Implementation of General Assembly resolutions 42/186 and 42/187 : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly

The General Assembly,

Recalling its resolution 42/186 of 11 December 1987 on the Environmental Perspective to the Year 2000 and Beyond, in which it adopted the Environmental Perspective as a broad framework to guide national action and international co-operation on policies and programmes aimed at achieving sustainable and environmentally sound development in all countries,

Recalling also its resolution 42/187 of 11 December 1987 on the report of the World Commission on Environment and Development,in which it welcomed the report and, inter alia, invited Governments and organizations of the United Nations system to take account of the analysis and recommendations contained in the report in determining their policies and programmes,

Recalling further its resolution 43/196 of 20 December 1988 on a United Nations conference on environment and development,

Having considered the report of the Secretary-General,containing information on action taken by Governments and organizations of the United Nations system to pursue sustainable and environmentally sound development in all countries, and taking note of decision 15/2 of 26 May 1989 of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme,

1.         Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General;

2.         Notes with appreciation the efforts made by Governments and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to promote sustainable and environmentally sound development in all countries;

3.         Expresses its concern, none the less, that much more needs to be done in translating the increased understanding of the need for sustainable and environmentally sound development into concrete action in all countries;

4.         Notes with satisfaction the regional activities that have taken place or are being planned with a view to promoting sustainable and environmentally sound development including, inter alia, the First African Regional Conference on Environment and Sustainable Development, organized by the Economic Commission for Africa and the United Nations Environment Programme and held at Kampala from 12 to 16 June 1989, as well as similar conferences in the other regions planned to take place in 1990;

5.         Invites Governments and the governing bodies of the organizations and programmes of the United Nations system, as well as other intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, to intensify further their efforts towards promoting and achieving sustainable and environmentally sound development by integrating environmental concerns and considerations into policies and programmes in all areas;

6.         Notes with appreciation the efforts made by the Secretary-General in reviewing, co-ordinating and strengthening the activities of the United Nations system for the promotion of sustainable and environmentally sound development;

7.         Notes that serious environmental problems are arising for all countries and that those problems must be progressively addressed through preventive measures at their sources by national efforts and international co-operation;

8.         Reaffirms that there is a direct interrelationship between environment and development, and recognizes that a supportive international economic climate conducive to sustained economic growth and development, particularly in developing countries, is of major importance for sound management of the environment;

9.         Reaffirms also that environment issues are closely related to development policies and practices and that, consequently, environmental goals and actions need to be defined in relation to development objectives and policies;

10.       Notes that the critical objectives for environment and development policies that follow from the need for sustainable and environmentally sound development must include creating a healthy, clean and safe environment in all countries, reviving overall economic growth, particularly in developing countries, and improving its quality, eradicating poverty and satisfying human needs by raising the standard of living and improving the quality of life, addressing the issues of sound management and enhancement of the resource base, furthering the promotion, accelerated development and transfer of environmentally sound technology, minimizing environmental dangers and merging environment and economics in decision-making in all countries, as well as taking cognizance of the interrelationship between people, resources, environment and development;

11.       Stresses that sustainable and environmentally sound development requires changes in the unsustainable pattern of production and consumption, particularly in industrialized countries, and the development of environmentally sound technologies, and, in this context, stresses also the need to examine, with a view to making recommendations on effective modalities for favourable access to, and transfer of, environmentally sound technologies, in particular to the developing countries, including on concessional and preferential terms, and on modalities for supporting all countries in their efforts to create and develop their endogenous technological capacities in the field of scientific research and development, as well as in the acquisition of relevant information, and, in this context, stresses further the need to explore the concept of assured access for developing countries to environmentally sound technologies, in its relation to proprietary rights, with a view to developing effective responses to the needs of developing countries in this area;

12.       Endorses the views and suggestions of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme at its fifteenth session on the implementation of General Assembly resolutions 42/186 and 42/187, contained in the report of the Secretary-General, regards Governing Council decision 15/2 as a positive step towards a better understanding of the concept of sustainable and environmentally sound development and of the implications of the implementation of the concept for all countries, and invites Governments and the governing bodies of the organizations and programmes of the United Nations system as well as other intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to take them into account in their further efforts towards promoting and achieving sustainable and environmentally sound development in all countries;

13.       Reaffirms the need to provide new and additional financial resources to support developing countries in measures, inter alia, to identify, analyse, monitor, prevent and manage environmental problems, primarily at their sources, in accordance with their national development goals, objectives and plans, so as to ensure that their development priorities are not adversely affected;

14.       Stresses the need for new and additional financial resources for measures aimed at solving major environmental problems of global concern, and especially to support those countries, in particular developing countries, for which the implementation of such measures would entail a special or abnormal burden, due, in particular, to their lack of financial resources, expertise and/or technical capacity;

15.       Reaffirms the need for developed countries and relevant organs, organizations and bodies of the United Nations system to strengthen technical co-operation with the developing countries to assist them to develop and strengthen their endogenous capacity for identifying, analysing, monitoring, preventing and managing environmental problems in accordance with their national development plans, priorities and objectives;

16.       Reaffirms also that, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law, States have the sovereign right to exploit their own resources pursuant to their environmental policies, and reaffirms further their 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 and to play their due role in preserving and protecting the global and regional environment in accordance with their capacities and specific responsibilities;

17.       Considers that the regional follow-up conferences should contribute to a better understanding and a more concrete definition of the concept of sustainable and environmentally sound development and of the implications of the implementation of the concept, and should make important substantive contributions to the United Nations conference on environment and development in 1992;

18.       Invites the preparatory committee for the conference to take duly into account the recommendations contained in the Environmental Perspective to the Year 2000 and Beyond and the report of the World Commission on Environment and Development in the preparatory process for the conference, as well as recommendations for action by the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council and the views and suggestions expressed by the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme and other organs, organizations and bodies of the United Nations system on those matters;

19.       Requests the Secretary-General to prepare for submission to the preparatory committee for the conference, and to the General Assembly at its forty-sixth session, through the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme and the Economic and Social Council, a progress report on the implementation of the present resolution;

20.       Also requests the Secretary-General to prepare, for submission to the conference and to the General Assembly at its forty-seventh session, through the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme and the Economic and Social Council, a new consolidated report on further substantive follow-up to General Assembly resolutions 42/186 and 42/187 by Governments and organizations of the United Nations system.