Concerned
about the accelerating deterioration of the human environment and natural
resources and the consequences of that deterioration for economic and social
development,
Believing that sustainable development, which implies meeting the needs of
the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet
their own needs, should become a central guiding principle of the United
Nations, Governments and private institutions, organizations and enterprises,
Recognizing, in view of the global character of major environmental
problems, the common interest of all countries to pursue policies aimed at
sustainable and environmentally sound development,
Convinced of the importance of a reorientation of national and international
policies towards sustainable development patterns,
Recalling that, in its resolution 38/161 of 19 December 1983 on the process
of preparation of the Environmental Perspective to the Year 2000 and Beyond to
be prepared by the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment
Programme, it welcomed the establishment of a special commission, which
later assumed the name World Commission on Environment and Development, to make
available a report on environment and the global problematique to the year 2000
and beyond, including proposed strategies for sustainable development,
Recognizing the valuable role played in the preparation of the report of
the World Commission by the Intergovernmental Inter-sessional Preparatory
Committee of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme,
as envisaged by the General Assembly in its resolution 38/161,
Recalling that in resolution 38/161 it decided that, on matters within
the purview of the United Nations Environment Programme, the report of the
Commission should in the first instance be considered by the Governing Council
of the Programme, for transmission to the General Assembly together with the comments
of the Council and for use as basic material in the preparation, for adoption
by the Assembly, of the Environmental Perspective, and that on those matters
which were under consideration or review by the Assembly itself, it would
consider the relevant aspects of the report of the Commission,
Taking note of Governing Council decision 14/14 of l9 June l987
transmitting the report of the Commission to the General Assembly,
Noting that the Environmental Perspective to the Year 2000 and Beyond
has taken account of the main recommendations in the Commission's report,
Recognizing
the instrumental role of the Commission in revitalizing and reorienting
discussions and deliberations on environment and development and in enhancing
the understanding of the causes of present environmental and development
problems, as well as in demonstrating the ways in which they transcend institutional frontiers and in
opening new perspectives on the interrelationship between environment and
development as a guide to the future,
Emphasizing the need for a new approach to economic growth, as an
essential prerequisite for eradication of poverty and for enhancing the
resource base on which present and future generations depend,
1. Welcomes the report of the
World Commission on Environment and Development entitled "Our Common
Future";
2. Notes with appreciation the
important contribution made by the Commission to raising the consciousness of
decision-makers in Governments, intergovernmental and non-governmental
international organizations, industry and other fields of economic activity, as
well as of the general public, in regard to the imperative need for making the
transition towards sustainable development, and calls upon all concerned to
make full use in this regard of the report of the Commission;
3. Agrees with the Commission that while
seeking to remedy existing environmental problems, it is imperative to
influence the sources of those problems in human activity, and economic
activity in particular, and thus to provide for sustainable development;
4. Agrees further that an
equitable sharing of the environmental costs and benefits of economic
development between and within countries and between present and future
generations is a key to achieving sustainable development;
5. Concurs with the Commission
that the critical objectives for environment and development policies which
follow from the need for sustainable development must include preserving peace,
reviving growth and changing its quality, remedying the problems of poverty and
satisfying human needs, addressing the problems of population growth and of
conserving and enhancing the resource base, reorienting technology and managing
risk, and merging environment and economics in decision-making;
6. Decides to transmit the
report of the Commission to all Governments and to the governing bodies of the
organs, organizations and programmes of the United Nations system, and invites
them to take account of the analysis and recommendations contained in the
report of the Commission in determining their policies and programmes;
7. Calls upon all Governments to
ask their central and sectoral economic agencies to ensure that their policies,
programmes and budgets encourage sustainable development and to strengthen the
role of their
environmental and natural resource agencies in
advising and assisting central and sectoral agencies in that task;
8. Calls upon the governing
bodies of the organs, organizations and programmes of the United Nations system
to review their policies, programmes, budgets and activities aimed at
contributing to sustainable development;
9. Calls upon the governing
bodies of other relevant multilateral development assistance and financial
institutions to commit their institutions more fully to pursuing sustainable
development in establishing their policies and programmes in accordance with
the national development plans, priorities and objectives established by the
recipient Governments themselves;
10. Requests the
Secretary-General, through the appropriate existing mechanisms, including the
Administrative Committee on Co-ordination, to review and co-ordinate on a
regular basis the efforts of all the organs, organizations and bodies of the
United Nations system to pursue sustainable development, and to report thereon to the
General Assembly through the Governing Council of the United Nations
Environment Programme and the Economic and Social Council;
11. Stresses the essential role
of the United Nations Environment Programme, within its mandate, in catalyzing
the sustainable development efforts of the United Nations system, while fully
taking into account the co-ordinating responsibilities of the Economic and
Social Council, and agrees with the Commission that that role should be
strengthened and that the resources of the Environment Fund should be
substantially enlarged, with greater participation;
12. Considers that the Governing
Council of the United Nations Environment Programme, within its mandate and
with participation, when appropriate, at the ministerial level, should examine
on a periodic basis the long-term strategies for realizing sustainable
development, and should include the results of its examinations in its reports
to be submitted to the General Assembly through the Economic and Social
Council;
13. Agrees that the catalytic and
co-ordinating role of the United Nations Environment Programme in the United
Nations system should be reinforced in its future work on environmental and
natural resource issues;
14. Reaffirms the need for
additional financial resources from donor countries and organizations to assist
developing countries in identifying, analysing, monitoring, preventing and
managing environmental problems in accordance with their national development
plans, priorities and objectives;
15. Reaffirms the need for
developed countries and appropriate organs and organizations of the United
Nations system to strengthen technical co-operation with the developing
countries to enable them to develop and enhance their capacity for identifying,
analysing, monitoring, preventing and managing environmental problems in
accordance with their national development plans, priorities and objectives;
16. Invites Governments, in
co-operation with the regional commissions and the United Nations Environment
Programme and, as appropriate, intergovernmental organizations, to support and
engage in follow-up activities, such as conferences, at the national, regional,
and global levels;
17. Calls upon Governments to
involve non-governmental organizations, industry and the scientific community
more fully in national and international activities to support efforts towards
sustainable development;
18. Invites the governing bodies
of the organs, organizations and programmes of the United Nations system to
report, as appropriate, through the Economic and Social Council, to the General
Assembly, not later than at its forty-fourth session, on progress made in their
organizations towards sustainable development, and to make such reports
available to the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme
at its next regular session;
19. Also invites the Governing
Council of the United Nations Environment Programme to provide comments on
matters concerning progress on sustainable development that fall within its
mandate, on the above-mentioned reports and on other developments, for submission
to the Economic and Social Council at its second regular session of 1989 and to
the General Assembly at its forty-fourth session;
20. Requests the
Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its forty-third session,
through the Economic and Social Council, a progress report on the
implementation of the present resolution and to the Assembly at its
forty-fourth session a consolidated report on the same subject;
21. Decides to include in the
provisional agenda of its forty-third session a sub-item entitled "A
long-term strategy for sustainable and environmentally sound development"
under the agenda item entitled "Development and international economic
co-operation".
