Precautionary principle

The precautionary principle is an essential part of the current environmental and health policies in Europe, to be ( in spite of incomplete knowledge base) avoided or substantially reduced after stress or damage to the environment or human health in advance. It is thus a risk or hazard prevention. A uniform definition of this term does not exist. The Declaration of the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED ) in Rio in 1992 concretized the precautionary principle in Chapter 35, paragraph 3 of Agenda 21:

"Given the risk of irreversible damage to the environment should not serve as an excuse for a lack of full scientific certainty to delay measures which are justified in themselves. For measures relating to complex systems that have not yet been fully understood and where the consequences of disturbances can not yet be predicted, the precautionary approach could serve as a starting point. "

The precautionary principle aims to act despite the lack of certainty as to the nature, severity or likelihood of potential damage cases, preventively in order to avoid the damage from the outset.

History

The saying or the experience " better safe than sorry " (English: " Better safe than sorry" ) may have been in the development of the precautionary principle sponsor. When and where the precautionary principle was applied for the first time, is unknown; here the question of the definition plays a role.

Looking at prevention from the perspective of sustainability, ie the provision for future generations, the beginnings rich already documented back to the late 18th century. 1804 wrote a senior forestry Georg Ludwig Hartig: " Each instance Forstdirektion must woods ... looking to use so that the offspring can draw as much advantage of it, when appropriating the present generation ... ".

Entered the policy held by the precautionary principle in the early 1970s. 1971, it was established during the first environmental program of the Federal Government as a central environmental policy action principle. Since the 1980s, the precautionary principle is increasingly finding acceptance in international environmental policy. So it was included in the adopted by the UN General Assembly World Charter for Nature ( Earth Charter ) of 1982. Furthermore, it is included in the Treaty establishing the European Community in 1992 and the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development (Agenda 21) of 1992. The new EU chemicals policy into the EC Regulation No.1907/2006 ( REACH ) in Article 1 ( Objective and scope ) from that the provisions of the REACH Regulation is the precautionary principle.

Principles for the application of the precautionary principle

Through the precautionary principle authorizes the application of the law must act, although it is not certain that the act is of Protection. Each based on his decision is final and not merely for the time being, despite the unvollständigzureichenden knowledge base. Although there is no generally accepted definition of the precautionary principle. However, are for the European Community policy and based on her policies of the Member States before the European Commission's Communication on the precautionary principle, a common framework, which is the political discussions at the international level in accordance.

There are three principles have been formulated for application of the precautionary principle: