 At its thirty-fifth session, in 1980, the

General Assembly examined the

agenda item entitled “International
cooperation in the field of the
environment” .
 The Assembly adopted resolution 35/74,
entitled “International cooperation in the
field of the environment” on 5 December
1980 in plenary on the recommendation
of the Second Committee.
 The Assembly, among other things, took
note of the report of the Governing
Council of the United Nations
Environmental Programme (UNEP).
 which had held its eighth session from 16
to 29 April 1980, in which the Council
examined the report of the high-level
group of experts on the interrelationships
between population, resources,
environment and development.
 The Assembly also decided to assemble,
in 1982, a session of a special character
of the Governing Council to honor the
tenth anniversary of the United Nations
Conference on the Human Environment,
held in Stockholm.
 The Governing Council of UNEP adopted a
resolution at its session of special character,
held from 10 to 18 May 1982 (A/37/25),
 In which it recommended to the General
Assembly the establishment of a special
commission to propose long-term
environmental strategies for achieving
sustainable development to the year 2000
and beyond (the “Environmental
Perspective”).
 At its thirty-seventh session, the General
Assembly adopted resolution 37/219 of 20
December 1982 in plenary on the
recommendation of the Second
Committee,
 Requesting the Governing Council of UNEP
at its eleventh session to make concrete
recommendations to the General Assembly
through the Economic and Social Council,
on the modalities for preparing the
Environmental Perspective.
 Pursuant to this resolution, the Governing
Council of UNEP adopted decision 11/3
at its eleventh session,
 On 23 May 1983, regarding the process
of preparation of the Environmental
Perspective and annexed a draft
resolution for consideration by the
General Assembly on the creation of an
intergovernmental inter-sessional
preparatory committee
 which was to report to the Economic
and Social Council, and of a special
commission to propose long-term
environmental strategies for achieving
sustainable development.
 In 1983, the Economic and Social
Council took note of this decision and
recommended to the General Assembly
the adoption of the draft resolution
(E/DEC/1983/168).
 At the General Assembly’s thirty-eighth
session in the same year, the Assembly
adopted resolution 38/161 of 19
December in plenary on the
recommendation of the Second
Committee, by which it approved the
decision to establish an
intergovernmental inter-sessional
preparatory committee.
 It also suggested that the special
commission, when established, report on
the environment and the global
problematic to the year 2000 and
beyond, including proposed strategies
for sustainable development,
 within two years of its establishment, and
set out the terms of reference for the
special commission.
 The Intergovernmental Inter-sessional
Preparatory Committee held its first
session on 28 and 29 May 1984.
 The Governing Council of UNEP adopted
the Preparatory Committee’s first set of
recommendations by decision 12/1 of 29
May 1984, and the Governing Council
additionally noted the progress made in
the establishment of the Special
Commission
 (Report of the Governing Council of the
United Nations Environment Programme
on the work of its twelfth session to the
General Assembly, 16 to 29 May 1984,
A/39/25).
 The Special Commission, which had
adopted the name the World
Commission on Environment and
Development in 1984, began its work in
May 1984.
 At its fortieth session, in 1985, the General
Assembly adopted resolution 40/200 of 17
December in plenary on the
recommendation of the Second
Committee,
 in which it, inter alia, took note of the work
done by the World Commission, and of the
work by the Intergovernmental Inter-
sessional Preparatory Committee in the
preparation of their reports.
 In March 1987, the World Commission on
Environment and Development issued the
report “Our Common Future” (A/42/427), in
which it made a formal recommendation
that relevant legal principles should be
consolidated and extended in a new
charter to guide State behaviour in the
transition to sustainable development, and
it submitted a set of proposed legal
principles for the purpose of drafting a
universal declaration.
 At its fourteenth session, in 1987, the
Governing Council of UNEP, by it decision
14/13, adopted the Environmental
Perspective to the Year 2000 and Beyond,
prepared by the Intergovernmental Inter-
sessional Preparatory Committee,
 And recommended for adoption by the
General Assembly a draft resolution on
incorporating an environmental
perspective.
 At the same session, the Governing Council
also adopted decision 14/14, entitled
“Report of the World Commission on
Environment and Development”, and, inter
alia, decided to transmit the Commission’s
report to the General Assembly,
 For its consideration and adoption by
Member States, together with a draft
resolution annexed to the decision,

