Module-I

Topic I
United Nations Conference on Human
Environment- Stockholm Principles

Presented By
Shashya Mishra
Assistant Professor
Amity Law School Lucknow
Stockholm Conference ?

United Nations Conference on the Human Environment,

 Stockholm Conference

The Stockholm Conference also led to the creation of the 

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in December 1972 to
coordinate global efforts to promote sustainability and safeguard the natural 
environment
The final declaration was a statement of human rights as well as an
acknowledgment of the need for environmental protection.
Pre-Stockholm Era (Prior to 1968)

 The Stockholm declaration adopted by U.N. in 1972 was considered as first

step in the International efforts on the protection of the environment. But in
fact, there were several other steps taken by U.N. prior to 1968
 ‘Universal declaration of Human Rights, 1948
 prior to the establishment of U.N. in 1945; there was no International forum
in which to raise Environmental issues.
 In the year 1966, the U.N. adopted unanimously, ‘The Treaty of principles
governing the activities of the states in the exploration and use of outer space
including the Moon and the other celestial bodies’. It was known as the ‘Outer
Space Treaty
Pre-Stockholm Era (Prior to 1968)

 The ‘International Joint Commission’ formed by the U.S. and Canada in 1909,
has a long history of resolving transboundary environmental issues
 There was very little consciousness of environmental problems, when the
U.N. was established immediately after the II World War
STOCKHOLM ERA (1968-1987)

 The U.N. Conference on the human environment held at Stockholm from June
5 to June 16, 1972 may rightly be reckoned as the first major attempt to
solve the global problems of conservation and regulation of human
environment by international agreement on a universal level
 The declaration on the human environment is contained in Section I of the
report of the United Nations Conference on the human environment is one of
the most significant achievements of the U.N. Conference on the human
environment, 1972.
 Starke has compared it with the universal declaration of human rights, 1948
The declaration on the human
environment is divided in two parts
 about man in relation to his environment and
first part proclaims seven truths
contains general observations such as those men is both creature and moulder
of his environment
 Most of the environmental problems are caused by under-development, the
natural growth of population continuously, presents problems on the
preservation of the environment and adequate policies
 The part II of the Declaration on the human environment enunciates 26
principles.
 The object of the Stockholm declaration was to pass our mother earth to the
coming generations in clean and healthy conditions.
Issues -

 Problem and management of human environment

 Natural resource management
 Pollution control measures
 Social and cultural aspects
 Development and environmental issues
Action Plan

 a) The global environmental assessment programme known as ‘earth watch

 b) Environmental management activities;
 c) International measures to support the national actions of assessment and
management.
Earth Watch-

 The functions of Environmental Assessment include evaluation and review to

provide the basis for identification of the knowledge needed and to
determine the necessary steps to be taken, research to create new
knowledge.
Environmental management

 functions designed to facilities comprehensive

planning that takes into account the side effects
of man’s activities and thereby to protect and
enhance the human environment for present and
future generations.
International measures to support the national
actions of assessment and management

 measures required for the activities in the other

two categories i.e., environmental assessment
and environmental management and include
educational training and public information,
organizational arrangements and financial and
other forms of assistance
Background….

 In 1972 in Stockholm, Sweden, the United Nations hosted its first Conference
on the Human Environment, the official declaration of which is commonly
called the Stockholm Declaration of 1972.
 The 26 principles within the declaration broadly recognize human impact on
the environment, signifying for the first time in history that environmental
issues have been addressed publicly and on a global scale.
 The declaration emphasizes the need for nations to design integrative
development plans that combine science and technology in order to lessen
air, land, and water pollution and human impact on the environment.
Background….

 It urges each nation to create regulations for protecting wildlife and

conserving the natural resources that are available within that country, and
suggests creating national population policies, since overpopulation
exacerbates the strain on natural resources.
 The Stockholm Declaration provided a foundation for many of the
environmental policies that have been established in the 113 participating
countries.
 The preparation for the Conference was primarily in the hands of a small but
well-organized and efficient Conference Secretariat, headed by Maurice F.
Strong, former President of the Canadian International Development Agency
DECLARATION ON THE HUMAN
ENVIRONMENT
 Sweden suggested in 1968 the convening of an international conference on
the problems of human environment
The Preparatory Committee continued to insist that the Declaration should be
"concise and inspirational, embodying the aspirations of the world's people for a
better environment' decided that the
Declaration should not include "specific guidelines for action which would find
their place elsewhere in the programme of the Conference"; and agreed that the
Declaration should be based on "well established principles of international law,
Stockholm Conference

