A Brief idea on "Our Common Future" - Brundtland report - Sustainable development and different Principles adopted in the conference. i.e Precautionary Principle, polluter pays principle, Inter and intragenerational equity, Public Trust Doctrine etc.

1. Development
Surabhi Tanwar
“The earth we abuse and the living things we
kill will, in the end, take their revenge; for in
exploiting their presence we are diminishing
our future” - Marya Manes.

2. Introduction
 The dawn of the twenty-first century witnessed an intimidating
threat of depletion of the environment and its natural resources
stand
 It is difficult to say how long the living species can survive the
developed as well as developing countries have to march with
the promises and pay heed to the call for ‘one earth’ an ‘one
environment’ made by India at the Stockholm Conference,
1972.
 A series of international conferences and initiatives formulated
a theoretical framework for sustainable development during
1972 to 1992. The UN Conference on the Human Environment,
held in Stockholm in 1972, was the first major international
gathering to discuss sustainability at the global scale. The
conference was a milestone in laying down a series of
recommendations which led to the establishment of the UN
Environment Programme (UNEP)

3. Sustainable Development
Our Common Future, a.k.a. the
Brundtland Commission Report(1987)
Development that meets the need of
the present without compromising the
ability of the future generation to
meet their own needs.
(Brundtland, 1987)

4. Sustainable Development
Gro Harlem Brundtland
(b. 1939)
Prime Minister of Norway (1981, 1986-89, 1990-96; 1st woman)
Director General of World Health Organization (1998-2003)
Special Envoy on Climate Change to U. N. Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon (since 2007)
Indira Gandhi Peace Prize
(1988)

5. What is Sustainable Development?
- it is the harmonious integration of
a sound and viable economy ;
responsible governance;
social cohesion; and
ecological integrity
to ensure that development is a life-sustaining process.
Sustainable Development = Economic Development
+ Environment Protection
+ Social Reform
+ People’s Empowerment

6. PEOPLE
ENVIRONMENT DEVELOPMENT

7. Sustainable
Development
Business is the key
actor in ECONOMY,
which is mainly
concerned with
producing goods and
services for people
Government is the key
actor in POLITY, which
is concerned with
democratic
governance and
security of human
rights.
Civil Society is the key
actor in CULTURE, which
is concerned with the
development of the social
and spiritual capacities of
human beings.

8. It adopted the following principles:
 The Precautionary Principle- Principle 15:
“In order to protect the environment, the precautionary approach shall be
widely applied by States according to their capabilities. Where there are threats
of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be
used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent
environment degradation.”
the Precautionary Principle means : -
(1) Environmental measures – To anticipate, prevent and attack the causes of
environmental degradation.
(2) Lack of scientific enquiry should not be used to postpone measures for prevention
of environmental degradation.
(3) The onus of proof is on the actor, developer or industrialist to show that his action
is environmentally benign.

9.  The Inter-Generational Equity Principle- Principle 3:
“The right to development must be fulfilled so as to equitably
meet developmental and environmental needs of present and future
generations”.
 The Polluter Pays Principle- Principle 16:
Polluter Pays Principle has become a popular catchphrase in recent
times. 'If you make a mess, it's your duty to clean it up'- this is the main
basis of this slogan.
 “National authorities should endeavor to promote the internalization of
environmental costs and the use of economic instruments, taking into
account the approach that the polluter should, in principle, bear the cost of
pollution, with due regard to the public interest and without distorting
international trade and investment”. It embraced the need for the
internalization of environmental costs and the “polluter pays”
• In Vellore Citizens Welfare Forum v Union of India (Tamil Nadu Tanneries
case),( AIR 1996 SC 2715) the Supreme Court of India, in a judgment delivered
by Kuldip Singh J, held that the polluter pays principle had been accepted as part
of the environmental law of the country.

