Stockholm Declaration p213559 1644900693

The Stockholm Declaration 1972 and India

The UN Conference on Human Environment and Development held at Stockholm and

‘Stockholm Declaration on the Human Environment’ 1972 has the significant impact on India
Environment Law. It is considered as magna carta of Environmental law and it has same
parallel significance as Universal Declaration on the Human Right, 1948. In this conference,
twenty-six principles were laid down.
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’, and under this Article the states are under the
‘active obligation’ that it shall endeavour to protect and impose the environment. Whereas
Article 51A (g) states the citizen has the duty to protect and improve the environment. Article
51A (g) is not law and, a fortiori, not supreme law. Read as below –

“It shall be the duty of every citizen of India to protect and improve the natural environment
including forests, lakes, rivers, and wildlife, and to have compassion for living creatures.”
Stockholm Conference, 1972 also has the impact on the environment related laws. After
1972, India enacted the Water Act 1976, Air Act 1981, Environment Protection Act, 1986,
various policies and notification
Framework and Recommendations of the Conference
General Framework of the Conference:
The general framework of the conference includes human settlements and environmental
quality.
(a) Problems and Management of Human Settlements:
Planning and management of human settlements for environmental quality, including

problems of housing, transitional settlements, slums, family planning, malnutrition, and
noise.
(b) Natural Resources Management:
Environmental aspects of natural resources management, including the setting up of genetic

banks of plants and animals, forests and wild life, and the question of development of water,
mineral, and energy resources with least damage to the environment.
(c) Pollution Control Measures:
Identification and control of pollutants of broad international significance, including the

establishment of limits for common air and water contaminants, pollution research and
efficient pollution control technology.
(d) Social and Cultural Aspects:
Educational, informational, social and cultural aspects of environmental issues, including

public and specialized technical education.
(e) Development and Environment:
Development and environment which includes, inter alia, the possibility of pollution
reduction by switching over to natural materials from synthetics.
Principles and Recommendations of the Conference
The Stockholm Declaration on Environment comprises a proclamation of 26 principles and

submission of recommendations.
Some important principles
Right to Protect Environment:
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 generation.
(1) Management of Natural Resources:
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.
Non-Renewable Resources: The non-renewable resources of the earth must be employed in

such a way as to guard against their future exhaustion and to ensure that benefits from such
employment are shared by all mankind.
(b) Renewable Resources:
The capacity of the earth to produce vital renewable resources must be maintained and,
wherever practicable, restored or improved.
(2) Conservation of Wildlife:
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.
(3) Population Policy:
Demographic policies should be applied, where the rate of population growth or excessive
population concentrations are likely to have adverse effects on the environment or
development.
(4) Environment and Development:
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 the human environment.
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 of all.
(5) Pollution Control:
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. Science and technology 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.
(6) Resource Planning:
Resource should be made available to preserve and improve the environment, taking into
account the 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 additional international technical and financial assistance for
this purpose.
Ban on Nuclear Weapons: 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
Conclusion
The world is not environmentally uniform. Nations differ in their environmental resources,
in terns of quality and quantity. In view of this, no single solution works everywhere to
protect ecology. The environmental inequalities in the world are paralleled by economic ones,
which are major obstacles to satisfy the basic human needs, especially in developing
countries, and a barrier to the harmonious development of mankind. The economic
development now enjoyed by the developed countries was sometimes achieved without due
regard to the preservation of human environment, and today they are considered as the
champions of human rights protectors. However, it is rightly pointed out that the general
principles and prescriptions of international law are applicable to the problems of
transnational pollution and environmental degradation. Therefore, the global environment has
been adequately protected through Local, Regional, National and International laws, Policies,
Treaties and Conventions and maintained the ecological balance particularly in India.

Stockholm Declaration p213559 1644900693

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The Stockholm Declaration 1972 and India

The UN Conference on Human Environment and Development held at Stockholm and

Framework and Recommendations of the Conference

General Framework of the Conference:

(a) Problems and Management of Human Settlements:

Planning and management of human settlements for environmental quality, including

Environmental aspects of natural resources management, including the setting up of genetic

(c) Pollution Control Measures:

Identification and control of pollutants of broad international significance, including the

(d) Social and Cultural Aspects:

Educational, informational, social and cultural aspects of environmental issues, including

(e) Development and Environment:

Principles and Recommendations of the Conference

The Stockholm Declaration on Environment comprises a proclamation of 26 principles and

Some important principles

Right to Protect Environment:

Non-Renewable Resources: The non-renewable resources of the earth must be employed in

(b) Renewable Resources:

(2) Conservation of Wildlife:

(3) Population Policy:

(4) Environment and Development:

(5) Pollution Control:

(6) Resource Planning:

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