UN Rio Declaration

In 1992, the UN held an international conference on the Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro. There were a number of products of this, one of which was 'The Rio Declaration'- a 27-principle declaration signed and ratified by nation states with a number of aims focused around economic and social development, as well as the environment.

The declaration drove at 'establishing a new and equitable global partnership' between states, key sectors of society and people, with the assigned aim of 'working towards agreements which respect the interest of all and protect the integrity of the global environmental and developmental system'.

Effectively, the declaration was the foundational principles of sustainable development as we know it today. The scope is substantial; from the dedication of states to encourage scientific exchange, to the simply stated right of humans to a 'healthy and productive life, in harmony with nature'.