26 Environmental Policy and Law, 14 (1985)

japan Whalers to Defy Ban

The Chairman of the Japanese Whaling Association, Shigeru Hasui, said recently that the Japanese fishing industry "will not stop all whaling unless it has reason to stop it" and that Japanese whalers will defy "pressure diplomacy" by the US and continue whaling after 1988.

He said that whalers will defy a recent pledge by the Japanese government to halt whaling by 1988, that was made in exchange for Japan receiving as US guarantee

of stable fish quotas within the US 200 mile zone. The United States had threatened to cut Japan's fishing quota in its water by 50 per cen t following Japan's statement that it would ignore an Interna- tional Whaling Commission ban and catch 400 sperm whales in the 1984-85 season. United States law requires the State Department to reduce the fish quota of any nation that defies a Commission ruling.

However, in November 1984 the US dropped its retaliatory threat after two weeks of talks with Japanese officials, saying that Japan had agreed to stop all com- mercial whaling by 1988.

According to its Chairman, the Japanese Whalers' Association will try to overturn the agreement by en- couraging further negotiations and by appealing to international courts and stressing to the world the dietary and cultural importance of whaling to Japan. According to a recent poll by the Association, 80 per cent of Japanese eat whale meat and 70 per cent oppose the Com- mission's ruling. []

Stop Pre~: As this issue o f EPL went to press, the District Court for the District o f Colombia ruled thai the agreement with the Japanese Gm'ernnwnt referred 1o In Ihb note was unlaaful. According to the "Financial Times °'. Judge Rltchie held that Set'retao, o f Commerce Malcolm tlaldrlge was seek. ing to undermine the intentions o f Congre~. A fuller report on the judgement will appear In a later issue o f EPL.

SELECTED DOCUMENTS

World Commission on Environment and Development

Stalements of the Chairman, Mrs. Gro Harlem Brundtland

At the Opening Session of lhe Inaugural IMeeting in Geneva, I-3 October 1984 J

I n t roduc t ion

Pressures on Environment and Development Unprecedented

The Commission has been established at a time of unprecedented pressure on the global environment and a growing recognition that much of today's development Is not sus- talnable. Rather it is based upon a squander- ing of our "biological" cepitah our soils, forests, animal and plant species, even our water and air. It consumes its own ecological foundations.

Many of today's economic, monetary and trade policies and policies In sectors such as energy, agriculture, forestry and human set- tlements, Induce and reinforce non- sustainable development patterns and prac- tice. Many current approaches to environment and development ere not working. Widespread poverty and concent.rated af- fluence conspire to Increase environmental degradation, to Increase pressures on resources and to Increase inequities that lead to global Instability and political tension.

During the last decade and a half of grow. Ing environmental awareness, most develop- ing countries have seen a steady and, in some case, rapid Increase in environmental degradation added to historic pressure on resources. Many newly Industrializing coun- tries have experienced a massive deteriora- tion of their environment, with environmental problems associated with sudden In-

dustrlallzatlon and explosive urbanization be- ing added to those associated with underdevelopment and poverty.

It Is true that many advanced Industrial countries have seen significant Improvements in environmental quality over the past decade and a half. This has stemmed from new In- stitutions, legislation policies and pro- gra~nmes designed largely to clean up the massive backlog of environmental degrada. tlon from the rapid growth of the fifties and sixties, and to react to and cure new situa- tions as they arise. It must be added, however, that In these countries the battle against con- ventional pollution Is far from won. Resource deterioration accelerates and the economic and social costs of the "react and retrofit" ap- proach to development continue to grow.

At the same time, a new generation of In- creasingly complex environment and develop- ment Issues has emerged, of concern to developed and developing countries alike. Some of these, although global or regional In nature, are largely a consequence of the pro- duction patterns of the heavily Industrialized parts of the world climatic changes Induced by rising levels of carbon dioxide, for exam- ple, which could have massive economic and social consequences. Transboundary air pollution In the form of acid rain now prob- ably affects all continents, as do the use and misuse of chemicals end the unwise manage- ment of hazardous wastes,

Some problems reflect the Incidental ef- fects of certain economic, trade, agricultural, forestry, energy and other policies as applied at both the national and International level. Soil erosion and desertlflcatlon, surface and ground water pollution, deforastatlon (especially of tropical forests) and the loss of

genetic resources, are all examples - - ex- amples of how man Is eroding the very basis for his own survival. Some of these problems, of course, are reinforced by the voracious material demands of the Industrial societies.

Some of the moat threatening environment and development problems today are caused to a considerable extent by the widespread poverty and the Inequitable distribution of resources within Individual nations and among nations and regions. Many of the most serious effects In the Third World are rooted In economic and social Injustice and In a worsening Imbalance in the relationship be- tween man and his capacity to manage nature.

Current Approaches not Working

Hindsight demonstrates clearly that many current approaches to environment and development are not working. They are clearly not sustainable as we move Into the next cen- tury, building another world on top of the one we have, and doubling, at least, our demands on the planet's ecosystems. In the crudest sense, they are not even affordable. If we con- tlnue" to undertake development without regard to tho environmental consequences of that development In the expectation that later - - "when we are richer" - - we can "react and retrofit", it Is doubtful that even the rich coun- tries will be able to afford to keep up, let alone catch up. It Is certain that the developing countries will not.

Now Approaches to Development are Pos- sible

Hindsight also demonstrates forcibly that different approaches are possible.

It Is possible to harness science and

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