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P - Alphabetical Listing of Selected Important Terms and Concepts in Sustainable Development
Article 15 of The Rio Declaration defines the Precautionary Approach as: “·Where there are threats of serious of irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation.”
 * Precautionary Principle OR Precautionary Approach**

//SOURCE//: (2000). //United Nations General Assembly A/ CONF.151/ 26 (Vol. I) - 12 August 1992: Report of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development - Rio Declaration on Environment and Development// [online]. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Available from: http://www.un.org/documents/ga/conf151/aconf15126-1annex1.htm [Re-accessed: 06 March 2008].

OR

“The precautionary approach/principle is a distinctive approach to managing threats of serious or irreversible harm where there is scientific uncertainty. It is not new - what is new is the increasing complexity of the science and the public debate about the ability of governments to respond to such situations. The precautionary approach/principle recognizes that the absence of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason to postpone decisions where there is a risk of serious or irreversible harm. Even though scientific information may be inconclusive, decisions have to be made to meet society's expectations that risks be addressed and living standards maintained.”

//SOURCE//: (2001). //A Canadian Perspective on the Precautionary Approach / Principle// [online]. Environment Canada. Available from: http://www.ec.gc.ca/econom/pamphlet_e.htm [Re-accessed: 07 March 2008].

OR

(SEE ALSO: the NAFTA`s Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), for a thorough academic / legal review on the precautionary principle / approach, as found at:

Commission for Environmental Cooperation (2003). “The Precautionary Principle in North American and International Law”. //North American Environmental Law and Policy// [online], vol. 10, pp.191-268. Available from: http://www.cec.org/files/PDF/LAWPOLICY/NAELP10_en.pdf [Re-accessed: 07 March 2008].