Development and environment

XXVI. RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED ON THE REPORTS OF THE SECOND COMMITTEE
2849. Development and environment

The General Assembly, Recalling its resolutions 2398 (XXIII) of 3 December 1968, 2581 (XXIV) of 15 December 1969 and 2657 of 7 December 1970, Expressing satisfaction for the efforts made and the results already achieved towards planning action to be taken by the United Nations system in the field of the environment in a manner compatible with the priorities and interests of the developing countries, Taking note with appreciation, in particular, of the work done by the regional seminars on development and environment, held under the auspices of the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East, the Economic Commission for Africa, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the United Nations Economic and Social Office at Beirut, as wen as by the Panel of Experts on Development and the Environment,[1] Conscious of the significance of the results achieved in the Symposium on Problems relating to Environment, convened at Prague by the Economic Commission for Europe, for a better understanding of environmental problems,[2] Fully conscious of the importance, urgency and universality of environmental problems, Aware that the rational management of the environment is of fundamental importance for the future of mankind, Convinced that development plans should be compatible with a sound ecology and that adequate environmental conditions can best be ensured by the promotion of development, both at the national and international levels, Fully aware that the environmental problems generated by the condition of under-development pose a serious threat to the developing countries, Cognizant that, aside from environmental disturbances provoked by human settlements and ecological problems related to nature itself, pollution of world-wide impact is being caused primarily by some highly developed countries, as a consequence of their own high level of improperly planned and inadequately co-ordinated industrial activities, and that, therefore, the main responsibility for the financing of corrective measures falls upon those countries, Convinced that most of the environmental problems existing in developing countries are caused by their lack of economic resources for dealing with such problems as the improvement of unfavourable natural areas or the rehabilitation of environmental conditions that have deteriorated through the application of improper methods and technologies, Conscious that the main objective of developing countries is integrated and rational development, including industrial development based on advanced and adequate technologies, and that such development represents at the present stage the best possible solution for most of the environmental problems in the developing countries, Conscious further that the quality of human life in the developing countries also depends, in large measure, on the solution of environmental problems which have their origin in nature and which are the product of underdevelopment itself, within the general framework of development planning and the rational management of natural resources, Emphasizing that, notwithstanding the general principles that might be agreed upon by the international community, criteria and minimal standards of preservation of the environment as a general rule will have to be defined at the national level and, in all cases, will have to reflect conditions and systems of values prevailing in each country, avoiding where necessary the use of norms valid in advanced countries, which may prove inadequate and of unwarranted social cost for the developing countries, Stressing that each country has the right to formulate, in accordance with its own particular situation and in full enjoyment of its national sovereignty, its own national policies on the human environment, including criteria for the evaluation of projects, Stressing further that in the exercise of such right and in the implementation of such policies due account must be taken of the need to avoid producing harmful effects on other countries, Recognizing the importance of bilateral and multilateral co-operation in solving environmental problems, Aware of the fact that a greater amount of scientific and technical knowledge than at present available would provide a more adequate basis for the satisfactory comprehension and evaluation of environmental problems in general, and that, therefore, international co-operation in this field is of paramount importance, Convinced that rational planning procedures at both the national and the regional levels constitute an essential tool for an adequate equilibrium between the needs of development and the preservation and enhancement of the environment, Bearing in mind the need for developed countries to provide additional technical assistance and financing, beyond the targets indicated in the International Development Strategy for the Second United Nations Development Decade, contained in General Assembly resolution 2626 (XXV) of 24 October 1970, and without affecting adversely their programmes of assistance in other spheres, to enable developing countries to enforce those new and additional measures that might be envisaged as a means of protecting and enhancing the environment, Considering that environmental conditions can be adversely affected by activities conducted by States beyond the limits of their national jurisdiction, including the sea, the sea-bed, the ocean floor and the atmosphere, particularly by the testing of nuclear weapons, with harmful effects for other States, Considering further that various aspects of marine pollution and related matters will also be dealt with at the forthcoming United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea and Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization Conference on Marine Pollution,

1. Urges the international community and the organizations of the United Nations system to strengthen international co-operation in the fields of environment, rational utilization of natural resources and preservation of adequate ecological balance;

2. Requests the Secretary-General, the Preparatory Committee for the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment and the other bodies established to advise and assist the Secretary-General in the preparations for the Conference to ensure that in the exercise of their responsibilities the documentation to be submitted. to participating States and, in particular, the action plan and the action proposals for each of the main subject areas, as well as the draft Declaration on the Human Environment, be elaborated in such a manner as to take into full account the provisions embodied in the preamble and in the operative paragraphs of the present resolution;

