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UNCED [United Nations Conference on Environment and Development] - Beijing Conference
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UNCED [United Nations Conference on Environment and Development] - Beijing Conference
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Kathleen McGinty's Files
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FOIA Number: 2012-0769-F
FOIA
MARKER
This is not a textual record. This is used as an
administrative marker by the William J. Clinton
Presidential Library Staff.
Collection/Record Group:
Clinton Presidential Records
Subgroup/Office of Origin:
Council on Environmental Quality
Series/Staff Member:
Kathleen (Katie) McGinty
Subseries:
OA/ID Number:
2891
FolderID:
Folder Title:
UNCED [United Nations Conference on Environment and Development] - Beijing Conference
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S
61
5
11
1
DRAFT DECLARATION OF THE CONFERENCE
AS ADOPTED BY CONSENSUS AT 6TH MEETING
a
OF THE INFORMAL CONSULTATIONS
ON JUNE 17, 1991
TO BE SUBMITTED TO THE MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
FOR CONSIDERATION AND APPROPRIATE ACTION
ED/Conf./G.2
18 June 1991
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE OF
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES ON
ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT
BEIJING, 18-19 JUNE 1991
BEIJING MINISTERIAL DECLARATION
ON ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT
We, the Ministers from forty-one developing countries,* met
in Beijing, at the invitation of the Government of the People's
Republic of China, from June 18 to 19, 1991, at the Ministerial
Conference on Environment and Development, and having discussed
in depth the challenges faced by the international community in
establishing norms of cooperation for the enhancement of
environment and development, particularly the implications for
the developing countries, declare as follows:
1. We are deeply concerned about the accelerating degradation of
the global environment. This is largely on account of
unsustainable development models and life styles. As a result,
the basic elements indispensable for the human life -- land,
water and atmosphere -- are gravely threatened. The more serious
and widespread environmental problems are air pollution, climate
change, ozone layer depletion, drying up of fresh water
resources, pollution of rivers, lakes and the marine environment
including the coastal zones, :marine and coastal resources
deterioration, floods and droughts, soil loss, land degradation,
desertification, deforestation, loss of, biodiversity, acid rain,
proliferation and mismanagement of toxic products, illegal
traffic of toxic and dangerous products and wastes, growth of
urban agglomerations, deterioration of living and working
conditions in urban and rural areas, especially of sanitation,
resulting in epidemics and other such problems. Furthermore,
poverty in the developing countries is becoming aggravated,
hampering the efforts to meet the legitimate needs and
aspirations of their people and exerting greater pressures on the
environment.
2. We affirm that environmental protection and sustainable
development is a matter of common concern to humankind, which
requires effective actions by the international community and
provides an opportunity for global cooperation. Against this
background and out of a strong concern for the present and future
generations, we horeby reaffirm our solemn commitment to
*
For the list of developing countries attending the
Conference, please see Annex.
participating actively, on the basis of differentiated
responsibilities and to the best of our ability, in the global
efforts for environmental protection and sustainable development,
keeping in view the general principles and broad approach set out
below.
I. GENERAL PRINCIPLES
3.
Changes in the environment are closely related to economic-
and social activities. Environmental problems must not be
viewed in isolation, and need to be addressed together with the
process of development, by integrating environmental concerns
with the imperatives of economic growth and development.
In
this connection, the right to development of the developing
countries must be fully recognized, and the adoption of measures
for the protection of the global environment should support their
economic growth and development. In particular, the
international community must actively support the efforts of
developing countries to strengthen their institutional and
technical capacities.
4. The special situation and needs of the developing countries
should be fully taken into account. Each country must be
enabled to determine the pace of transition, based on the
adaptive capacity of its economic, social and cultural ethos and
capabilities. The environmental problems of the developing
countries arise from the conditions of poverty. The development
process initiated by these countries utilizing the old polluting
technologies provided by the developed countries also contributes
to the degradation of the environment, which in turn, undermines
the development process itself. This adversely affects not only
the developing countries but also the entire world. Sustainable
development and steady economic growth constitute a way to break
this cycle c5 poverty and environmental degradation and to
strengthen the capabilities of the developing countries for
environmental protection. The least developed countries,
disaster-prone developing countries as well as island and low-
lying developing countries should be given special attention by
the world community.
5.
