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Epictetus ( 55-135)
7. PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES
7.1. What Precautionary Measure(s)?
Although the where, when and how of precautionary action have been addressed
in former chapters,1 much remains to be said on the topic of the concrete
measures that may or must be taken by states in observance of the
precautionary principle. That precautionary action must be effective and
proportional does not appear to be the final word. For instance, what types of
precautionary measures are there to choose from? Should measures be
contemplated at the international, the national, or both levels? What to do
when precautionary action intended to prevent one environmental hazard itself
entails another environmental risk? And once taken, how long should
precautionary measures be left in force? These are among the questions still
waiting to be answered. In search of the answers to them, the following
paragraph of the current chapter will concentrate on examples of measures that
have been agreed upon and taken by states in order to implement the
precautionary principle, whereafter in the third paragraph an attempt will be
made to discern whether there are any features those measures have in
common. Supplementing the more general analysis that will take place in this
chapter, Chapters 8 and 9 will successively be devoted to the specific issues of
the burden of proof and the role of socio-economic considerations in the
implementation of the precautionary principle.
7.2. Typical Precautionary Measures in Practice
There are a number of measures that have been typically associated with the
precautionary principle. Some of the most prominent will be lined up here and
considered in light of the practice of states.
Precautionary Bans
Effective and proportional action to prevent and/or abate harm may, to
begin with, take the form of a ban, which can be total or partial, and
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47 Case C-318/98, Judgment of the Sixth Chamber of the Court of 22 June 2000, paragraph
37.
48 1991 Resolution LDC 44/14 on the Application of the Precautionary Approach to Environmental
Protection within the Framework of the London Dumping Convention; 1997 Massachusetts Precautionary
Principle Act.
49 Stairs & Taylor, 1992, pp. 137-139; Hey, 1992, p. 309; Boehmer-Christiansen, 1994, p. 37;
Van Dyke, 1996, pp. 380 and 382; Molenaar, 1998, p. 45; Tickner et al., 2000, p. 5; see
generally Epiney & Scheyli, 1998, pp. 236-238.
50 Decision SS II/4 on a Comprehensive Approach to Hazardous Waste.
51 Article 8(3) of the 1996 Mediterranean Hazardous Wastes Protocol to the Barcelona Convention states
that to implement the precautionary approach [..] the Parties shall ensure that clean
production methods are applied to production processes. Article 3(3) of the 1992 Central
American Hazardous Wastes Agreement is much the same in that it requires aplicar el enfoque
precautorio a la prevencin de la contaminacin mediante la aplicacin de produccin
limpia.
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pollutants from one environmental medium to another, are also
excluded.52
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achievable, implying that BAT will not always be enough for the
Vorsorgeprinzip to be fully implemented.72 According to the Court, if the
necessary level of safety cannot be attained by technological solutions,
authorization for risky activities must altogether be withheld.73
It would in any case seem fair to say, wrapping up what has been
discussed here with respect to precautionary measures to combat pollution,
that implementation of the precautionary principle can be achieved, inter alia,
by control of pollution at source; that implementation of pollution control at
source can be achieved, inter alia, by clean production methods; and that
implementation of clean production methods can be achieved, inter alia, by
the application of BAT and BEP. One measure fits the other, in the way of
Russian dolls.
