Introduction and principles - Introduction to Environmental Impact Assessment - page 11

it is not legally binding. It relies on national governments, local governments and others
to implement most of the programmes. The Rio Conference called for a Sustainable
Development Commission to be established to progress the implementation of Agenda
21. The Commission met for the first time in 1993 and reached agreement on a thematic
programme of work for 1993-97. This provided the basis for an appraisal of Agenda 21
in preparation for a special session of the UN in 1997. The Johannesburg Earth Summit
of 2002 re-emphasized the difficulties of achieving international commitment on
environmental issues. Whilst there were some positive outcomes—for example, on water
and sanitation (with a target to halve the number without basic sanitation—about 1.2
billion—by 2015), on poverty, health, sustainable consumption and on trade and
globalization—many other outcomes were much less positive. Delivering the Kyoto
protocol on legally enforceable reductions of greenhouse gases continues to be difficult,
as does progress on safeguarding biodiversity and natural resources, and on delivering
human rights in many countries. Such problems severely hamper progress on sustainable
development.
Within the EU, four Community Action Programmes on the Environment were
implemented between 1972 and 1992. These gave rise to specific legislation on a wide
range of topics, including waste management, the pollution of the atmosphere, the
protection of nature and EIA. The Fifth Programme, “Towards sustainability” (1993-
2000), was set in the context of the completion of the Single European Market. The latter,
with its emphasis on major changes in economic development resulting from the removal
of all remaining fiscal, material and technological barriers between Member States, could
pose additional threats to the environment. The Fifth Programme recognized the need for
the clear integration of performance targets—in relation to environmental protection—for
several sectors, including manufacturing, energy, transport and tourism. EU policy on the
environment will be based on the “precautionary principle” that preventive action should
be taken, that environmental damage should be rectified at source and that the polluter
should pay. Whereas previous EU programmes relied almost exclusively on legislative
instruments, the Fifth Programme advocates a broader mixture, including “market-based
instruments”, such as the internalization of environmental costs through the application of
fiscal measures, and “horizontal, supporting instruments”, such as improved baseline and
statistical data and improved spatial and sectoral planning. Figure 1.3 illustrates the
interdependence of resources, sectors and policy areas. EIA has a clear role to play.
The Sixth Programme, “Our future, our choice” (2001-10), builds on the broader
approach introduced in the previous decade. It recognizes that sustainable development
has social and economic as well as physical environmental dimensions, although the
focus is on four main priority issues: tackling climate change, protecting nature and
biodiversity, reducing human health impacts from environmental pollution and ensuring
the sustainable management of natural resources and waste. It also recognizes the
importance of empowering citizens and changing behaviour, and of “greening land-use
planning and management decisions”. “The Community directive on EIA and proposal
on SEA, which aim to ensure that the environmental implications of planned
infrastructure projects and planning are properly addressed, will also help ensure that the
environmental considerations are better integrated into planning decisions” (CEC 2001).