The inequities in current international economic
relations confronting the developing countries, especially with
regard to debt, financing, trade and transfer of technology,
have led to serious consequences for them, including the reverse
flow of financial resources, braindrain and backwardness in their
scientific and technological capabilities. The economic
development of the developing countries has thus been constrained
and their capability to participate effectively in global
environmental efforts undermined. It is therefore imperative to
establish a new and equitable international economic order
conducive to the sustained and sustainable development of all
countries, particularly the developing countries, thereby
creating the conditions necessary for global cooperation to
protect the environment. Countries should be able to determine
their own environment and development policies, without any
barriers or discrimination on trade against them.
6.
International cooperation in the field of environmental
protection should be based on the principle of equality among
sovereign states. The developing countries have the sovereign
right to use their own natural resources in keeping with their
developmental and environmental objectives and priorities.
Furthermore environmental considerations should not be used as an
excuse for interference in the internal affairs of the developing
countries, nor should these be used to introduce any forms of
conditionality in aid or development financing, or to impose
trade barriers affecting the export and development efforts of
the developing countries.
7. While the protection of the environment is in the common
interest of the international community, the developed
countries bear the main responsibility for the degradation of the
global environment. Ever since the Industrial Revolution, the
developed countries have over-exploited the world's natural
resources through unsustainable patterns of production and
consumption, causing damage to the global environment, to the
detriment of the developing countries.
8.
The developed countries, in view of their main
responsibility for environmental degradation and their greater
financial and technological capabilities, must take the lead in
eliminating the damage to the environment as well as in assisting
the developing countries to deal with the problems facing them.
9.
The developing countries need adequate, new and additional
financial resources to be able to address effectively the
environmental and developmental problems confronting them. There
should be preferential and non-commercial transfer of
environmentally sound technologies to the developing countries.
10. On their part, the developing countries will contribute to
the process of environmental protection and enhancement by, inter
alia, stepping up technical cooperation and transfer of
technology among themselves.
II.
Sectoral Issues
11.
Land degradation, Resertification, floods and droughts,
worsening quality and supply of fresh water resources, soil loss,
deforestation and vegetation degradation are among the serious
environmental problems confronting the developing countries.
These constitute a major part of the problem of global
environmental degradation, to which priority should be accorded.
These problems have been discussed in international fora, and
some plans of action have been proposed or approved. However,
no effective actions have been taken so far by the international
community towards their implementation. We urge the
international community to immediately initiate actions in this
regard, particularly by establishing an international funding
mechanism for this purpose.
12.
We are gravely concerned with the continuous increase in
the green-house gases leading to climate change and its likely
implications for the global ecological system, especially the
threat that they pose to the developing countries, and to the
island and low-lying developing countries in particular.
Responsibility for the emission of green-house gases should - be
viewed both in historical and cumulative terms, and in terms of
current emissions. On the basis of the principle of equity,
those developed countries which have contaminated more must
contribute more. Developed countries should therefore commit
themselves to adopting measures to halt human-induced climate
change and to setting up mechanisms to guarantee the
environmental security and development of the developing
countries, including the transfer to the developing countries, on
preferential and non-commercial terms, of technologies for this
purpose.
13. The framework convention on climate change currently being
negotiated should clearly recognize that it is the developed
countries which are mainly responsible for excessive emissions of
greenhouse gases, historically and currently, and it is these
developed countries which must take immediate action, with time-
bound targets, to stabilize and reduce such emissions,
Developing countries cannot be expected to accept any obligations
in the near future. However, they should be encouraged through
technical and financial cooperation to undertake measures within
their plans, priorities and programmes which contribute both to
their economic development and to the efforts to tackle the
problem of climate change, without prejudicing their growing
energy needs. The framework convention must include, inter
alia, firm commitments by developed countries towards the
transfer of technology to developing countries, the establishment
of a separate funding mechanism, and the development of the
economically viable new and renewable energy sources as well as
sustainable agricultural practices, which constitutes an
important step to deal with the major cause of climate change.
In addition, the developing countries must be provided with the
full scientific, technical and financial cooperation necessary to
cope with the adverse impacts of climate change.
14.
We further agree that the purpose and principles of the
Vienna Convention on the Protection of the Ozone Layer and the
Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, as
amended in June 1990, are positive in nature.
The
implementation by the developing countries of the obligations
under the amended Protocol is subject to the effective
implementation by the states parties to the Protocol of the
arrangements for the provision of financial resources and
transfer of technology to the developing countries. We urge the
developed countries to commit themselves to the long-term
arrangements for providing adequate financial resources and the
expeditious transfer of technology as required of then under the
Vienna Convention and the Montreal Protocol, as amended in June
1990.