 In the general debate at the Stockholm Conference many speakers stressed

the importance of the Declaration, and some of them urged that it be
adopted without any amendments,
 the Working Group, China again took the initiative in suggesting amendments
and to the last minute insisted on the adoption of some of its ten major
proposals.
 This opened the way to a blizzard of amendments -chairmanship of Mr. Taieb
Slim (Tunisia) and the patient work of the rapporteur, Mr. J3acon (Canada),
of the Swedish Legal Adviser, Mr. Hans Blix, and of Mr. Strong and his
associates that, after an all-night session, a draft emerged on the last day of
the Conference.
DECLARATION ON THE HUMAN
ENVIRONMENT
 The Working Group agreed on a revised text of 21 of the 23 principles
 the Preparatory Committee; added four new principles; decided to refer to
the General Assembly of the United Nations old Principle
 Principle 20 relating to the supplying of information by states
 Principle 21 relating to nuclear weapons which China considered too narrow
as it did not include 'inhuman biological and chemical weapons
 Principle 21 as new Principle 26 in new draft
DECLARATION ON THE HUMAN
ENVIRONMENT
 During the debate in the plenary session, the Indian representative said that
"the Declaration represented an important milestone in the history of the
human race," and that it was "a starting point in the task of making the planet
a fit place for future generations
 The decisions of the Stockholm Conference were submitted to the General
Assembly of the United Nations, which referred the matter to its Second
Committee
 The plenary session of the General Assembly adopted this text on December
15, 1972, as Resolution 2994, by 112 votes to none, with no abstentions
 The first principle began “Man has the fundamental right to freedom, equality
and adequate conditions of life, in an environment of a quality that permits a
life of dignity and well-being.”
Preamble of Conference

 the object of the Declaration is to provide both inspiration and guidelines for
the governments and peoples of the world. From the beginning some of the
draftsmen tried to prepare a Declaration primarily inspirational, informative,
and educational in character
 The Preamble has all the marks of a committee draft, loaded with favorite
phrases of various members
 the introduction to the Declaration speaks of 'the need for a common outlook
and for common principles to inspire and guide the peoples of the world in
the preservation and enhancement of the human environment
Principles-

 The Stockholm Declaration consists of a preamble featuring seven

introductory proclamations and 26 principles;
  The Stockholm formulation does indeed refer to a human’s “fundamental
right to … adequate conditions of life, in an environment of a quality that
permits a life of dignity and well-being
 The Prevention of Environmental Harm
 The Right to Development in an Environmental Context Principle 8 of the
Stockholm Declaration axiomatically labels “economic and social
development” as essential
Principles-

 Precautionary Action Principle 15 the precautionary approach shall be widely

applied by States according to their capabilities:”
 Common but Differentiated Responsibilities”
 “common but differentiated responsibilities” (“CBDR”) is accepted as a
cornerstone of the sustainable development paradigm Principle 23
CBDR

 The declaration recognize the relevance of different national developmental

and environmental contexts for environmental standards and policies
purposes. However, developing country status per se does not warrant a
lowering of normative expectations. 
Procedural Safeguards

 Principles 13-15 and 17-18

 Stockholm Declaration — rather modestly — emphasize the need for
environmental and development planning. The absence of any reference in
the Declaration to a State’s duty to inform a potentially affected other state
of a risk of significant transboundary environmental effects was due to the
working group on the Declaration’s inability to reach agreement on such a
provision.
 Environmental Liability and
Compensation
  Stockholm Principle 22 refers to international law only
Important Principles

 the necessity of conservation, including the preservation of wildlife habitat

(principle 4),
 the avoidance of polluting the seas (principle 7),
 the wide use of nonrenewable resources (principle 5),
 the importance of developing coordinated planning (principles 13–17),
 the importance of environmental education (principle 19),
 the facilitation of scientific research and the free flow of information
(principle 20),
Important Principles

 the development of international law regarding environmental pollution and

damage (principle 22),
 and the elimination and destruction of nuclear weapons (principle 26).
Stockholm Declaration – In Short
Impact of Stockholm Declaration

 The convention on international trade in endangered species of wild fauna

and flora, 1973.
 The convention for the prevention of Marine Pollution by dumping of wastes
and other matter, 1972.
 The convention for the prevention of Marine Pollution by dumping from ships
and aircrafts, 1973.
 Convention for prevention of pollution originating from Land-based sources
(Paris), 1974
 Convention on protecting of Marine Environment of Baltic Sea Area, Helsinki,
1974 Earth Summit or Rio de Janeiro Convention, 1992 UNCED
Impact of Stockholm Declaration

 U.N. COMMISSION ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

 UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON THE LAW OF THE SEA, 1982
 DELHI DECLARATION, 2002
 UNITED NATIONS WORLD SUMMIT, 2005
Stockholm Declaration & India

 Development Of Legal Framework To Protect The Environment And Control

Pollution
 After the Stockholm Conference, 1972, Government of India brought the 42nd
amendment in the Constitution and incorporated Article 48A and Article 51A
(g). Article 48A comes under the part IV ‘Directive Principle of State Policy’
 India enacted the Water Act 1976, Air Act 1981, Environment Protection Act,
1986, various policies and notification.
 Environment Policy 2006
References

 https://legal.un.org/avl/ha/dunche/dunche.html
 http://wedocs.unep.org/xmlui/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/28247/Stkhm_DcltnHE.pdf?sequenc
e=1
 http://www.environmentandsociety.org/tools/keywords/stockholm-declaration-1972-broadly-recog
nizes-global-environmental-issues
 https://thefactfactor.com/facts/law/civil_law/environmental_laws/stockholm-declaration/871/
 https://www.britannica.com/topic/United-Nations-Conference-on-the-Human-Environment
 https://www.lawteacher.net/free-law-essays/indian-law/indian-environment.php#:~:text=Indian%2
0shown%20its%20sincerity%20regarding,protect%20the%20environment%20through%20PIL.