diseases, which would, at the same time,
alleviate serious environmental degradation.
59. Recommended action:
(a) Governments should make health and settlements development an
integral part of environmental management of natural resources and
geographically-balanced development. They should address systematically the
issue of equity in development to ensure provision of basic health, housing
and amenities for their people;
(b) International co-operation should be intensified in the field of
scientific research to deal with the environmental conditions underlying
tropical diseases;
(c) Rural development, including natural resources management and
provision of drinking water and sanitation, should receive systematic
attention in public policies. Governments should design and implement, with
the participation of the communities concerned, integrated programmes to
improve water supply and management, sanitation and waste disposal;
(d) Governments should set targets at national, provincial and district
levels for such priority areas as housing, access to clean water and
sanitation, and control of air pollution in urban areas;
(e) To reduce adverse environmental impacts of transportation,
especially in highly populated areas, Governments should give priority to
facilitating commuting between residential and working areas, enforcing
emission standards for vehicles, encouraging fuel efficiency and improving
traffic management policies and urban planning;
(f) Intermediate-sized towns should receive particular attention in
programmes of industrial and settlement development;
(g) Governments should create an "enabling environment", in which the
creativity and resources of people are mobilized to improve the health
conditions, shelter and environmental information at local levels. This
should include collection and disposal of domestic, agricultural and human
wastes, land use planning, area development and self-help construction.
Efforts should be made to encourage the participation of the private sector
and non-governmental organizations;
(h) Industrial, agricultural, energy, irrigation and land development
and resettlement projects should include a component which addresses
environmental and health impacts, including risk assessment, which, in turn,
should be influential in guiding the location, scale and choice of technology
for the projects. Regulations should be established to prevent settlements
development in high environmental-risk areas, such as those proximate to
chemical or nuclear plants. Responsibility for enforcing such regulations
should be shared with the private sector;
(i) Primary and occupational education should include information on the
environment. The mass media should regularly make available information and
know-how to enable people to improve sanitation, waste disposal and drinking
water quality. Deterrents and incentives should be introduced at local levels
to encourage people to keep their immediate environment healthy;
(j) Scientific research should be geared to the immediate improvement of
the health and environmental situation of degraded settlements. Technologies
for the safe disposal of wastes with minimum use of water in arid and
semi-arid areas, improvement of water quality, reuse of waste water, and
harvesting of rain should be developed. The United Nations Centre for Human
Settlements (Habitat), the World Health Organization and the United Nations
Children's Fund should intensify efforts to promote the application of such
technologies in the developing countries;
(k) Urban planning should receive priority attention, together with the
rational management of natural resources. Staffing, finance and
organizational efforts should reflect the high priority given to this issue.
Urban centres should systematically provide areas to meet the needs of various
income categories, for industry, business, recreation and open spaces.
Technical co-operation in this field has to expand greatly under the
leadership of the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat);
(1) Countries hosting a large number of refugees should receive more
international assistance through the Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees and other bodies to improve environmental conditions
of refugee settlements.
F. International economic relations
1. Issue and outlook
60. Issue: Inequalities in international economic relations, coupled with
inappropriate economic policies in many developed and developing countries
alike, continue to affect adversely sustainable development and cause
environmental degradation. Deteriorating terms of trade, chronic trade
deficits, which are partly caused by growing protectionism, heavy debt-service
payments, and inadequate financial flows have made it very difficult to
allocate resources to environmental protection and improvement, particularly
in developing countries. Specific problems include: insufficient
consideration of environmental impacts in development co-operation;
insufficient control of trade in scarce natural resources and hazardous
substances; and transnational investment and transfer of technology without
adequate observance of environmental standards or information on environmental
management.
61. Outlook: Awareness of the environmental aspects of international
economic relations has increased, but it has not yet found adequate expression
in institutional practices and national policies.
62. Development co-operation projects have not helped build significantly
national capabilities to avert environmental disasters. The environmental
damage resulting from the execution of some large-scale projects is now better
understood than in the past. There is also a growing awareness of the need
for additional resources to rehabilitate degraded environments.
63. Long-term declines in commodity prices, coupled with their inequity and
instability, have adversely affected environmental management of natural
resources. Furthermore, these prices do not fully reflect the environmental
costs of depletion of the resource base. Good quality land, fishing areas and
other natural resources are being overworked, and tropical forests are being
encroached upon in order to achieve additional income. The substitution of
export crops in place of subsistence crops has displaced small farmers and
pastoralists from good quality land and has led to excessive pressures on
marginal land and natural resources.
64. There is a growing awareness of the hazards associated with trade in
chemicals, pesticides and some other products, but international practices for
controlling the transport of hazardous chemical goods do not yet provide for a
systematic consideration of the environment.
65. Mounting debt burdens, repayment obligations, austerity measures and
reductions in financial flows to developing countries have endangered and, in
some cases, blocked sustainable development, and this had had negative
economic, environmental and social impacts.
66. Recent years have seen a sharp worsening of the international economic
situation. Its impact has been particularly severe on developing countries.
Lack of economic growth in developing countries could have devastating
consequences.
2. Goal and recommended action
67. Goal: The establishment of an equitable system of international
economic relations aimed at achieving continuing economic advancement for all
States, based on principles recognized by the international community, in
order to stimulate and sustain environmentally sound development, especially
in developing countries.
68. Recommended action:
(a) In the ongoing search for concerted action to deal with
international economic problems, the urgent need to improve the world
environmental situation and to ensure a solid environmental foundation for
sustainable development has to be recognized. Correcting the deteriorating
terms of trade and stabilizing international commodity prices at equitable
levels, through international commodity agreements such as the Integrated
Programme on Commodities, in conjunction with appropriate environmental
management practices in the producing countries, should play an important role
in this regard;
(b) Especially in situations of environmental stress, development
co-operation should aim at long-term improvement of natural resource
productivity and environmental health. Projects that focus on the alleviation
of poverty and improve the environment should receive greater attention in
development co-operation. Such co-operation has to increase substantially,
keeping in view the growing need for environmental rehabilitation;
(c) Development co-operation institutions should increase significantly
their assistance to the developing countries for environmental restoration,
protection and improvement;
(d) Country programmes and policy papers prepared by multilateral and
bilateral development co-operation institutions for allocation of aid
resources should provide for analyses of the environmental needs of recipient
countries, with particular focus on major problems, such as
desertification, deforestation and pollution. Developing countries
should be assisted where necessary in preparing environmental
accounting and relating it to the reporting on national economic
well-being;
(e) The system of appraising development co-operation projects should
provide for assessments of environmental and socio-economic impacts of
alternative designs and locations. Area development programmes, in
particular, should seek to establish mutual support between environmental and
socio-economic objectives. Development co-operation institutions should train
their staff according to these objectives;
(f) Trade in hazardous industrial products, such as toxic chemicals and
pesticides, and in some other products, such as pharmaceuticals, should be
subjected to regulations to ensure sharing by the contracting parties,
Governments and consumers of information on their environmental and health
implications and on methods for their safe use and disposal. Labelling of
products should be in local languages. Governments of the exporting as well
as the importing countries should collaborate in this regard. They should
also agree on the selection of chemicals for priority testing;
(g) International trade and commodity agreements should provide
environmental safeguards, where applicable. They should also encourage
producers to take a long-term view and provide for assistance for
diversification programmes, where appropriate. Governments should study the
environmental impacts of their trade practices and make the findings available
to their agencies responsible for trade negotiations, which should take them
into account. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade should develop and apply effective
policies and instruments to integrate environment and development
considerations in international trade;
(h) Environmentally related regulations and standards should not be used
for protectionist purposes. The International Trade Centre should assist
countries to meet such requirements. The United Nations Conference on Trade
and Development should make available information on such regulations and
standards as they apply to commodities and manufactured products;
(i) Host Governments should institute policies and regulations to ensure
sound environmental management of transnational investments. In agreements on
transnational, including corporate, investments, Governments, through
appropriate controls, should ensure that information and technology on
environmental management will be provided specifying the responsibilities of
the parties concerned. In accordance with proposed code of conduct on
transnational corporations of the Commission on Transnational Corporations,
transnational corporations should implement programmes in the host countries
to minimize the environmental hazards of their activities. These programmes
should include training of personnel. The United Nations Centre on
Transnational Corporations should play a role in facilitating this process;
(j) The transfer of clean, low-waste and pollution control technologies
should be promoted through international co-operation. The possibility of
making such technologies available at concessional prices to the countries in
need should be explored. Governments of recipient countries should establish
procedures for ascertaining the environmental implications of imported
technologies;
(k) International financial institutions, while dealing with questions
of structural adjustment in developing countries and world economic reform,
should link short-term financial stabilization to sustainable development.