Research
The last of the measures typically associated with the precautionary principle
to be considered here in some detail is research, a related theme which was
already touched upon to some degree above.74 For an effective
implementation of the precautionary principle research is of the essence
along the entire trajectory.75 It is, in particular, an indispensable tool to (1)
detect dangers in an early stage; (2) assess environmental impacts; (3)
overcome or reduce uncertainties; (4) develop and examine alternatives to
potential hazards; and to (5) monitor the effects of precautionary action
taken.76
The second function referred to relates to the performance of an
environmental impact assessment (EIA) prior to carrying out or permitting a
potentially harmful activity, in order to get an understanding of that activitys
environmental impact that is as complete as possible.77 In the ITLOS Land
Reclamation case Malaysia submitted that an independent EIA is a central tool
of the international law of the precautionary principle.78 One may envisage at
least two viable ways in which an EIA may function in regard of the right and
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While it is necessary to take immediate action to address particularly urgent
problems on the basis of the precautionary approach, it is important to advance the
scientific basis for incorporating ecosystem considerations, building on existing and
future available scientific knowledge.87
The Montreal Protocol as amended in 1990 tells of protecting the ozone layer
by taking precautionary measures to control equitably total global emissions
of substances that deplete it, with the ultimate objective of their elimination
on the basis of developments in scientific knowledge,88 a proposition which has in
point of fact been matched by a series of subsequent adjustments of emission
reductions based on the results of scientific research.89 UNEP Governing
Council Decision 18/32 on Persistent Organic Pollutants of 1995 notes the urgent
need to improve scientific understanding of persistent organic pollutants,
their sources, transport, and pathways as well as their effects.90 By the same
token, in its 2000 Resolution on the Precautionary Principle the European Council
called on EU member states and the European Commission to attach
particular importance to the development of scientific expertise.91 After
adopting precautionary measures under the SPS Agreement, WTO member
states must seek to obtain the additional information necessary for a more
objective assessment of risk.92 The European Commission agrees that
scientific research should be carried out with a view to obtaining a more
advanced or more complete scientific assessment, so that precautionary
measures can be reevaluated in the light of new scientific information.93
Likewise, according to the UK Government, precautionary decisions should
be reviewed to reflect better understanding of risk as more evidence becomes
available.94 In Germany in the 1970s, precautionary measures in answer to the
prospect of massive deterioration of forests (Waldsterben), supposedly on account
of air pollution, not only included changes in energy policy but also huge
investments in forest research.95 An authoritative definition of the precautionary
principle issued by the FRG Government in 1984 postulates that Vorsorge stands
for, among other things, the early detection of dangers to health and
environment by comprehensive, synchronized (harmonized) research, in
87 See paragraph 5, which goes on to enumerate the many sorts and fields of necessary
research.
88 Sixth preambular paragraph; emphasis added.
89 Backes et al., 1997, p. 68.
90 Sixth preambular paragraph.
91 Paragraph 25.
92 Article 5(7).
93 Communication COM(2000)1, p. 20.
94 UK Government, A Better Quality of Life: A Strategy for Sustainable Development for the United Kingdom,
May 1999, paragraph 4.2.
95 Boehmer-Christiansen, 1994, p. 49.
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particular about cause and effect relationships.96 Parties to the 2002 ASEAN
Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution have taken on the obligation to take
precautionary measures to anticipate, prevent and monitor transboundary haze
pollution resulting from forest fires.97 The Declaration on the Environment
adopted by the 1990 Liberal International Congress proclaims that while it is
essential that research facilities are strengthened, action to protect the
environment must not be put off with the argument that scientific knowledge
is incomplete.98 Similarly, a 1997 Biodiversity Convention working document on
forest biodiversity stresses that the obvious limitations of our current
knowledge should not restrain us from acting upon it, but do emphasise the
importance of directing resources to the development of better measures for
identification and monitoring of forest biological diversity.99 To complete
this short list of examples, the Massachusetts Precautionary Principle Act includes
the obligation to encourage and use as fully as possible scientific and
socioeconomic research in order to achieve an improved understanding on
which to base long-term policy options. In brief, there is good news for the
academic world: the precautionary principle calls for more, not less,
scientists.100
Other Precautionary Measures
This inventory is far from complete.101 A salient measure which will be
analyzed at length in the next chapter is that which requires proponents of a
potentially harmful activity to prove that the execution of their plans will not
produce unacceptable environmental impacts before permitting the activity.
This measure, which is popularly referred to as the reversal of the burden of
proof is closely linked to the moratorium discussed above. Other examples
of precautionary action include the substitution of products such as pesticides
by less hazardous alternatives,102 prior information and consultation,103
96 Report from the Government to the Federal Parliament on the Protection of Air Quality, BMI 1984, p. 53,
as reproduced in approximate translation in Boehmer-christiansen, 1994, at p. 37.
97 Article 3(3); emphasis added.
98 Section III, paragraph 5.
99 Secretariat, Forests and Biodiversity, UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/3/Inf.22, 11 August 1997,
paragraph 59.
100 Tickner, 1999, p. 174.
101 For numerous additional illustrations of precautionary measures in the context of the law
of the sea, see Marr, 2003, Chapters 4 through 8. On the wide range of measures adopted
under the precautionary principle in Sweden, see Wahlstrm, 1999, p. 66; for Germany, see
Boehmer-Christiansen, 1994, p. 48.
