Environment
“A point has been reached in history when we must shape our actions throughout the world with a more prudent care for their environmental consequences. Through ignorance or indifference we can do massive and irreversible harm to the earthly environment on which our life and well being depend. Conversely, through fuller knowledge and wiser action, we can achieve for ourselves and our posterity a better life in an environment more in keeping with human needs and hopes …"
“To defend and improve the human environment for present and future generations has become an imperative goal for mankind.”from the Declaration of the UN Conference on the Human Environment (Stockholm, 1972), para. 6
The environmental movement might be said to have begun centuries ago as a response to industrialization. In the nineteenth century, the British Romantic Poets extolled the beauties of nature, while American writer Henry David Thoreau praised the return to a simpler life, guided by the values implicit in nature. It was a dichotomy that continued well into the twentieth century.
In the aftermath of the Second World War, the rise of the nuclear age introduced fears of a new kind of pollution from deadly radiation. The environmental movement gained new momentum in 1962 with the publication of Rachel Carson’s book “The Silent Spring”, which warned about the agricultural use of synthetic chemical pesticides. A scientist and writer, Ms. Carson stressed the need to respect the ecosystem in which we live, in order to protect human health as well as the environment.
In 1969, the first, iconic photos of the Earth from outer space touched the hearts of humanity with Its simplicity and beauty. Seeing for the first time this “big blue marble” in an immense galaxy brought home to many that we live on One Earth — a fragile, interdependent ecosystem. And our responsibility to protect the health and well-being of that ecosystem began to dawn on the collective consciousness of the world.
With the ending of the tumultuous decade of the 1960s, its highest ideals and visions began to be translated into practical form. Among these was the environmental vision — now, quite literally, a global phenomenon. As universal concern about the healthy and sustainable use of the planet and its resources continued to grow, the UN, in 1972, convened the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, in Stockholm.
It was a landmark event, and its final Declaration contains 19 principles that represent an environmental manifesto for our times. In addressing the need “to inspire and guide the peoples of the world in the preservation and enhancement of the human environment”, it laid the groundwork for the new environmental agenda of the United Nations system.
Picking up on the energy generated by the Conference, the General Assembly, in December 1972, established the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which leads the efforts of the United Nations family on behalf of the global environment. Its current priorities are environmental aspects of disasters and conflicts, ecosystem management, environmental governance, harmful substances, resource efficiency, and climate change.
UNEP’s activities were significantly broadened in scope following the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro. Dubbed the “Earth Summit”, it produced the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. Referred to as “Agenda 21”, the Declaration put the concept of sustainable development on the global map, making it the centerpiece of all the development activities of the United Nations system.
The Earth Summit also led to the adoption of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (1992) and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification in Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa (1994). In what was called the “Earth Summit + 5”, the General Assembly held a special session in 1997 to review and appraise the implementation of Agenda 21, and make recommendations for its further unfoldment.
The principles of sustainable development have been implicit in many UN conferences, including: the Second UN Conference on Human Settlements (Istanbul, 1996); the Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States (Barbados, 1994); the Special Session of the General Assembly on Small Island Developing States (New York, 1999); the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg, 2002); the Millennium Summit (New York, 2000) and its Millennium Development Goals (Goal 7 seeks to “Ensure Environmental Sustainability”); and the 2005 World Summit.
In 1988, UNEP and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) came together to create the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which has become the pre-eminent global source for scientific information relating to climate change. The main international instrument on this subject, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was adopted in 1992. And its Kyoto Protocol, which sets binding targets for 37 industrialized countries and the European community for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, was adopted in 1997.
The list of UN bodies active in support of the environment and sustainable development includes the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The UN Global Compact engages the international business community in the observance of environmental principles, and the Global Environment Facility (GEF), a World Bank-UNDP-UNEP imitative, helps to fund it all.
In view of the crucial importance of the environmental perspective and the principle of sustainability, the General Assembly has declared a number of observances to catalyze positive action worldwide.
Among those currently in effect are the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2015-2014), and the International Decade for Action, “Water for Life”, which began on 22 March 2005. In addition, the world community will observe the International Year of Natural Fibres in 2009, the International Year of Biodiversity in 2010, and the International Year of Forests in 2011.
Annual environment-related observances declared by the Assembly also include World Water Day (22 March), the International Day for Biological Diversity (22 May), World Environment Day (5 June), World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought (17 June), International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer (16 September), International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict (6 November), and International Mountain Day (11 December).