EVOLUTION OF ENVIRONMENT POLICIES

Transcription

1 EVOLUTION OF ENVIRONMENT POLICIES 1968 The Biosphere Conference UNESCO The first world-wide meeting at the intergovernmental level to adopt a series of recommendations concerning environmental problems and to highlight their growing importance and their global nature. Participation of 60 countries. Declared that the utilization and the conservation of our land and water resources should go hand in hand rather than in opposition, and that interdisciplinary approaches should be promoted to achieve this aim. Set up an international research programme on man and the biosphere, the origins of the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme

2 UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN). Its purpose is to contribute to peace and security by promoting international collaboration through education, science, and culture to further universal respect for justice, the rule of law, and human rights along with fundamental freedom proclaimed in the United Nations Charter. UNESCO headquarters are located Paris, France, now called the World Heritage Centre Apollo 8 mission Apollo 8, was launched on December 1968, and became the first manned spacecraft to leave Earth orbit, reach the Earth's Moon, orbit it and return safely to Earth

3 1968 Apollo 8 mission Evolution of GDP in France, Germany, UK and USA Source: The Maddison-Project, version (USD 2005 PPP)

4 Evolution of GDP in France, Germany, UK and USA Source: The Maddison-Project, Source: The Maddison-Project, 2013 version (USD 2005 PPP) version Creation of the NGO Friends of the Earth Created by David Brower ( ), an American environmental activist, in San Francisco, California. Aggressive, skilled in using the media, politically active, and drawn from a cross-section of the community. Founder of Friends of the Earth International in 1971 (with organisations from France, Sweden and England. Broad political aim: protecting the environment in its widest possible sense

5 1969 US National Environment Policy Act United States environmental law that promotes the enhancement of the environment and established the President's Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). The law was enacted on January 1, The bill was an early step towards the development of the United States's environmental policy. It is referred to as the environmental Magna Carta. NEPA's most significant outcome was the requirement that all executive federal agencies prepare environmental assessments (EAs) and environmental impact statements (EISs). These reports state the potential environmental effects of proposed federal agency actions. Previous US environment laws: Federal Water Pollution Control Act (1948) and Clean Water Act (1977) Air Pollution Control Act (1955) and Clean Air Act (1963). Wilderness Act (1964) 1970 Earth Day On the 22nd of April, 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment in massive coast-to-coast rallies. Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment. Groups that had been fighting against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, the loss of wilderness, and the extinction of wildlife suddenly realized they shared common values. The Earth Day founder was Gaylord Nelson, then a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, inspired by the student anti-war movement, he realized that if he could infuse that energy with an emerging public consciousness about air and water pollution, it would force environmental protection onto the national political agenda. Senator Nelson announced the idea for a national teach-in on the environment to the national media

6 1970 Creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Washington, DC, USA The United States Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the U.S. federal government created for the purpose of protecting human health and the environment by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress

7 1972 Foundation of the NGO Greenpeace Vancouver, Canada Greenpeace states its goal is to ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its diversity. It focuses its campaigning on worldwide issues such as climate change, deforestation, overfishing, commercial whaling, genetic engineering, and anti-nuclear issues. It uses direct action, lobbying, and research to achieve its goals. Greenpeace is known for its direct actions and has been described as the most visible environmental organization in the world. Greenpeace has raised environmental issues to public knowledge, and influenced both the private and the public sector Foundation of the NGO Greenpeace Vancouver, Canada Greenpeace has also been a source of controversy; its motives and methods (some of the latter being illegal) have received criticism and the organization's direct actions have sparked legal actions against Greenpeace activists, such as fines and suspended sentences The global organization does not accept funding from governments, corporations, or political parties, relying on 2.9 million individual supporters and foundation grants. Now the organisation has offices in over forty countries and an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, the Netherlands

8 1972 Foundation of the NGO Greenpeace Vancouver, Canada The organisation was founded after the protests against the underground nuclear weapon tests in the tectonically unstable island of Amchitka in Alaska in They used a fishing boat that was renamed Greenpeace 1972 Polluter-Pays Principle OECD Environmental resources are in general limited and their use in production and consumption activities may lead to their deterioration. When the cost of this deterioration is not adequately taken into account in the price system, the market fails to reflect the scarcity of such resources both at the national and international levels. The Polluter-Pays Principle means that the polluter should bear the costs of pollution prevention and control measures, i.e., the measures decided by public authorities to ensure that the environment is in an acceptable state. The principle to be used for allocating costs of pollution prevention and control measures to encourage rational use of scarce environmental resources and to avoid distortions in international trade and investment is the so-called "Polluter-Pays Principle"