3. Reaffirms that it is important for the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment to take fully into account the interests of the developing countries and, in this context, endorses the views expressed in part three, section A.VII, of the Declaration and Principles of the Action Programme adopted at Lima on 7 November 1971 by the Second Ministerial Meeting of the Group of Seventy-seven Developing Countries;[3]

4. Stresses that both the action plan and the action proposals to be submitted to the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment must, inter alia:

(a) Respect fully the exercise of permanent sovereignty over natural resources, as well as the right of each country to exploit its own resources in accordance with its own priorities and needs and in such a manner as to avoid producing harmful effects on other countries;

(b) Recognize that no environmental policy should adversely affect the present or future development possibilities of the developing countries;

(c) Recognize further that the burden of the environmental policies of the developed countries cannot be transferred, directly or indirectly, to the developing countries;

(d) Respect fully the sovereign right of each country to plan its own economy, to define its own priorities' to determine its own environmental standards and criteria, to evaluate its own social costs of production, and to formulate its own environmental policies, in the full understanding that environmental action must be defined basically at the national level, in accordance with locally prevailing conditions and in such a manner as to avoid producing harmful effects on other countries;

(e) Avoid any adverse effects of environmental policies and measures on the economy of the developing countries in all spheres, including international trade, international development assistance and the transfer of technology;

5. Further stresses that the action plan and the action proposals should include measures:

(a) To promote programmes of training, applied research and exchange of information, with the objective of amplifying and disseminating knowledge of questions pertaining to the preservation and improvement of environmental conditions, to an adequate relationship between environmental policies and development policies, and to the question of comparative costs of different technologies in relation to the environment;

(b) To provide additional technical assistance and financial resources, beyond the targets indicated in the International Development Strategy, to enable developing countries to enforce those measures and policies acceptable to them in such a manner as to ensure that no action is defined or proposed without the proper means of implementation;

(c) To give special attention to the particular problems and conditions of the environment of the landlocked and least developed among the developing countries;

(d) To promote programmes designed to assist developing countries, at their request, in solving environmental problems which have their origin in nature itself, which are the direct consequence of under-development and which particularly affect the living conditions of the population of developing countries;

(e) To study with special attention the environmental problems and conditions of the countries with coastlines particularly exposed to the risks of marine pollution;

(f) To promote international co-operation in order to prevent, eliminate or at least adequately reduce and effectively control adverse ecological effects resulting from activities conducted in all spheres, in such a way that due account will be taken of the interests of all States;

6. Urges the States possessing nuclear weapons to put an end to the testing of those weapons in all spheres and, also in the context of measures designed to improve environmental conditions on a world-wide basis, stresses the necessity of prohibiting the production and use of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, and of ensuring their early destruction;

7. Further urges Member States, the United Nations system and other international organizations which deal with ecological problems to plan international co-operation in the field of the environment, taking into particular account the need for increased technical and financial assistance to the developing countries to help them improve their ecological conditions, both in rural and urban areas;

8. Indicates the advisability of the international financial institutions being enabled, without affecting adversely their operations in other spheres, to consider favourably the increase in the volume and the softening Of the terms of their economic assistance to the developing countries for the planning and implementation of projects which, in the exclusive judgement of those countries, might be desirable and which, in their view, might be justifiable on environmental terms;

9. Requests the Secretary-General to submit a report to the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, after ascertaining the views of Member States, on a scheme of voluntary contributions which would provide additional financing by the developed countries to the developing countries for environmental purposes, beyond the resources already contemplated in the International Development Strategy;

10. Requests the Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development to prepare a comprehensive study, to be submitted to the Conference at its third session, on the effects of environmental policies of developed countries which might adversely affect the present or future development possibilities of developing countries, by means of, inter alia:

(a) A decrease in the flow of international development assistance and a deterioration of its terms and conditions;

(b) A further deterioration in the trading prospects of developing countries by the creation of additional obstacles, such as the new non-tariff measures, which might lead to a new type of protectionism;

11. Reiterates the primacy of independent economic and social development as the main and paramount objective of international co-operation, in the interests of the welfare of mankind and of peace and world security.

2026th plenary meeting,
20 December 1971.

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[1] See A/CONF.48/PC/13 and Corr.1, chap. III. [2] See A/CONF.48/PC/13 and Corr.1, chap. III. [3] See A/C.2/270 and Corr.1.