III. OTHER ISSUES OF GLOBAL CONCERN
69. This section discusses briefly the major environmental issues of global
concern that have not been adequately dealt with in previous sections.
A. Oceans and seas
70. Oceans and seas are being polluted extensively. The rising pollution
levels and degradation of coastal ecosystems threaten the life-support
capacities of oceans and seas and undermine their role in the food chain.
Efforts to monitor the state of oceans and seas, including those of the United
Nations Environment Programme and other international organizations, confirm
that there is cause for concern. This problem is particularly serious for
coastal waters and semi-enclosed seas that border highly populated and
industrialized zones. The situation will get much worse unless concerted
action is undertaken now. The ongoing monitoring effort is far from
comprehensive and, where it has advanced, it has not yet led to adequate
change in the practices causing environmental damage.
71. The challenge is to control and decrease marine pollution, and establish
or strengthen regimes of environmental management of oceans and seas through
international co-operation and national action.
72. A comprehensive data base should be established over time on which
action programmes to restore and preserve the environmental balance in the
world's oceans and seas can be based. Among others, the Global Environmental
Monitoring System, Global Resource Information Data Base and the oceans and
coastal areas programmes of the United Nations Environment Programme should
intensify efforts towards this end.
73. Conventions and agreements to monitor and manage human activities with a
view to ensuring environmental protection of the seas and oceans should be
ratified and implemented by all concerned countries. Where such legal
instruments do not exist, they should be negotiated. Governments should
strengthen or introduce policies and measures aimed at preventing practices
harmful to marine ecosystems and ensuring environmentally sound development of
inland areas. Such policies and measures should include control of the
discharge of industrial effluents and sewage, dumping of wastes, including
hazardous and radioactive materials, disposal of hazardous residues and
operational wastes from ships, incineration at sea, and oil spills from
tankers and off-shore platforms. Environmentally sound land-based technology
for the disposal of hazardous wastes should be developed and promoted. The
United Nations Environment Programme should continue to collaborate in this
work with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, the International
Maritime Organization, and other appropriate international organizations.
B. Outer space
74. Outer space has now become a recognized area of human activity. As
activity in this area develops over the coming decades, sound management of
outer space will become increasingly important. To this end, international
co-operation exclusively for the peaceful use of outer space is essential,
especially on the part of those countries that now have the capacity to
undertake outer space activities.
75. All countries, in particular those with a major capacity to exploit the
benefits of outer space, should create conditions, including specifically the
maintenance of its non-militarization, for broad international co-operation in
the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes. This should
include the use of space technology to monitor the Earth's environment. The
benefits of the peaceful use of outer space, including weather forecasting,
remote sensing and medical benefits, should be made readily available to the
world community, particularly through assistance to the developing countries.
C. Biological diversity
76. Traditional crop and livestock species are giving way to high-yielding
varieties and breeds. As the genetic base of plants, animals and
micro-organisms becomes narrower, some genetic material is being irretrievably
lost at such a rate that the world could lose one tenth to one fifth of its 5
to 10 million species by the year 2000.
77. Over 100 countries are collaborating in the global programme
co-ordinated by the International Board for Plant Genetic Resources for
conserving crop genetic resources, and the global gene banks network contains
over 1 million samples of crop germ plasm. Yet, in many countries, national
efforts for conservation are still ill-organized and under-financed, and often
do not attend systematically to the components of planning, training,
education and research. International co-operation and technical assistance
in this field should be further developed.
78. An international network of protected areas for conserving animal and
plant genetic resources, encompassing about 10 per cent of the world's land
area, should be established to reverse the trend towards depletion of
species. Management plans for conserving ecosystems as reservoirs of species
diversity have to be prepared.