9 OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an international economic organisation of 34 countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade. It is a forum of countries describing themselves as committed to democracy and the market economy, providing a platform to compare policy experiences, seeking answers to common problems, identify good practices and coordinate domestic and international policies of its members. Founders: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States. Japan, Finland, Australia, and New Zealand, Chile, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Israel, Mexico, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea. Brazil, India. China, Indonesia and South Africa, are Key Partners of the Organisation and contribute to its work in a sustained and comprehensive manner. Together with them, the OECD brings around its table 39 countries that account for 80% of world trade and investment, giving it a pivotal role in addressing the challenges facing the world economy. OECD The Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) was established in 1948 to run the US-financed Marshall Plan for reconstruction of a continent ravaged by war. By making individual governments recognise the interdependence of their economies, it paved the way for a new era of cooperation that was to change the face of Europe. Encouraged by its success and the prospect of carrying its work forward on a global stage, Canada and the US joined OEEC members in signing the new OECD Convention on 14 December The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) was officially born on 30 September 1961, when the Convention entered into force

10 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment Stockholm, Sweden The Conference was held in Stockholm, Sweden from June 5 to June 16 in 1972 First major Inter-Governmental Environment Conference, chaired by Maurice Strong, Secretary General. The conference was rooted in the regional pollution and acid rain problems of northern Europe. This eco-agenda was opposed by the Eastern bloc and the Group of UN Member Sates represented

11 Group of the 77 The Group of the 77 is now composed by 134 countries In 1972 the Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi brought forward the connection between ecological management and poverty alleviation to support the UN Conference on Human Environment. Parliament building in Stockholm where some of the conference meetings were held

12 Adopted: The Stockholm Declaration - Stockholm Principles The Stockholm Action Plan Resolution on prior information 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), was created. Established the UN Environment Day, 5th June

13 Principle 1 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, and he bears a solemn responsibility to protect and improve the environment for present and future generations. In this respect, policies promoting or perpetuating apartheid, racial segregation, discrimination, colonial and other forms of oppression and foreign domination stand condemned and must be eliminated. Principle 2 The natural resources of the earth, including the air, water, land, flora and fauna and especially representative samples of natural ecosystems, must be safeguarded for the benefit of present and future generations through careful planning or management, as appropriate. Principle 3 The capacity of the earth to produce vital renewable resources must be maintained and, wherever practicable, restored or improved. 1. Human rights must be asserted, apartheid and colonialism condemned. 2. Natural resources must be safeguarded. 3. The Earth s capacity to produce renewable resources must be maintained. 4. Wildlife must be safeguarded. 5. Non-renewable resources must be shared and not exhausted. 6. Pollution must not exceed the environment s capacity to clean itself. 7. Damaging oceanic pollution must be prevented. 8. Development is needed to improve the environment. 9. Developing countries therefore need assistance. 10. Developing countries need reasonable prices for exports to carry out environmental management. 11. Environment policy must not hamper development. 12. Developing countries need money to develop environmental safeguards. 13. Integrated development planning is needed

14 14. Rational planning should resolve conflicts between environment and development 15. Human settlements must be planned to eliminate environmental problems 16. Governments should plan their own appropriate population policies 17. National institutions must plan development of states natural resources 18. Science and technology must be used to improve the environment 19. Environmental education is essential 20. Environmental research must be promoted, particularly in developing countries 21. States may exploit their resources as they wish but must not endanger others 22. Compensation is due to states thus endangered 23. Each nation must establish its own standards 24. There must be cooperation on international issues 25. International organizations should help to improve the environment 26. Weapons of mass destruction must be eliminated Principle 4 Man has a special responsibility to safeguard and wisely manage the heritage of wildlife and its habitat, which are now gravely imperilled by a combination of adverse factors. Nature conservation, including wildlife, must therefore receive importance in planning for economic development. Principle 5 The non-renewable resources of the earth must be employed in such a way as to guard against the danger of their future exhaustion and to ensure that benefits from such employment are shared by all mankind. Principle 6 The discharge of toxic substances or of other substances and the release of heat, in such quantities or concentrations as to exceed the capacity of the environment to render them harmless, must be halted in order to ensure that serious or irreversible damage is not inflicted upon ecosystems. The just struggle of the peoples of ill countries against pollution should be supported

15 Principle 7 States shall take all possible steps to prevent pollution of the seas by substances that are liable to create hazards to human health, to harm living resources and marine life, to damage amenities or to interfere with other legitimate uses of the sea. Principle 8 Economic and social development is essential for ensuring a favorable living and working environment for man and for creating conditions on earth that are necessary for the improvement of the quality of life. Principle 9 Environmental deficiencies generated by the conditions of under-development and natural disasters pose grave problems and can best be remedied by accelerated development through the transfer of substantial quantities of financial and technological assistance as a supplement to the domestic effort of the developing countries and such timely assistance as may be required. Principle 10 For the developing countries, stability of prices and adequate earnings for primary commodities and raw materials are essential to environmental management, since economic factors as well as ecological processes must be taken into account. Principle 11 The environmental policies of all States should enhance and not adversely affect the present or future development potential of developing countries, nor should they hamper the attainment of better living conditions for all, and appropriate steps should be taken by States and international organizations with a view to reaching agreement on meeting the possible national and international economic consequences resulting from the application of environmental measures. Principle 12 Resources should be made available to preserve and improve the environment, taking into account the circumstances and particular requirements of developing countries and any costs which may emanate- from their incorporating environmental safeguards into their development planning and the need for making available to them, upon their request, additional international technical and financial assistance for this purpose

