Box 2B Concepts for environmental protection

Sustainable development: development which, '...meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.' (WCED, 1987, p 43)

Precautionary principle: this broadly demands that if an activity or substance a carries a significant risk of environmental damage it should either not proceed or be used, or should be adopted at only the minimum essential level and with maximum practicable safeguards (UNEP, 1992, pp 706­7). Article 130r.2 of the new Treaty on European Union provides that EU environmental policy should be based upon the precautionary principle.

Polluter pays principle (PPP): that polluters should bear the full costs of pollution-reduction measures decided upon by public authorities to ensure that the environment is in an acceptable state. More recently the PPP has been extended to accidental pollution (OECD, 1991, p 257).

Shared responsibility: this principle involves not so much a choice of action at one administrative level to the exclusion of others, but rather a mixing of actors and instruments at different administrative levels, enterprises or indeed the general public or consumers (CEC, 1993c, p 78).

Environmental impact assessment (EIA): the necessary preliminary practice of evaluating the risks posed by a certain project before granting permission for a development (UNEP 1992, p 707, and Council Directive 85/337/EEC). A UNECE convention sets certain provisions for the EIA process in the case of transboundary impacts (Espoo, Finland, February 1991).

Best available technology (BAT): signifies the latest or state-of-the-art techniques and technologies in the development of activities, processes and their methods of operation which minimise emissions to the environment (CEC, 1993b, p 35).

Environmental quality standard (EQS): the set of requirements which must be fulfilled at a given time by a given environment or particular part thereof, as set out in legislation (CEC, 1993b, p 35).

Integrated pollution prevention and control (IPC): to provide for measures and procedures to prevent (wherever practicable) or to minimise emissions from industrial installations so as to achieve a high level of protection for the environment as a whole. The IPC concept arose when it became clear that approaches to controlling emissions in one medium alone may encourage shifting the burden of pollution across other environmental media. This concept requires that emission limit values are set with the aim of not breaching EQSs: only when EQSs or relevant international guidelines do not exist can emission limit values be based on BAT (CEC, 1993b, pp 34, 32 and 38­9).