79. Efforts to conserve crop genetic resources and the global data banks
network have to be extended to cover adequately germ plasm with economic
potential for providing food, fodder, fibres, waxes, oils, gums, medicines,
energy and insecticides. In situ and ex situ components of conservation have
to develop in a complementary manner in the light of the interdependence of
nature conservation and genetic diversity.
80. Mechanisms should be established to provide information on rates of
exploitation of genetic resources to facilitate selection of those to be
conserved.
81. The gap between conservation of species and economic access to them
should be bridged through maximum international co-operation. Agreements
involving rights of possession of and access to genetic material, including
research results, should facilitate such co-operation. Conserved genetic
resources should be regarded as a common interest of mankind.
D. Security and environment
82. The accumulation and deployment of weapons of war and destruction
present very grave risks to the environment. The use of weapons of mass
destruction, including nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, could bring
about far-reaching, even irreversible, changes in the global environment.
83. The development and stockpiling of nuclear arms and delivery systems at
current levels have made the human race technically capable of putting an end
to its own existence. In addition, the growing capacity of some States to
undertake deliberate manipulation of the environment represents an immense
potential danger. If the material, financial and intellectual resources
devoted to armaments were to be used to solve problems such as those of the
human environment, food security and shelter, prospects for sustainable
development would be considerably enhanced.
84. The World Charter for Nature proclaims that "Nature shall be secured
against degradation caused by warfare or other hostile activities". A
comprehensive system of international security is essential in order to ensure
that this declaration is implemented.
85. Progressive disarmament through detente, negotiation, and avoidance of
the use of force as a means of resolving conflicts should be pursued to
minimize the environmental risks associated with armed conflicts. Governments
should continue to pursue, in relevant negotiating forums, efforts to ban
weapons that have the effect of modifying the environment.
86. One of the roles of the United Nations Environment Programme is to
promote environmentally sound development in harmony with peace and security,
and towards this end, issues of disarmament and security, in so far as they
relate to the environment, should continue to receive appropriate attention.
IV. INSTRUMENTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION
87. Sections I, II and III above largely sought to indicate how to deal
effectively with environmental problems by addressing their policy sources.
However, such actions need to be reinforced by the performance of certain
overarching functions. This section deals with those functions.
A. Assessment
88. Environmental rehabilitation and management depend upon the availability
of organized information on the state of the environment, its trends, and
their relationship to social and economic factors. Decisions, however,
continue to be made in ignorance of the changing state of the environment and
its implications for human well-being. It is essential, therefore, that
reliable environmental information, obtained and analysed using modern
technology, is made available to planners and managers in a usable form. Most
developing countries face the constraint of lack of access to modern
technology and to the necessary expertise to collect and interpret
environmental data.
89. Environmental and resource data are being collected at global and
regional levels by the United Nations and international organizations working
with Governments. Additional data also exist at the national level, although
often in a fragmented form. The institutional mechanisms needed to relate
such data sets to each other and to analyse them in the context of existing
practices and policies are often lacking. Governments and intergovernmental
organizations at the regional level should intensify efforts to collect and
analyse data, especially data relating to common environmental problems.
90. The United Nations Environment Programme, working through the United
Nations system, co-ordinates the collection, monitoring and assessment of
selected environmental variables and distributes this information worldwide
through: the Global Environmental Monitoring System, encompassing the
monitoring and assessment systems relating to climate, health and natural
resources and the Global Resource Information Data Base; data bases and
systems for the conservation and management of genetic resources; the
International Register of Potentially Toxic Chemicals, which operates a global
information exchange network to provide information and data on chemicals and
their effects on health and environment through a query-response service and
evaluations of the effects of chemicals on the environment; INFOTERRA, the
International Referral System for sources of environmental information; and
the state of the environment reports of the United Nations Environment
Programme, which address major issues of topical environmental concern.
91. Through improved collection and analysis of data and its wide
distribution to potential users, which should be a service to countries as
well as international organizations, the United Nations Environment Programme
should become, and come to be accepted as, a leading authority in
environmental assessment.
