Applying the Precautionary Principle

Abstract

Decision makers have struggled to come to terms with the uncertainty surrounding environmental issues. For example, how should the problem of global warming be approached when there is so much uncertainty surrounding its causes and potential outcomes? The precautionary principle is a response to this issue. The principle is defined in the 1992 Rio Declaration on the environment; "Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation." The principle implies that people have a duty to take anticipatory action to prevent environmental harm, to examine the full range of alternatives and to allow safe margins of error. It means that the onus is no longer on the conservationist to prove that harm will occur, but on the developer to prove that no harm will occur.