The Stockholm

conference-
June 5-16, 1972
Submitted by: Anjali Purohit
Sem-1 [Link]
Introduction

• In response to the growing environmental movement of the 1960s, many nations began to take actions to
protect the environment within their borders.

• By the early 1970s, however, governments began to realize that pollution did not stop at their borders.
International consensus and cooperation were required to tackle environmental issues, which affected the
entire world.

• In 1972, the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (UNCHE) was convened to address
issues concerning the environment and sustainable development. UNCHE, also known as the Stockholm
Conference, linked environmental protection with sustainable development.

• The Stockholm Conference also produced concrete ideas on how governments could work together to
preserve the environment. The concepts and plans developed by the Stockholm Conference have shaped
every international conference and treaty on the environment over the last 35 years.
2
Historical Background

• The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (UNCHE), held in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1972,
was the first major international conference on the environment.

• The United Nations General Assembly convened the UNCHE at the request of the Swedish government.
Representatives from 113 nations and over 400 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) attended the
Stockholm Conference.

• The gathering produced the Declaration of the Conference on the Human Environment and an action plan.
The declaration noted that many factors harm the environment, including population growth, developing
economies, and technological and industrial advancements.

• Despite the pressure placed on the environment, the declaration proffered 26 principles “to inspire and
guide the peoples of the world in the preservation and enhancement of the human environment.”

3
Issues at the conference

• The Declaration of the Conference stated that every human has the right to enjoy a clean and healthy
environment. With this right, however, comes the responsibility to preserve the environment for future
generations.

• The document noted that humans must properly manage wildlife and their ecosystems to ensure their
continued survival, and it sought an end to the discharge of pollution into the environment.

• The declaration also called on industrialized nations to provide financial and technological assistance to
developing nations to enable them to develop their economies in an environmentally responsible manner.

• Poverty in developing nations leads to poor health, poor sanitation, and release of toxic chemicals. These
conditions release harmful human, animal, and chemical products into the environment. Developing
economies also often seek advancement of the economy with little regard for environmental regulation.

4
Issues at the conference

• Whereas the Declaration of the Convention contained many lofty ideals, the action plan of the Stockholm
Conference contained 109 specific recommendations for achieving these goals.

• The action plan presented 69 recommendations on how governments, intergovernmental agencies, and
NGOs could work together to implement environmental protection strategies. The action plan also
contained 16 proposals for dealing with pollution in general. It recommends that governments be
“mindful of activities in which there is an appreciable risk of effects on the climate.”

• The action plan also called for establishing international standards for pollutants after scientific research
into the effect of certain pollutants on the environment.

• The action plan then recommended the creation of a network of national and international pollution
monitoring agencies. The United Nations founded the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in
1972 to coordinate its environmental initiatives and to provide support to developing nations on
environmental issues. 5
Impacts

• The objectives and action plans produced by the Stockholm Conference have inspired every subsequent
international conference on the environment.

• In 1983, the United Nations convened the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED),
also called the Brundtland Commission.

• The Brundtland Commission discussed and devised international and national strategies for protecting the
environment and promoting sustainable development.

• The Brundtland Commission published its final report, Our Common Future, in 1987. Our Common Future
states that governments could not address environmental protection separately from the related crises of
economic development and energy production. Our Common Future outlined a plan for dealing with
these interlocking crises.

6
Impacts

• The Stockholm Conference also laid the foundation for the United Nations Conference on Environment
and Development (UNCED), commonly called the Earth Summit.

• In June 1992, representatives from 172 nations convened in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for the unprecedented
Earth Summit, which included 108 heads of state, 2,400 representatives from various non-governmental
organizations (NGOs), and nearly 10,000 journalists. An additional 17,000 NGO representatives attended a
parallel NGO forum that provided recommendations to the Earth Summit.

• The massive interest and participation in the Earth Summit indicated a shift in global attitudes toward the
environment. Scientific evidence gathered in the second half of the twentieth century indicated that
human activity affected the environment and climate.

• The scientific evidence also revealed that pollution and depletion of natural resources that occurred in one
country could have a profound effect on the environment of other nations or even the entire planet.
7
Impacts

• The Stockholm Conference also inspired the Kyoto Protocol, one of the best known and far-reaching plans
undertaken by the UNFCCC.

• The Kyoto Protocol is an international treaty that seeks to stabilize greenhouse-gas emissions by
committing countries to specific greenhouse-gas emissions goals.

• The Kyoto Protocol, which went into effect in February 2005, requires developed signatory countries to
reduce their greenhouse-gas emissions to 5% below 1990 levels by 2012.