Brundtland Report

"Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the report called for increased co-operation
with industry".
The Bruntland Report, or Our Common Future, is the report made by the World
Commission on Environment and Development in 198! "t is o#ten $alled the
Bruntland report a#ter the $hairperson o# the $ommission, the then %rime &inister o#
'or(ay, &rs )ro *arlem Bruntland! The report is one o# the seminal environmental
do$uments o# the +,th $entury! "t is representative o# the -ro(in- -lobal a(areness in
the se$ond hal# o# the $entury o# the enormous environmental problems #a$in- the
planet, and o# a -ro(in- shi#t to(ards -lobal environmental a$tion! .s the report
observes, human/ind sa( the earth #rom spa$e #or the #irst time only a #e( de$ades
a-o, and yet this has had a pro#ound impa$t on the (ay in (hi$h (e per$eive the
earth and our pla$e on it!
The Commission0s brie# (as to re1e2amine the $riti$al environment and development
problems on the planet and to #ormulate realisti$ proposals to solve them3 to $reate a
0-lobal a-enda #or $han-e0! "t (as to (or/ (ithin the prin$iple o# Environmentally
4ustainable Development 5E4D6! The report represents a $olle$tive $all to a$tion,
involvin- all nation states as parti$ipants in #indin- solutions to the 0tra-edy o# the
$ommons0! "n the (ords o# Bruntland, one o# its -oals (as7
"to help define shared perceptions of long-term environmental issues and the
appropriate efforts needed to deal successfully with the problems of protecting and
enhancing the environment, a long-term agenda for action during the coming
decades, and aspirational goals of the world community." (Bruntland 19!"i#$.
The report approa$hes the environmental and development issues (hi$h (ere 5and
still are6 #a$in- the (orld as one $ommon $hallen-e, to be solved by $olle$tive
multilateral a$tion rather than throu-h the pursuit o# national sel#1interest! "t e2amines
population and human resour$es, #ood se$urity, spe$ies and e$osystems, ener-y,
industry, and 0the urban $hallen-e0 o# humans in their built environment! "mportantly,
it approa$hes these $ommon $on$erns (ith a holisti$ perspe$tive! For e2ample, the
report illustrates ho( the problems o# poverty and population are inter$onne$ted! By
e2aminin- the intera$tions bet(een the problems #a$in- the (orld, the report
develops $ommon approa$hes to pea$e, se$urity, development and the environment!
The report ma/es institutional and le-al re$ommendations #or $han-e in order to
$on#ront $ommon -lobal problems! Criti$ally amon-st these re$ommendations is the
$all #or the development and e2pansion o# international institutions #or $o1operation,
and le-al me$hanisms to $on#ront $ommon $on$erns! The report (as e##e$tively
$allin- #or international a$tion on issues o# $ommon $on$ern! Finally, and perhaps
most importantly, the report $alled #or in$reased $o1operation (ith industry!
The Bruntland report has o#ten been sub8e$t to $riti$ism, on the -rounds that many o#
its 0#ore$asts0 did not $ome true! *o(ever su$h $riti$isms are perhaps missin- the
si-ni#i$an$e o# the report and the #a$t that despite ina$$ura$ies in #ore$astin-, the
Bruntland report0s premise o# the need #or -lobal environmental a$tion has not been
invalidated! The Bruntland report must, as (ith any other histori$al do$ument, be
seen as a produ$t o# its time! 9ie(ed in the histori$al $onte2t o# the late 198,0s, the
Bruntland report $an be vie(ed as a landmar/ do$ument in terms o# #urtherin-
environmentalism in the #ollo(in- de$ades! Tan-ible results have #lo(ed #rom the
Bruntland report, su$h as the emer-en$e o# "nternational .-reement0s su$h as the
&ontreal and :yoto %roto$ols, and .-enda +1, (hi$h #urther enshrined the $on$ept
o# environmentally sustainable development!
Further Readin-
Bruntland, ) 5ed6 51986! Our Common Future7 The World Commission on
Environment and Development, O2#ord7 O2#ord ;niversity %ress!