15.
We are concerned at the accelerating loss of bio-
diversity. Most living organisms and their habitats in the world
belong to the developing countries and they lave borne the cost
of conserving them over the ages. Such efforts should be
recognized and supported by the international community and in
international conventions and subsequent protocols. Each state
has sovereignty over its biological resources,
thus
conservation measures should be compatible with its national
plans and priorities. The international legal instrument on
biodiversity now being negotiated must clearly recognize, inter
alia, the linkage between access to genetic material and transfer
of biotechnology, research and development in the country of
origin, sharing of the fruits of scientific research and the
commercial profits. Issues of intellectual property rights must
be satisfactorily resolved so that they do not become an obstacle
to the transfer of technology, including biotechnology.
Furthermore, the international legal instrument must recognize
and reward the innovative work done by rural population, largely
in developing countries, in protecting and utilizing
biodiversity.
16.
We note that though control and management of hazardous
wastes and toxic substances require international cooperation,
the Basel Convention adopted two years ago has not entered into
force. We therefore urge those states which have not ratified
the Convention to consider the possibility of becoming parties to
it. We urge all states to take steps to provide for a liability
and compensation regime; mechanisms for transfer of low-waste
technologies to the developing countries; development of
capabilities for identification, analysis and disposal of wastes
and mechanisms for adopting a world-wide ban on export of
hazardous wastes to developing countries which do not have such
capabilities. Likewise, we are concerned with the continuous
illegal traffic of toxic and dangerous products and wastes,
particularly from developed to developing countries. We urge
the developed countries to take appropriate measures to halt such
traffic.
17. Multilateral measures to protect forests and promote their
sustainable management, including the proposal for a global
consensus on forestry, should be aimed at enhancing the economic,
social and environmental potentials of forest. Management plans
should integrate living resource conservation and development
priorities and goals, taking into account the needs of the local
communities, including their habitats. In this respect,
efforts, including specific projects of developing countries to
promote the utilization of the tropical forests on a sustainable
basis, should be recognized and supported. It should take the
form of financial and technical assistance, as well as ensuring
better market access for higher value-added timber products. It
is equally important to ensure financial cooperation by the world
community for forest conservation and development. Towards this
end, the international community should, among other things, make
efforts towards the greening of the world and countries which had
in the past 30 destroyed their extensive forests should increase
their forest cover through reforestation and afforestation
programmes.
18. We are deeply concerned about the spread of desertification
process and continuity of prolonged drought cycles, which have
been recognized by the international community as major
environmental problems. Hence there is an urgent need to accord
high priority to these problems to take all necessary measures
including the provision of appropriate financial, scientific and
technical resources in order to stop and reverse the process of
desertification and drought, with the aim of contributing to the
preservation of the global ecological balance.
19. The marine and coastal resources deterioration resulting
from irrational exploitation and pollution, mostly by developed
countries, constitutes & serious development constraint for those
countries that depend on them. It is necessary to enlarge
cooperation on the protection and use of regional seas and to
improve their rational utilization based on better knowledge and
information. Discharge of toxic and nuclear wastes at seas and
oceans must be banned, and that of other wastes should be
strictly regulated.
20. In the densely populated cities of developing countries,
insufficiency of resources causes inefficiency of the basic
public services, high marginality, and degradation of the urban
environment. The urban planning, including mechanisms for
financing sustainable development, must contribute to enhancing
the quality of life in the urban and rural settlements. In this
context, the new mecha:.isms for financing sustainable development
should give priority to those problems.
III. Cross-Sectoral Issues
21.
The key to the success of the global efforts for the
protection of the environment is the broadest possible
participation of the international community; this depends to a
large extent on whether substantial progress can be made on
cross-sectoral issues, including in particular, the availability
of adequate, new and additional financial resources and transfer
of technology on preferential and non-commercial terms to the
developing countries.
22.
With regard to global environmental issues, every
international legal instrument should include provisions for
adequate, new and additional funds, which should lay down in
explicit terms the commitments of the developed countries in this
regard. A key factor is the adequacy of financial resources,
which should be sufficient for the developing countries to cover
the incremental costs involved in addressing the issues and in
implementing their relevant commitments derived from
international legal instruments. Contribution by the developed
6
countries should be sufficient to cover the costs not only of
prevention but also of mitigating the cumulative effects of past
actions. Developing countries could also' contribute, on a
voluntary basis, to the funds.
23.