 welcoming the findings of the World
Commission and, inter alia, calling upon
Governments, as well as the governing
bodies of the organs, organizations and
programmes in the United Nations
system, to ensure that their activities
contribute to sustainable development.
 At its forty-second session, the General
Assembly adopted resolution 42/187 of 11
December 1987 in plenary on the
recommendation of the Second
Committee,
 In which it welcomed the report of the
World Commission on Environment and
Development and decided to transmit the
report to Governments and governing
bodies of the organs,
 organizations, and programmes of the
United Nations
 It also requested the Secretary- General
to submit to the General Assembly a
progress report on the implementation of
the resolution and a consolidated report
on the same subject.
 The General Assembly further invited the
Governing Council of UNEP to provide
comments on matters concerning progress
on sustainable development to the
Economic and Social Council and General
 Assembly, and invited Governments, in co-
operation with UNEP and, as appropriate,
intergovernmental organizations, to support
and engage in follow-up activities, such as
conferences at national, regional and
global levels
 In May 1988, the Secretary-General
submitted to the General Assembly,
through the Economic and Social
Council, a progress report (A/43/353 -
E/1988/71) on the implementation of
General Assembly resolution 42/187.
 The report set out the actions taken by
Governments, governing bodies and
other intergovernmental organizations to
implement policies on sustainable
development.
 During the forty-third session of the
General Assembly, in 1988, a draft
resolution was introduced by Finland in
the Second Committee, on behalf of
Canada, Denmark, Finland, the
Netherlands, Norway and Sweden,
which proposed that a United Nations
Conference on Environment and
Development be convened in 1992
(A/C.2/43/L.36).
 On 23 November 1988, the Second
Committee had before it a revised
version of the draft resolution
(A/C.2/43/L.36/Rev.1).
 On 5 December 1988, the Committee
adopted draft resolution
A/C.2/43/L.36/Rev.2, as orally revised,
and recommended its adoption to the
General Assembly
 The General Assembly thus adopted
resolution 43/196 of 20 December1988,
where it decided to consider at its forty-
fourth session the question of convening
such a conference no later than 1992.
 The Assembly also took note of the
progress report of the Secretary-General
on the implementation of resolution
42/187.
 The Assembly requested the Secretary-
General, with the assistance of the
Executive Director of UNEP, to obtain and
submit views on the objectives, content
and scope of the conference to the
General Assembly at its forty-fourth session,
through the Economic and Social Council.
 It also invited the Governing Council of
UNEP to submit its views in the same
manner.
 In response to the request of the General
Assembly, the Secretary-General
submitted a report, containing the views
of Governments, organs, organizations
and programmes of the United Nations,
intergovernmental organizations and
nongovernmental organizations on the
convening of the conference on
environment and development.
 Several responses cited the importance
and timeliness of such a conference,and
there was a general agreement that an
intergovernmental preparatory
committee would be required (A/44/256
and Corr.1 & Add.1 & 2).
 On 25 May 1989, the Governing Council of
UNEP adopted decision 15/3, in which it
decided to recommend that the General
Assembly, when taking a decision on the
scope, title, venue and date of the proposed
United Nations conference on environment,
 consider a number of elements that were
attached as an annex to the Governing
Council’s decision. The decision was then
transmitted to the General Assembly for
consideration by the Economic and Social
Council in resolution 1989/87 of 26 July 1989.
 On 18 December 1989, at the forty-fourth
session of the General Assembly, the
Second Committee approved a draft
resolution introduced by its Chairman
(A/C.2/44/L.86) and recommended it to
the General Assembly for adoption.
 On 22 December 1989, upon this
recommendation, the General Assembly
adopted resolution 44/228, by which it
decided to convene a United Nations
Conference on Environment and
Development in Brazil and to establish a
Preparatory Committee for the
Conference which was to prepare draft
decisions for the Conference for
consideration and adoption.
 The Assembly also requested the Secretary-
General to prepare a report for the
organizational session of the Preparatory
Committee, containing recommendations
on an adequate preparatory process.
 The Assembly also decided to include in the
provisional agenda of its forty-fifth and
fortysixth sessions an item entitled “United
Nations Conference on Environment and
Development”
 The Preparatory Committee held its
organizational and first session from 5 to
16 March and 6 to 31 August 1990 during
which it established two working groups
to provide guidance to the preparatory
process (Reports of the Preparatory
Committee for the United Nations
Conference on Environment and
Development to the General Assembly,
A/44/48 and A/45/46)
 On 21 December 1990, the General
Assembly adopted resolution 45/211 in
which it took note of the report of the
Preparatory Committee and decided
that the United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development shall
take place at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from
1 to 12 June 1992.
 The second session of the Preparatory
Committee was held from 18 March to
5April 1991.
 During the session, the Preparatory
Committee established Working Group III,
which was tasked with, inter alia, examining
the feasibility of elaborating principles
ongeneral rights and obligations of States
and regional economic integration
organizations in the fields of environment
and development,
 And considering the feasibility of
incorporating such principles in an
appropriate instrument, charter,
statement or declaration (Report of the
Preparatory Committee for the United
Nations Conference on Environment and
Development to the General Assembly,
A/46/48).
 At the third session of the Preparatory
Committee, held from 12 August to 4
September 1991, the Secretariat of the
Conference prepared an annotated
check-list of principles on general rights
and obligations to be considered at the
Conference (A/CONF.151/PC/78).
 A draft proposal was also introduced by
Ghana on behalf of the Group of 77,
 Entitled “Rio de Janeiro
Charter/Declaration on Environment and
Development” (A/CONF.151/PC/WG.III/L.6).
 The Chairman of Working Group III
subsequently compiled all proposals
submitted by delegations in a consolidated
draft (A/CONF.151/PC/WG.III/L.8/Rev.1),
 which was taken as the basis for
discussion at the fourth session of the
Preparatory Committee (Report of the
Preparatory Committee for the United
Nations Conference on Environment and
Development to the General Assembly,
A/46/48).
 During its forty-sixth session, in 1991, the
General Assembly considered the
reports of the Preparatory Committee
and, on 19 December 1991, adopted
resolution 46/168 on the
recommendation of the Second
Committee, in which it called for the full
implementation of resolution 44/228.
 The Assembly set out the entities that
were to be invited to attend the
Conference, and endorsed the decisions
taken by the Preparatory Committee in
their second and third sessions.
 The Assembly also decided to include in
the provisional agenda of its forty-
seventh session an item entitled “Report
of the United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development”
 The Preparatory Committee held its
fourth and final session from 2 March to 3
April 1992.
 The Chairman of the Preparatory
Committee introduced draft principles
proposed by him, entitled “Rio Declaration
on Environment and Development”
(A/CONF.151/PC/WG.III/L.33/Rev.1).
 The Preparatory Committee adopted
decision 4/10 in which it decided to
transmit the proposal to the Conference
for further consideration
(A/CONF.151/PC/128).
 The United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development was held
from 3 to 14 June 1992 in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil.
 On 10 June, the Main Committee of the
Conference reviewed the proposal
submitted by the Chairman of the
Preparatory Committee on the Rio
Declaration on Environment and
Development (A/CONF.151/5).
 Upon the proposal of its own Chairman,
the Main Committee approved, by
acclamation,
 the Rio Declaration and recommended
it to the Conference for adoption
 (A/CONF.151/5/Rev.1).
 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment
1972 , Sweden , Stockholm
 The Stockholm conference secured a permanent place for
the environment on the world's agenda and led to the
establishment of the United Nations Environment Program
(UNEP).
 1978 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement
 1985 Helsinki Agreement (a 21-nation commitment to
reduce sulphur dioxide emissions)
 1988 Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete
the Ozone Layer; and
 1989 Basel Convention on Transboundary Movements
of Hazardous Wastes
 Major UN conference held in Rio de Janeiro from
03/06/1992 to 14/06/1992
 The focus of this conference was the state of the
global environment and the relationship between
economics, science and the environment in a
political context.
 The conference concluded with the Earth
Summit, at which leaders of 105 nations gathered
to demonstrate their commitment to sustainable
development
Systematic scrutiny of patterns of production — particularly
the production of toxic components, such as lead in gasoline,
or poisonous waste including radioactive chemicals