92. Countries, particularly developing countries, should be assisted,
through international co-operation on environmental assessment, with the
participation of the United Nations system and with the United Nations
Environment Programme playing a leading role, in establishing effective
national monitoring systems, geographic information systems and assessment
capabilities, and improving data compatibility. In order for this to take
place, technical co-operation among countries regionally and globally has to
increase significantly.
93. Notable environmental assessments have been carried out recently and
related to socio-economic factors by non-governmental organizations in some
countries. These have helped expand awareness and stimulate action to protect
and improve the environment. Governments should encourage such efforts.
B. Planning
94. Environmental planning should provide a conceptual, methodological and
institutional framework within which to internalize progressively the
consideration of the environment in development decision-making. Every
country should define its national environmental objectives and make them part
of its plans for socio-economic development. Just as each country sets
targets for sectoral growth, it should set time-bound targets in respect of
environmental resources and indicators of major concern. Plans and policies
at sub-national levels should also provide for the simultaneous pursuit of the
specified environmental and development objectives.
95. Governments should establish mechanisms and procedures to facilitate
interdepartmental co-ordination of policies and unified direction for
integrating environmental concerns in development planning. Use of analytical
methods to ascertain the environmental and socio-economic implications of
alternative courses of action should inform decisions on projects and
programmes. It should also help resolve conflicts of interest among
departments, among population groups and among regions.
96. The allocation of investment resources of a national plan among regions
and sectors has to reflect a sensitivity to environmental constraints and
objectives. This should be facilitated by periodic analyses of the
socio-economic significance of the changing state of natural resources and the
environment at national and provincial levels. Efforts should also be made to
prepare an accounting of the use of scarce natural resources, focusing
particularly on the country's major environmental problems, for example
desertification, and to relate it to the periodic reporting on national income
and well-being.
97. Sectoral ministries should be encouraged to apply environmental impact
assessments and social cost-benefit analyses in decision-making regarding
development projects and programmes. Taxation and economic policies should
encourage sectoral decisions that favour environmentally benign technologies
and locations, recycling and safe disposal of wastes and conservation of
natural resources, and should establish mutual support between environmental
and economic objectives. Land and water use plans should be prepared and
their implementation monitored. Already some countries have made progress in
planning at the district level to reflect environmental needs.
98. There have been advances in the analytical methods of environmental
impact and risk assessment, social benefit-cost analyses of environmental
measures, physical planning and environmental accounting. Theoretical work on
decision models with multiple objectives and constraints has also progressed.
The United Nations Environment Programme, the Scientific Committee on Problems
of the Environment and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development have played a useful role. This work should be strengthened so
that it will have a greater impact on decision-making.
99. Environmental action and economic planning remain insufficiently related
to each other in most countries. Efforts must be intensified at national and
international levels to promote the application of suitable methods,
procedures and institutional arrangements to make economic planning fully
responsive to environmental constraints and opportunities. The guiding role
of the United Nations Environment Programme in this field should include
technical assistance to the developing countries. Collaborative arrangements
should be made at the working level between the United Nations Environment
Programme, the United Nations Development Programme, the Department of
Technical Co-operation for Development of the United Nations Secretariat and
the World Bank. They should set up, or strengthen, units to conduct
environmental analyses of their projects and programmes and, in collaboration
with the United Nations Environment Programme, assist Governments in
systematically considering the environment in development planning.
C. Legislation and environmental law
100. Increasingly, environmental legislation has been providing practical
frameworks at the national level for implementing environmental standards and
regulating the activities of enterprises and people in the light of
environmental objectives. At the international level, conventions, protocols
and agreements have been providing a basis for co-operation among countries at
bilateral, regional and global levels for the management of environmental
risks, control of pollution and conservation of natural resources.
101. There is a need to expand the number of accessions to and ratifications
of these conventions and to institute mechanisms at the national level to
ensure their application. The present momentum should be maintained of
concluding conventions in fields such as hazards relating to chemicals,
treatment and international transport of hazardous wastes, industrial
accidents, climate change, protection of the ozone layer, protection of the
marine environment from pollution from land-based sources and protection of
biological diversity, in which the United Nations Environment Programme has
been playing an active part.
