Rio Declaration On Environment and Development: An Assessment

Principle 17
Environmental impact assessment, as a national instrument, shall
be undertaken for proposed activities that are likely to have a
significant adverse impact on the environment and are subject to a
decision of a competent national authority.
Tools such as environmental impact assessments (EIAs) are becoming
a feature in many countries as a prerequisite to project approval.
There is a growing debate on the importance, too, of examining
the environmental impact of policies as opposed to individual
projects. For instance, an agriculture policy which uses high energy
and chemical input needs to be assessed in a way which takes into
account long-term effects of such practices. Knowledge of the adverse
impacts of clearance of hill forests may be the basis of a watercatchment
protection policy which totally prohibits any logging or
hill development.
Post-project monitoring is another dimension which should be
included in the EIA process. The experience in many countries
confirms the need for this. It is only through post-project audit that we
can assess the criteria currently applied by an environment agency.
Such a procedure also ensures compliance with the conditions
attached to an EIA approval. There are already many cases where
non-compliance has led to serious environmental damage, and the
parties concerned have acted with impunity.
This principle was strongly advocated by the North, and supported
by the South.
Principle 18
States shall immediately notify other States of any natural disasters
or other emergencies that are likely to produce sudden harmful
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