In order to deal with the long-existing but now rapidly
aggravating environmental problems of immediate concern to the
developing countries, a special Green Fund should be established
to provide adequate and additional financial assistance to them.
This Fund should be used to address problems which are not
covered by specific international agreements, such as water and
coastal pollution, shortages and degradation of fresh water
resources, deforestation, soil loss, land degradation and
desertification. It should also cover the costs of the
transfer of environmentally sound technologies and the costs of
building up national capabilities for environmental protection
and for scientific and technological research. This Fund should
be managed on the basis of equitable representation from
developing and developed countries, and should ensure easy access
for developing countries.
24.
We emphasize the important role of- science and technology
in protecting the global environment, and reaffirm that measures
need to be taken to ensure the transfer of environmentally sound
technologies to the developing countries on preferential, most
favorable, concessional and non-commercial terms.
The
transfer of these technologies to the developing countries
should be regarded as a contribution to the common interests of
humankind. The developed countries should promote the transfer
of environmentally sound technologies to developing countries,
through procedures and arrangements including incentives and dis-
incentives to the private sector.
IV. The United Nations Conference
on Environment and Development
25.
In accordance with the United Nations General Assembly
Resolution 44/228, we emphasize that the United Nations
Conference on Environment and Development in 1992 should not
only discuss the global environmental issues such as climate
change and ozone layer depletion and the related response
strategies. It should also be a forum to address other global
issues confronting the developing countries, particularly those
development issues related to environment. The relevant
agreements reached at the Conference must provide guidance to
international deliberations on trade, finence, technology and
other similar issues. The interlinkagos, where relevant, should
be incorporated in each.
26. We believe that the proposed Earth Charter and Agenda 21
resulting from the United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development should be compatible with the principles embodied in
relevant resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly.
Furthermore, they must reflect the outcome of the conferences of
developing countries with regard to the inter-relationship
between environment and development, and the special situation
and the needs of the developing countries. The Agenda should be
action-oriented to solve the environmental problems and meet the
needs of the developing countries with the aim of integrating
environmental concerns with development.
27. We also believe that poverty is at the root of the
environmental problems of the developing world. The
Conference could provide new strength and momentum to the
proposed launching of a huge world program against poverty and
its effects on world environment.
V. Coordination and Cooperation Among Developing
Countries on Environment and Development
28. We agree that the environment-related efforts at various
international fora, particularly in the preparatory process for
the 1992 Conference, will have direct and far-reaching
implications for the developing countries. We emphasize that it
is a pressing task for us as developing countries to intensify
consultations and coordination among ourselves in an effort to
present our positions at international fdra more effectively so
as to safeguard better the interests of the developing countries
as a whole.
29.
We decide to strengthen further consultations and
coordination among developing countries in the preparatory
process for the 1992 Conference and at other international fora,
along the lines of the New Delhi Conference in 1990 and the
Beijing Conference.
30. We believe that measures should be taken to explore the
ways and means and modalities for economic and technical
cooperation among developing countries in the sphere of
environment and development. In this regard, developing
countries will also endeavor to set appropriate environmental
goals for attaining better quality of life and environmental
well-being, while at the same time identify and assess the
financial and technological needs for achieving such goals.
31. We support the retaining and strengthening the Headquarters
of the United Nations Environment Programme and all its programme
activity centres in Nairobi, considering the success the
Programme has achieved to date from this venue and the need to
have it better equipped for carrying on its work.
32. We re-emphasize that we intend to participate fully in
the global effort to protect the environment without hindering
the development process and that this can be achieved if the
right climate is created for global cooperation by a positive,
constructive and practical response on the part of the developed
countries, so that we can jointly promote the well-being of the
present and future generations.
*
8
ANNEX:
LIST OF PARTICIPATING COUNTRIES
ALGERIA
MALI
ARGENTINA
MEXICO
BANGLADESH
MOROCCO
BRAZIL
NEPAL
CAMEROON
NIGER
CHILE
NIGERIA
CHINA
PAKISTAN
COLOMBIA
PERU
COTE D'IVOIRE
THE PHILIPPINES
CUBA
SAUDI ARABIA
EGYPT
SENEGAL
ETHIOPIA
SINGAPORE
FIJI
THE SUDAN
GHANA
TANZANIA
GUYANA
THAILAND
INDIA
UGANDA
INDONESIA
VENEZUELA
IRAN
YUGOSLAVIA
JORDAN
ZAIRE
KENYA
ZIMBABWE
MALAYSIA