Essay on The Stockholm Conference and its Legacy

The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment marked the culmination of efforts to place the protection of the biosphere on the official agenda of international policy and law.

Specific aspects of the environment had been the object of international negotiations and arrangements but the concept of the collective responsibility of nations for the quality and protection of the earth and its resources as a whole did not gain political recognition until the years immediately preceding Stockholm Conference.

The recognition of the need for environmental protection first appeared at local and national levels where the effects of environmental deterioration were directly felt. During the years immediately preceding Stockholm Conference in 1972, environmental protection had become a significant public and political issue in nearly all developed states of the world, notably Canada, Sweden, Japan, Great Britain and the United States of America.

The strong wave of concern for environment among more developed nations of the world gave rise to the suspicion that the environmental movement could be a new and concealed form of neo-imperialism and that the developed countries of the world wished to keep the developing countries as a subservient supplies of low priced raw materials and consumer of industrial output of the developed countries.

That the environmental protection, the third world countries suspected, shall entail restrictions on the development in third world countries and grants received by many under developed nations shall he stopped on the pretext of protection of the environment. However, even in third world countries there were individuals and groups who believed that environmental protection was important for all the mankind and that their country had important stake in the preservation of the Biosphere.

The official initiative for the Stockholm conference came from the Sweddish representative to the United Nations which was considered by UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on July 30, 1968. The proposal was cleared and United Nations was asked to proceed with the preparations of the conference on problems of human environment.

This was followed by the establishment of a Preparatory Committee (PREPCOM) for Stockholm Conference which consisted of members from 21 countries under the guidance of Maurice Strong who was designated as Secretary-General of the Conference. Intensive activity and extensive preparation preceded the conference.

A number of organizations collaborated and many official, quasi-official meetings preparatory to the Conference were held. Enormous amount of information was collected, concepts and consensus evolved and differences reconciled before the Stockholm Conference actually met. The PREPCOM met four times to finalize the arrangements for the Conference. It was indeed the thorough preparatory work, the tireless efforts of hundreds of people from all parts of the world which was responsible for the; success of the Stockholm Conference.

Thus, the United Nations Conference on Human Environment for the Preservation and Enhancement of its quality met at Stockholm on June 6-16, 1972. Delegates from 114 governments [attended the conference. After deliberations of more than a week the Stockholm declaration tool; shape. Important features of the declaration can be summed up as follows:

1. That the natural resources of earth including air, water land, flora and fauna, especially representative samples of natural ecosystems must be safe-guarded for the benefit of present and future generations through careful planning and management as appropriate.

2. That man has a special responsibility to safeguard and manage the heritage of wild life and its habitat. The discharge of toxic substances or other substances should be halted so that serious or irreparable damage to the ecosystem could be avoided.

3. That science and technology for the economic and social development must be applied to the avoidance, identification and control of environmental risks and the solutions of environmental problems for the betterment of human beings.

4. That scientific research and development in the context of environmental problems both national and multinational must be promoted in all countries especially in the developing countries where most of the biological diversity is available.

5. That free flow of up to date scientific information, transfer of technology must be maintained in order to facilitate the solution of environmental problems of developing countries and that states should ensure that international organizations play a co-ordinated role for the protection of environment.

The view-point of third world countries was echoed by Mrs. Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India and leader of the Indian delegation to the Stockholm Conference when she declared that many of the advanced countries of today have achieved the present affluence by their domination over other races and countries, exploitation of their own masses and their own natural resources.

They got a head start through sheer ruthlessness undisturbed by feelings of compassion or by abstract theories of freedom equality or justice. They did not care for the environment. Why should the developing countries abondon the course of development which the developed countries have been following?

Her views were endorsed by many delegates of the third world countries including the Maoist spokesmen of the Peoples Republic of China, Helena Z. Benitag of Philippines and to some extent by Olaf Palme the Prime Minister of Sweden.

However, it was the diplomatic skill of the Secretary General; Maurice Strong that the issue though not removed entirely was side-tracked to be taken up by the General Assembly and the newly created United Nations Environment Programme.

The Third World countries did receive some assurance in the form of Paragraph (b) of Stockholm recommendation-103, which states that where environmental concern leads to restrictions on trade or to stricter environmental standards with negative effect on exports particularly from developing countries appropriate measures for compensation should be worked out within the frame-work of existing contractual and institutional arrangements.

The Stockholm recommendation-107 declares that the environmental problems should not affect the flow of assistance to the developing countries and that this flow should be adequate to meet the additional requirements of such country.

Probably one of the most important recommendation of the Stockholm Conference, when we compare it with so many which were convened in the past, was creation of institutional arrangement to implement its recommendations and setting up of an environmental fund to carry out the same.

It was upon the recommendation of the Conference that United Nations General Assembly resolved on Dec. 15, 1972, through its Resolution-2997 (XXVII) to establish the necessary machinery and make financial arrangements required thereof and the United Nations Environment Programme was borne. At the insistence of developing countries the size of governing body of UN Environment Programme was enlarged to 58 nations to accommodate greater representation from Asia and its Headquarters were shifted to Nairobi, Kenya.