102 Communication COM(2000)1, p. 18; see, e.g., Wahlstrm, ibid., pp. 54-55 on the substitution
of the insecticides aldrin, dieldrin, endrin and others by less risky substances in Sweden.
Product substitution is often viewed as a component of clean production methods.
103 Brunne, 1996, p. 73.
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(e)
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terms of space and time.145 In terms of space, in the sense that it encompasses
the environment in its totality and all human activities, as discussed above
when dealing with the scope of the precautionary principle,146 and is holistic
in that it takes account of the fact that everything in nature is
interdependent. The close ties between the precautionary principle and the
so-called ecosystem approach have been stressed recurrently in this
connection.147 An approach that is comprehensive also in terms of time, in
the sense that the dimensions of the precautionary principle go, in the words
of the European Commission, beyond the problems associated with a short
or medium-term approach to risks and plainly concern the longer run and
the well-being of future generations,148 thus illustrating the inseparability of
the precautionary principle and the concept of sustainable development. As
the special envoy of Papua New Guinea put it in his address to the 2002
Johannesburg Summit, the earths resources must be used in a way that is
responsible and sustainable for as far as we can see into the future.149 Only
by looking far enough ahead can environmental problems be anticipated.150
Potential long-term effects should thus be taken fully into account in
evaluating the effectiveness and proportionality of candidate precautionary
measures.151 The criteria of timeliness and comprehensiveness can be found
side by side in the 2004 ILA Berlin Rules on Water Resources, which set out that
states, in accordance with the precautionary approach, shall take early action
and develop long-term plans to ensure the sustainable use of groundwater
aquifers.152
A final and critical aid in the selection of effective and proportional
measures in concrete cases is the general guideline prescribing prudence in
decision-making and a bias towards environmental protection, briefly touched
Handl, 1991, p. 78; Hey, 1992, p. 308. According to paragraph 4.2 of the 2002 ILA
Declaration on Sustainable Development, a precautionary approach should include planning based
on clear criteria and well-defined goals.
146 See supra paragraph 5.2. To take the example of global climatic change, Article 3(3) of the
Climate Change Convention points out that policies and measures to deal with this problem should
be comprehensive, cover all relevant sources, sinks and reservoirs of greenhouse gases and
adaptation, and comprise all economic sectors.
147 Hayashi, 1999, p. 49; Tickner et al., 2000, p. 6; Robinson, 2000; Tanaka, 2004, pp. 500504; Parsons, 2005, passim. A case in point is the CCAMLR regime; see Parkes, 2000, passim;
Redgwell, 1999, p. 219; Parsons, ibid., pp. 408-411.
148 Communication COM(2000)1, p. 8.
149 Statement by the Right Honourable Sir Rabbie L. Namliu KCMG, MP Special Envoy of
the Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Immigration of Papua New Guinea,
at the World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg, 3 September 2002.
150 Jordan & ORiordan, 1999, p. 29. That is, arguably, at least further than the next
elections.
151 Communication COM(2000)1, p. 18; Hey, 1992, pp. 308-309.
152 Article 38 (Precautionary Management of Aquifers).
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upon above.153 He is the best general who makes the fewest mistakes, as the
saying goes. Materially, this guideline means that governments should play it
safe when choosing a course of precautionary action, making sure that natural
systems are altered as little and as slowly as feasible.154 Just as US authorities
are to give the benefit of doubt to the species under the Endangered Species
Act when taking decisions possibly affecting a threatened species in cases of
inadequate knowledge,155 so states should in general err on the side of
environmental protection when determining appropriate action. When in
doubt as to what measure(s) to pick, governments ought to ensure that any
errors of judgment made will lead to excess, rather than inadequate,
protection.156 Under the precautionary principle the requirement of
effectiveness thus implies, to cite from the US Gilchrest-Farr Fisheries Recovery
Act, selecting and implementing any action that will be significantly more
likely than not to satisfy the conservation objectives.157 This adagium of in
dubio pro natura is so fundamental that not applying it practically equals not
applying the precautionary principle.158
Choosing Between One Risk and Another
In some situations there may be a problem, however, in finding out what is the
most cautious course of action.159 What to do, for instance, in the following
situation?
A lake seems to be dying for reasons that we do not fully understand. The proposal
has been made to save it by adding substantial amounts of iron acetate to the lake.