Alternative sources of energy to replace the use of fossil

fuels which are linked to global climate change

New reliance on public transportation systems in order to

reduce vehicle emissions, congestion in cities and the health
problems caused by polluted air and smoke

 The growing scarcity of water

• Convention on Biological Diversity
•Framework Convention on Climate
Change(UNFCCC)
• United Nations Convention to Combat
Desertification
•Rio Declaration on Environment and
Development
•Agenda 21
•Forest Principles
 the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use
of its components and the fair and equitable sharing of the
benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources,
including by appropriate access to genetic resources and by
the appropriate transfer of relevant technologies, taking into
account all rights over those resources and to technologies,
and by appropriate funding.
 developed a global strategy with guidelines for action by
international, national and local governments and institutions
to save, understand, and use biodiversity sustainably and
equitably.
 The U.S. was the only attending country not to sign the
biodiversity treaty.
 Lead to the implementation of Kyoto Protocol
 Stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the
atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous
anthropogenic interference with the climate system
 To ensure that food production is not threatened and to
enable economic development to proceed in a sustainable
manner.
 The key elements of the convention are: new and
additional financial resources to meet convention goals;
promotion of transfer of technology to developing
countries; and an institutional mechanism to enable the
international community to manage the climate change
problem over the long term, working with the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
 To combat desertification and mitigate the effects
of drought through national action programs that
incorporate long-term strategies supported by
international cooperation and partnership
arrangements.
 It is the first and only internationally legally
binding framework set up to address the problem of
desertification. The Convention is based on the
principles of participation, partnership and
decentralization the backbone of good Governance
and Sustainable Development.
 The Rio Declaration consisted of 27 principles intended
to guide future sustainable development around the world.
 These principles define the rights of people to development, and
their responsibilities to safeguard the common environment. They
build on ideas from the Stockholm Declaration at the 1972 United
Nations Conference on the Human Environment.
 The Rio Declaration states that the only way to have long term
economic progress is to link it with environmental protection.
 This will only happen if nations establish a new and equitable
global partnership involving governments, their people and key
sectors of societies. They must build international agreements that
protect the integrity of the global environmental and the
developmental system.
 A non-binding, voluntarily implemented
action plan of the United Nations with regard
to sustainable development.
• It is divided into 40 chapters that havebeen
grouped into 4 sections:
 Social and Economic Dimensions is directed
toward combating poverty, especially in
developing countries, changingconsumption
patterns, promoting health, achieving a more
sustainable population, and sustainable
settlement in decision making.
 Conservation and Management of Resources
for Development Includes atmospheric
protection, combating deforestation, protecting
fragile environments, conservation of
biodiversity, control of pollution and the
management of biotechnology, and radioactive
wastes.
 Strengthening the Role of Major Groups
includes the roles of children and youth,
women, NGOs, local authorities, business and
industry, and workers;and strengthening the role
of indigenous peoples, their communities, and
farmers.
 Means of Implementation: implementation
includes science, technology transfer,
education, international institutions and
financial mechanisms.
 The informal name given to the Non-Legally Binding
Authoritative Statement of Principles for a Global
Consensus on the Management, Conservation and
Sustainable Development of All Types of Forests.
 The Montreal Process, also known as the Working
Group on Criteria and Indicators for the Conservation and
Sustainable Management of Temperate and Boreal
Forests, was started in 1994 as a result of the Forest
Principles
 Forestry issues and opportunities should be
examined in a holistic and balanced manner.
 Forests are essential to economic development
and the maintenance of all forms of life.
 The vision of sustainable development is
set out in 27 principles with a goal to
establish “a new and equitable global
partnership through the creation of new
levels of cooperation among states, key
sectors of societies and people”.
Human beings are at the centre of
concerns for sustainable development.
They are entitled to a healthy and
productive life in harmony with nature.
 States have, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations
and the principles of international law, the sovereign right to
exploit their own resources pursuant to their own environmental
and developmental policies, and the responsibility to ensure that
activities within their jurisdiction or control do not cause damage
to the environment of other States or of areas beyond the limits of
national jurisdiction.
 The right to development must be fulfilled so
as to equitable meet developmental and
environmental needs of present and future
generations.
 In order to achieve sustainable
development, environmental protection
shall constitute an integral part of the
development process and cannot be
considered in isolation from it.
 All States and all people shall cooperate
in the essential task of eradicating
poverty as an indispensable requirement
for sustainable development, in order to
decrease the disparities in standards of
living and better meet the needs of the
majority of the people of the world.
 The special situation and needs of
developing countries, particularly the
least developed and those most
environmentally vulnerable, shall be
given special priority. International
actions in the field of environment and
