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| United
Nations Conference on Environment and Development, Agenda 21, Chapter 17
and Declaration of Principles |
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Link
to text of agreement
Status of agreement
The United Nations Conference on Environment
and Development (UNCED) was convened in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992 to
discuss a comprehensive range of environmental issues and to promote the policy
of sustainable development. Among the most important products of the Conference
were Agenda 21 - a comprehensive programme of action covering all areas of the
environment, adopted by the Conference on 14 June 1992 - and the Rio Declaration
on Environment and Development.
The Chapter of Agenda 21 relevant to fishing
is Chapter 17, which identifies the importance of the marine environment,
describing it as "an essential component of the global life-support system
and a positive asset that presents opportunities for sustainable
development." It outlines certain programme areas that include
integrated management and sustainable development of coastal areas, including
EEZs, sustainable use and conservation of marine living resources of the high
seas and strengthening international, including regional, cooperation and
coordination. The Conference also recognized that, despite efforts
at all levels, current approaches to the management of marine resources had not
always proved capable of achieving sustainable development and many resources
are being rapidly degraded or eroded.
Agenda 21 also noted that the management of high seas
fisheries, including the adoption, monitoring and enforcement of effective
conservation measures, is inadequate in many areas and some resources are over
utilized. In particular it identified problems of unregulated fishing,
overcapitalization, excessive fleet size, vessel reflagging to escape controls,
insufficiently selective gear, unreliable databases and lack of sufficient
co-operation between States.
| Further
information and references |
- Associated instruments