According to opinion (1), the lake will be saved if iron acetate is added, otherwise
not. According to opinion (2), the lake will self-repair anyhow, and the addition of
iron acetate makes no difference. According to opinion (3), the lake will die whether
iron acetate is added or not. Proponents of all three scientific opinions agreed that
See supra paragraph 5.4. This is closely related also to the use of ample margins of safety as
discussed in supra paragraph 7.2.
154 Schmidt-Bleek, 1993, p. 83.
155 Roosevelt Campobello International Park v Environmental Protection Agency, 648 F.2d 1041, DC Cir.
1982; Bodansky, 1994, p. 210.
156 Santillo et al., 1999, p. 39; also Birnie & Boyle, 2002, p. 117.
157 HR 4046, as quoted in Thomas & Grader, 2000.
158 Schmidt-Bleek, 1993, p. 83; Van Dyke, 1996, p. 380; Backes, 1997, p. 14; Backes et al.,
1997, pp. 49, 69 and 95; Van Wijmen, 1997, p. 14; Victor, 1997, p. 243; Molenaar, 1998, p.
45; Molenaar, 2005, p. 537; Borgers, 1999, passim; Santillo et al., 1999, p. 39; Geiser, 1999(a),
p. xxv; Jordan & ORiordan, 1999, pp. 26-27; Barrett & Raffensperger, 1999, p. 117; Morris,
2000(b), p. 13; Tallacchini, 2000, p. 1097. As the Canadian government put it in its 1990
Green Plan: we must be prepared to give nature the benefit of the doubt. We should err on the
side of protecting the environment; see VanderZwaag, 1994.
159 Bodansky, 1991(a), p. 417; Cooney, 2004, pp. 27-28.
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the addition of iron acetate will have certain negative effects on land living animals
that drink water from the lake.160
In cases like this one, as critics of the precautionary principle have propounded
time and again, the matter is not simply one of erring on the side of caution.161
It must be decided which is the cautious side.162 Similar dilemmas are the choice
between the adverse impacts of acid rain on forests and the potential adverse
impacts of the use of lime to counter the acid rain effects; between the dumping
of wastes at sea and their discharge on land;163 between the use of the
relatively little toxic but highly persistent DDT and alternative pesticides that
are less persistent but more acutely toxic;164 between the negative and the
positive environmental effects of energy generation by wind mills;165 between
encouraging the use of antifoulants on ship hulls to prevent transport of
potentially harmful alien species and preventing the use of those same
antifoulants because of the noxious effects of some ingredients on the marine
environment;166 or the choice between the risk of an asteroid colliding with
the earth and the risks involved in setting up a global system involving
nuclear missiles to prevent such collisions.167 Precautionary action to counter
one threat may itself generate a new, unintended threat, transferring risk from
one medium to another.168 Apparently, the choice is not always between risk
and caution. Sometimes governments must choose between one risk and
another.169
Several possible solutions have been contrived for dealing with this
predicament; a predicament which, to some degree, is similar to the difficulties
that can be encountered when determining whether a given multiple impact
Hansson, 1997, p. 297.
Bodansky, 1991(a), p. 417; Tickner, 1999, pp. 173-174; Pieterman & Hanekamp, 2002,
pp. 12-13.
162 Bodansky, ibid.
163 As Gullett, 1997, at p. 58 illustrates, in Norway there has been considerable debate over
the discharge of ilmenite (a black mineral composed of iron titanium oxide), which is insoluble
and accumulates in water, but is non-toxic. Environmental groups insisted that it is a pollutant
because not all its effects on marine biota are known. They argued that it should be stored in a
specially constructed dam on land. On the other hand, local residents and a number of
marine biologists have been opposed to the construction of the dam, arguing that it would be
too costly and would have its own environmental impacts and further, that the dumping of
ilmenite at sea is not risky.
164 Bodansky, 1991(a), p. 417.
165 See supra paragraph 5.3.
166 See supra paragraph 4.1.
167 See Rubin, 2000, passim.
168 Bodansky, 1991(a), p. 417; Gullett, 1997, p. 58; Rubin, ibid., p. 107.
169 Bodansky, ibid.; Hansson, 1997, p. 305; Gullett, ibid.; Rubin, ibid.; Pieterman & Hanekamp,
2002, pp. 12-13.
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has just been set out. Fortunately, to know there is no more to know is
knowledge too.