102. Groundwork has been prepared over the last 15 years under the aegis of
the United Nations Environment Programme to establish legal frameworks to
manage regional seas. Governments should intensify their efforts to implement
legislative measures and other policies at national levels so that the policy
sources of the environmental problems of the regional seas are effectively
tackled. Increasingly, environmental management of rivers, lakes and forests
has been posing a challenge to international co-operation. Governments, with
the collaboration of the Programme and concerned international organizations,
should accelerate action to establish legal regimes at international and
national levels to improve significantly the environmental management of
rivers, lakes and forests. The new programme for environmental management of
freshwater systems, sponsored by the United Nations Environment Programme, is
a promising start.
103. The Montevideo Programme for the Development and Periodic Review of
Environmental Law, prepared under the auspices of the United Nations
Environment Programme, should be implemented fully. Development of
international environmental law should continue, with a view to providing a
strong basis for fostering co-operation among countries. The progressive
emergence of general environmental norms and principles and the codification
of existing agreements could lead to a global convention on protection and
enhancement of the environment.
104. Governments should settle their environmental disputes by peaceful
means, making use of existing and emerging agreements and conventions. The
International Court of Justice, the International Court of Arbitration and
regional mechanisms should facilitate peaceful settlement of environmental
disputes.
D. Awareness building and training
105. The participation of people in environmental protection and improvement
depends upon their being aware of the environmental problems and
possibilities, of how the changing state of the environment affects their
well-being, and how their lifestyles affect the environment. People's
effectiveness in dealing with environmental problems depends upon their
technical and organizational capabilities to design and implement the needed
measures.
106. Since the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, held at
Stockholm in 1972, awareness of the interrelationship between human activities
and the environment has steadily grown. Voluntary action groups at the
community level, national and global non-governmental organizations,
scientific bodies, schools and universities, mass media and Governments all
have played a part in this process. Also the United Nations Environment
Programme, through its programme and through its information activities, has
helped build environmental awareness.
107. In a large number of developing countries, knowledge of proper
environmental management practices still does not reach millions who suffer as
a result of environmental degradation. People are the most valuable resource
in development, but in order for them to participate constructively in
accelerating and sustaining development, environmental information must be
made available in languages they understand and in a form that can help them
relate it easily to their own situation. Governments should intensify efforts
to make this possible. Non-governmental organizations, with appropriate
support from the United Nations Environment Programme, should play an
increasingly active role in this field, especially by way of provision of
requisite materials.
108. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, in
collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme should ensure
systematic coverage of environmental education needs at all levels of
schooling, especially in the developing countries. They should also prepare
and promote course materials which would include environmental components in
professional training given to selected occupational groups, for example,
engineers, builders, foresters, farm extension workers and managers. Training
in analysing environmental considerations in relation to economic and other
goals also has to receive growing attention. Governments should make
environmental education and training an integral part of their education and
communication policies and programmes.
109. International support for the training of personnel in environmental
assessment and management, especially in the developing countries, has grown
steadily. It is essential, however, to ensure that the content and modality
of such instruction is relevant to the needs of the countries where it is
intended that the skills be applied. International co-operation and
governmental efforts should also help ensure a progressive strengthening of
institutional capabilities within the developing countries themselves to make
available such training.
E. Institutions
110. Consideration of the environment must be internalized in sectoral
policies and practices to ensure that environmental objectives are met and
sustainable development is achieved. Sectoral bodies should be made
accountable for such internalization. Existing environmental problems also
have to be dealt with through concerted action and allocation of resources.
This is true at both national and international levels.
111. At the national level, the mandates of sectoral ministries and other
governmental institutions should explicitly state their responsibility and
accountability for sustainable development and environmental protection within
their sectors. Their policies, functions, structures and budgetary
allocations should be consistent with this. As appropriate, the same should
apply at provincial and local levels. Authoritative mechanisms and procedures
are needed to oversee and ensure that national environmental objectives are
met throughout the Government. Governments should establish or strengthen
environmental ministries to stimulate, guide, support and monitor actions to
achieve these objectives. To this end, essential functions should include:
environmental assessment, planning and incentives, legislative and regulatory
advice, awareness-building and training, stimulation of research and
application of its results. Environmental ministries should also provide
leadership and co-ordination for direct action to deal with environmental
problems, including rehabilitation. Bilateral and multilateral institutions
and international organizations should assist developing countries in this
regard.
112. International institutions, both inside and outside of the United
Nations system, dealing with such areas as food and agriculture, health,
industry, energy, science, trade, finance and development assistance, should
reorient their policies and programmes to make steady progress towards
environmentally sound development.
113. These institutions should be accountable for integrating the objectives
of sustainable development into their policies, budgets and staffing
strategies. Governments should ensure, through consistent policy guidance to
these institutions, that their mandates and programmes meet this objective.
114. The governing bodies of all United Nations organizations should report
regularly to the General Assembly on the progress made in achieving the
objectives of sustainable development. Such reports should also be submitted
to the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme for that
body to provide comments on matters within its mandate to the General
Assembly. The Administrative Committee on Co-ordination, under the
chairmanship of the Secretary-General, should oversee effectively the
inclusion of the concept of sustainable development in all programmes of the
United Nations system, by reviewing and co-ordinating the efforts of all
organs, organizations and bodies of the United Nations system in this field,
and by including this in its reports to the General Assembly and the Governing
Council of the Programme.
115. The inter-agency mechanism of Designated Officials for Environmental
Matters should guide, support and monitor more effectively activities within
the United Nations system to ensure consistent policy.
116. In parallel with the institutional arrangements at the national level,
the United Nations Environment Programme should promote, guide, support and
monitor actions to achieve environmentally sound development and stimulate and
co-ordinate action to deal with environmental problems.
117. The major priorities and functions of the United Nations Environment
Programme should be:
(a) To provide leadership, advice and guidance in the United Nations
system on restoring, protecting, and improving the environmental basis for,
and in general act as a catalyst in the promotion of, sustainable development;
(b) To monitor, assess and report regularly on the state of the
environment and natural resources and emerging environmental issues;
(c) To support priority scientific and technological research on major
environmental and natural resource protection issues;
(d) To make available, in co-operation with other agencies where
appropriate, guidance for environmental management, including the development
of management techniques, criteria and indicators for environmental quality
standards and guidelines for the sustainable use and management of natural
resources;
(e) To initiate and support the programmes and activities worked out by
the developing countries for dealing with their serious environmental problems;
(f) To initiate and facilitate the development and, upon request, the
co-ordination of the implementation of action plans in the developing
countries for the management of ecosystems and critical environmental
problems. Such plans should be implemented and financed by the Governments
concerned with appropriate external assistance;
(g) To encourage and promote international agreements on critical
environmental issues and to support and facilitate the development of
international laws, conventions and co-operative arrangements for
environmental and natural resource conservation and protection;
(h) In co-operation with other concerned institutions, to establish and
strengthen the institutional and professional capacity of developing
countries, with a view to integrating environmental considerations into their
development policy and planning;
(i) To promote awareness of environmental matters through education and
the mass media;
(j) To co-operate with the United Nations Development Programme and
other United Nations agencies, the World Bank and regional development banks,
to strengthen the environmental dimensions of their programmes and technical
assistance projects, inter alia, through training and personnel secondments.
118. Specialized agencies, organizations and bodies of the United Nations
system should more speedily assume full operational and financial
responsibility for environmental programmes supported by the United Nations
Environment Programme in their sectors included in the system-wide medium-term
environment programme and the Environment Fund. The human and financial
resources which will become available to the United Nations Environment
Programme as a result should be concentrated on the priority areas listed
above.
119. Environmentally sound development cannot be assured solely by actions of
governmental, intergovernmental or international organizations. It requires
the participation of other entities, particularly industry, non-governmental
environmental and development organizations and the scientific community.
Non-governmental organizations have important contributions to make in various
areas, including environmental education and awareness, as well as design and
implementation of programmes at the grass-roots levels. The scientific
community should continue to play an important role in environmental research
and risk assessment and international scientific co-operation.
120. Regional and continental co-operative arrangements are being established
to deal with common environmental problems. For example, the first session of
the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment, held at Cairo in 1985,
adopted the Cairo Programme for African Co-operation and modalities to
implement it. Governments and development co-operation agencies should
support such institutional arrangements and programmes.
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Date last posted: 16 December 1999 13:50:10
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