16 Principle 13 In order to achieve a more rational management of resources and thus to improve the environment, States should adopt an integrated and coordinated approach to their development planning so as to ensure that development is compatible with the need to protect and improve environment for the benefit of their population. Principle 14 Rational planning constitutes an essential tool for reconciling any conflict between the needs of development and the need to protect and improve the environment. Principle 15 Planning must be applied to human settlements and urbanization with a view to avoiding adverse effects on the environment and obtaining maximum social, economic and environmental benefits for all. In this respect projects which arc designed for colonialist and racist domination must be abandoned.. Principle 16 Demographic policies which are without prejudice to basic human rights and which are deemed appropriate by Governments concerned should be applied in those regions where the rate of population growth or excessive population concentrations are likely to have adverse effects on the environment of the human environment and impede development. Principle 17 Appropriate national institutions must be entrusted with the task of planning, managing or controlling the 9 environmental resources of States with a view to enhancing environmental quality. Principle 18 Science and technology, as part of their contribution to economic and social development, must be applied to the identification, avoidance and control of environmental risks and the solution of environmental problems and for the common good of mankind

17 Principle 19 Education in environmental matters, for the younger generation as well as adults, giving due consideration to the underprivileged, is essential in order to broaden the basis for an enlightened opinion and responsible conduct by individuals, enterprises and communities in protecting and improving the environment in its full human dimension. It is also essential that mass media of communications avoid contributing to the deterioration of the environment, but, on the contrary, disseminates information of an educational nature on the need to project and improve the environment in order to enable mal to develop in every respect. Principle 20 Scientific research and development in the context of environmental problems, both national and multinational, must be promoted in all countries, especially the developing countries. In this connection, the free flow of up-to-date scientific information and transfer of experience must be supported and assisted, to facilitate the solution of environmental problems; environmental technologies should be made available to developing countries on terms which would encourage their wide dissemination without constituting an economic burden on the developing countries. Principle 21 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 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. Principle 22 States shall cooperate to develop further the international law regarding liability and compensation for the victims of pollution and other environmental damage caused by activities within the jurisdiction or control of such States to areas beyond their jurisdiction

18 Principle 23 Without prejudice to such criteria as may be agreed upon by the international community, or to standards which will have to be determined nationally, it will be essential in all cases to consider the systems of values prevailing in each country, and the extent of the applicability of standards which are valid for the most advanced countries but which may be inappropriate and of unwarranted social cost for the developing countries. Principle 24 International matters concerning the protection and improvement of the environment should be handled in a cooperative spirit by all countries, big and small, on an equal footing. Cooperation through multilateral or bilateral arrangements or other appropriate means is essential to effectively control, prevent, reduce and eliminate adverse environmental effects resulting from activities conducted in all spheres, in such a way that due account is taken of the sovereignty and interests of all States. Principle 25 States shall ensure that international organizations play a coordinated, efficient and dynamic role for the protection and improvement of the environment. Principle 26 Man and his environment must be spared the effects of nuclear weapons and all other means of mass destruction. States must strive to reach prompt agreement, in the relevant international organs, on the elimination and complete destruction of such weapons

19 Stockholm Action Plan The Plan has three components: a) a proposed global environmental assessment programme, or Earthwatch, b) environmental management activities, and c) measures to support national and international action of assessment and management. The recommendations are grouped into the following areas: a) Recommendations for international action. b) Identification and control of pollution of international importance: b.1) pollution in general b.2) marine pollution c) Educational aspects, informative, social and cultural environmental issues. Stockholm Resolution It was also adopted Resolution 2995 (XXVII) that affirmed implicitly a State s obligation to provide prior information to other States for the purpose of avoiding significant harm beyond national jurisdiction and control

20 United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) The United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP) is an agency of the United Nations that coordinates its environmental activities, assisting developing countries in implementing environmentally sound policies and practices. It was founded by Maurice Strong, its first director, as a result of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in June 1972 and has its headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. UNEP also has six regional offices and various country offices

21 United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Its activities cover a wide range of issues regarding the atmosphere, marine and terrestrial ecosystems, environmental governance and green economy. It has played a significant role in developing international environmental conventions, promoting environmental science and information and illustrating the way those can be implemented in conjunction with policy, working on the development and implementation of policy with national governments, regional institutions in conjunction with environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs). UNEP has also been active in funding and implementing environment related development projects. For this, it works with numerous partners, including other UN agencies, international organizations, organizations linked to national governments and nongovernmental organizations. World Environment Day World Environment Day (WED) is celebrated every year on 5 June to raise global awareness to take positive environmental action to protect nature and the planet Earth

22 1972 Publication of The Limits to Growth The Club of Rome The Limits to Growth is a 1972 book about the computer simulation of exponential economic and population growth with finite resource supplies Throws alert to the limits of natural resources, which do not carry the pace of population growth Environmental Policies of the European Community Creation of the Environmental and Consumer Protection Directorate, and Launched the first Environmental Action Program