Rio Declaration on Environment and Development

The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development was established at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It consists of 27 principles defining rights and responsibilities of states to promote sustainable development.

Key Principles

Major principles covered:

• Human rights and responsibilities regarding the environment
• Reaffirming state sovereignty over natural resources
• Right to development must equitably meet development and environmental needs
• Eradicating poverty as an indispensable requirement for sustainable development
• Reducing unsustainable patterns of production and consumption
• Pursuing precautionary approaches where threats of serious or irreversible damage exist
• Conducting environmental impact assessments for proposed activities
• Strengthening participation of women, youth, and indigenous peoples
• Peace, development, and environmental protection are interdependent

Implementation Challenges

While groundbreaking, implementation faces ongoing challenges around:

• Balancing national priorities with collective action
• Operationalizing sustainable development commitments
• Ensuring adequate financing mechanisms
• Settling disputes

Still, the Rio Declaration established fundamental priorities and responsibilities central to the pursuit of sustainable development. Some regard it as articulating third generation human rights around environmental stewardship. It continues to underpin international cooperation on environment and development issues.