development should also address the
interests and needs of all countries.
 States shall cooperate in a spirit of global
partnership to conserve, protect and restore
the health and integrity of the earth’s
ecosystem. In view of the different
contributions to global environmental
degradation, States have common but
differentiated responsibilities. The developed
countries Acknowledge the responsibility that
they bear in the international pursuit of
sustainable development in view of the
pressures their societies place on the global
environment and of the technologies and
financial resources they command.
 To achieve sustainable development
and a higher quality of life for all people,
States should reduce and eliminate
unsustainable patterns of production and
consumption and promote appropriate
demographic policies.
 States should cooperate to strengthen
endogenous capacity building for
sustainable development by improving
scientific understanding through
exchanges of scientific and
technological knowledge, and by
enhancing the development,
adaptation, diffusion and transfer of
technologies, including new and
innovative technologies.
 Environmental issues are best handled with the
participation of all concerned citizens, at the
relevant level. At the national level, each individual
shall have appropriate access to information
concerning the environment that is held by public
authorities, including information on hazardous
materials and activities in their communities, and the
opportunity to participate in decision-making
processes.
 States shall facilitate and encourage public
awareness and participation by making information
widely available. Effective access to judicial and
administrative proceedings, including redress and
remedy, shall be provided.
 States shall enact effective environmental
legislation.
 Environmental standards, management
objectives and priorities should reflect the
environmental and developmental context
to which they apply. Standards applied by
some countries may be inappropriate and
of unwarranted economic and social cost
to other countries, in particular developing
countries.
 States should cooperate to promote a supportive and open
international economic system that would lead to economic
growth and sustainable development in all countries, to better
address the problems of environmental degradation. Trade
policy measures for environmental purposes should not
constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination or
a disguised restriction on international trade.
 Unilateral actions to deal with environmental challenges outside
the jurisdiction of the importing country should be avoided.
Environmental measures addressing transboundary or global
environmental problems should, as far as possible, be based on
an international consensus.
 States shall develop national law regarding
liability and compensation for the victims of
pollution and other environmental
damage. States shall also cooperate in an
expeditious and more determined manner
to develop further international law
regarding liability and compensation for
adverse effects of environmental damage
caused by activities within their jurisdiction
or control to areas beyond their jurisdiction.
 States should effectively cooperate to
discourage or prevent the relocation
and transfer to other States of any
activities and substances that cause
severe environmental degradation or
are found to be harmful to human
health.
 In order to protect the environment, the
precautionary approach shall be widely
applied by States according to their
capabilities. Where there are threats of
serious or irreversible damage, lack of full
scientific certainty shall not be used as a
reason for postponing cost-effective
measures to prevent environmental
degradation.
 National authorities should endeavor to
promote the internalization of
environmental costs and the use of
economic instruments, taking into
account the approach that the polluter
should, in principle, bear the cost of
pollution, with due regard to the public
interest and without distorting
international trade and investment.
 Environmental impact assessment, as a
national instrument, shall be undertaken
for proposed activities that are likely to
have a significant adverse impact on the
environment and are subject to a
decision of a competent national
authority.
 States shall immediately notify other
States of any natural disasters or other
emergencies that are likely to produce
sudden harmful effects on the
environment of those States. Every effort
shall be made by the international
community to help States so afflicted.
 States shall provide prior and timely
notification and relevant information to
potentially affected States on activities
that may have a significant adverse
transboundary environmental effect and
shall consult with those States at an early
stage and in good faith.
 Women have a vital role in
environmental management and
development. Their full participation is
therefore essential to achieve
sustainable development.
 The creativity, ideals and courage of the
youth of the world should be mobilized
to forge a global partnership in order to
achieve sustainable development and
ensure a better future for all.
 Indigenous people and their communities
and other local communities have a vital
role in environmental management and
development because of their knowledge
and traditional practices. States should
recognize and duly support their identity,
culture and interests and enable their
effective participation in the achievement
of sustainable development.
 The environment and natural resources
of people under oppression, domination
and occupation shall be protected.
 Warfare is inherently destructive of
sustainable development. States shall
therefore respect international law
providing protection for the environment
in times of armed conflict and
cooperate in its further development, as
necessary.
 Peace, development and environmental
protection are interdependent and
indivisible.
 States shall resolve all their environmental
disputes peacefully and by appropriate
means in accordance with the charter
of the United Nations.
 States and people shall cooperate in
good faith and in a spirit of partnership in
the fulfillment of the principles embodied
in this Declaration and in the further
development of international law in the
field of sustainable development.
THANK YOU