10. Fundamental Principles of Inter Generational Equity:
• Three Fundamental Principles:
 The “conservation of options” principle
 The “conservation of quality” principle
 The “conservation of access” principle
 In the landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, Minors
Oposa v Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources ,the Supreme Court held that : “We find no difficulty in ruling
that they can, for themselves, for others of their generation and for the
succeeding generations, file a class suit. Their personality to sue on behalf
of the succeeding generations can only be based on the concept of
intergenerational responsibility insofar as the right to a balanced and
healthful ecology is concerned. Such a right, as hereinafter expounded,
considers the ‘rhythm and harmony of nature’.
 In State of Himachal Pradesh v Ganesh Wood Products, The ground for
seeking the writ was that the establishment of Katha manufacturing units
would lead to indiscriminate felling of Khair trees which would have a deep
and adverse effect upon the environment and ecology of the State.

11. • Public Trust Doctrine
• The public trust doctrine primarily rests on the principle that certain resources like air, sea
waters and the forests have such a great importance to the people as a whole that it would be
wholly unjustified to make them a subject of private ownership. The said resources being a gift
of nature, they should be made freely available to everyone irrespective of the status in life.
The doctrine enjoins upon the government to protect the resources for the enjoyment of the
general public rather than to permit their use for private ownership or commercial purposes.
• Another major principle accepted by the Supreme Court is the public trust doctrine for the
protection of natural resource. This doctrine came up for consideration in the M.C. Mehta v.
Kamal Nath.
• CASE STUDY The flow of the river Beas was deliberately diverted because it used to flood
Span Motels in the Kulu Manali valley in which a prominent politician's family had a direct
interest. The motel was also allotted protected forestland by the State Government and had
also encroached on protected forestland, which encroachment was subsequently regularized.
• The Supreme Court used the public trust doctrine in this case to restore the environment to its
original condition. Briefly, this doctrine postulates that the public has a right to expect that
certain lands and natural areas will retain their natural characteristics.
• Applying the public trust doctrine, the Supreme Court cancelled the lease of forestland granted
in favor of Span Motels and the State Government was directed to take over the area and
restore it to its original condition. The motel was directed to pay compensation (damages for
restitution of the environment and ecology of the area). It was also asked to show cause why a
pollution fine be not imposed.

12. Conclusion
 It is clear that the law on sustainable development is gaining
momentum at local, national, regional, and international levels.
 While the four fundamental elements of sustainable
development – the precautionary principle, intergenerational
and intra-generational equity, the conservation of biological
diversity and ecological integrity, and the internalization of
environmental costs – have been much discussed and
promulgated in various international and national legal
contexts, there is still a long way to go in terms of their
implementation.
 The role of the judiciary in relation to the law of sustainable
development is thus of the greatest importance.
 Many key decisions of national judiciaries in the Asia-Pacific
Region have been discussed and it has been shown that, on a
case by case basis, a body of environmental jurisprudence with
respect to sustainable development is indeed emerging.
 It is up to the judiciary to clearly define the circumstances of
application and the means of implementation of the principles
of sustainable development so that this body of law can
continue to develop.

13.  The achievement of ecologically sustainable development depends on the
commitment and involvement of all arms of government – the legislature,
executive and judiciary – as well as other relevant stakeholders.
 Klaus Toepfer, the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP), stated in his message to the UNEP Global Judges
Programme: “Success in tackling environmental degradation relies on the
full participation of everyone in society.
 It is essential, therefore, to forge a global partnership among all relevant
stakeholders for the protection of the environment based on the affirmation
of the human values set out in the United Nations Millennium Declaration:
freedom, equality, solidarity, tolerance, respect for nature and shared
responsibility.
 The judiciary plays a key role in weaving these values into the fabric of our
societies. If individual members of the judiciary work towards the common
goal of achieving an environmentally sustainable future, the law on
sustainable development will gain strength and through collective effort the
goal will be reached.
 To use a phrase of Victor Hugo’s, “there is one thing stronger than all the
armies in the world and that is an idea whose time has come”. It is clear
that the time for sustainable development has come, and it is essential that
individual judges and national judiciaries seize the opportunity.

14. BIBLIOGRAPHY
http://www.worldbank.org/depweb/english/sd.html
http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/consumers/consumer_safety/l32042_en.ht
m
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_development
http://www.sd-commission.org.uk/pages/what-is-sustainable-development.html
https://www.uow.edu.au/~sharonb/esd/equity.html

15. Presentation by: Surabhi Tanwar
Student of Masters in Environmental
Science- Institute of Science, Mumbai