Environment and sustained development in the third world: A review of the past decade

Exactly a decade ago, during 5-16 June 1972, the United Nations convened an intergovernmental conference on the Human Environment at Stockholm, Sweden. It was the first of the UN mega-conferences that set the pattern for the 1970s, and was followed in rapid succession by several other similar major conferences on critical global issues. These were, in chronological order, on population (Bucharest, 1974), food (Rome, 1974), human settlements (Vancouver, 1976), water (Mar del Plata, 1977), desertification (Nairobi, 1977), science and technology (Vienna, 1979), and renewable energy (Nairobi, 1981). In order to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment, the General Assembly of the United Nations decreed that a Session of Special Character (SSC) of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) should be held in 1982, in which all nations should participate. The Special Session was held in Nairobi during 10-18 May 1982, and was attended by several Heads of State, ministers and leading international figures. It was held to 'rekindle the spirit of Stockholm, and by so doing strengthen the commitment of governments to the environment'. Viewed from any direction, the Stockholm Conference was an important bench-mark for the environmental movement. Accordingly, during its tenth anniversary, it is appropriate to analyse how the environmental issues and concerns have been viewed during the last decade in the Third World countries, and also to review the work of UNEP, which was established by the Conference, especially as they relate to developing countries.