An Overview of International Environmental Convention, Policies and Protocols

After industrial revolution in the late 18 th century, the necessity of environmental law is realized by the international community. Then, Environmental law as a distinct system arose in the 1960s in the major industrial economies as it was becoming clear that the cumulative negative environmental effects of human activities were becoming unsustainable in the long term. As a result of the Stockholm Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in 1972, the international environmental law changed greatly that led to new thinking on how to reduce damages and better preserve the environment through law. Following the Stockholm conference, the world Conservation Strategy (WCS) was prepared in 1980 which brings environmental awareness all over the world. After three years of formulation of WCS, the United Nations General Assembly (1983) formulate a commission known as the Brundtland Commission, formally the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) under the chairmanship of Gro Harlem Brundtland. The Report of the Commission, Our Common Future, was published by Oxford University Press in 1987 which deals with sustainable development. Consequently, both international and national policies and laws came into force gradually based on sustainable development.