1
1. Sections 289-294, LGC
CHAPTER II
Share of Local Government Units in the National Wealth
Section 289. Share in the Proceeds from the Development and
Utilization of the National Wealth. - Local government units shall have
an equitable share in the proceeds derived from the utilization and
development of the national wealth within their respective areas,
including sharing the same with the inhabitants by way of direct
benefits.
Section 290. Amount of Share of Local Government Units. - Local
government units shall, in addition to the internal revenue allotment,
have a share of forty percent (40%) of the gross collection derived by
the national government from the preceding fiscal year from mining
taxes, royalties, forestry and fishery charges, and such other taxes,
fees, or charges, including related surcharges, interests, or fines, and
from its share in any co-production, joint venture or production sharing
agreement in the utilization and development of the national wealth
within their territorial jurisdiction.
Section 291. Share of the Local Governments from any Government
Agency or Owned or Controlled Corporation.- Local government units
shall have a share based on the preceding fiscal year from the
proceeds derived by any government agency or government-owned or
controlled corporation engaged in the utilization and development of
the national wealth based on the following formula whichever will
produce a higher share for the local government unit:
(a) One percent (1%) of the gross sales or receipts of the
preceding calendar year; or
(b) Forty percent (40%) of the mining taxes, royalties,
forestry and fishery charges and such other taxes, fees or
charges, including related surcharges, interests, or fines the
government agency or government owned or controlled
corporation would have paid if it were not otherwise exempt.
Section 292. Allocation of Shares. - The share in the preceding
Section shall be distributed in the following manner:
(a) Where the natural resources are located in the province:
(1) Province - Twenty percent (20%);
(2) Component City/Municipality - Forty-five
percent (45%); and
(3) Barangay - Thirty-five percent (35%)
Provided, however, That where the natural resources are
located in two (2) or more provinces, or in two (2) or more
component cities or municipalities or in two (2) or more
barangays, their respective shares shall be computed on the
basis of:
(1) Population - Seventy percent (70%); and
(2) Land area - Thirty percent (30%)
(b) Where the natural resources are located in a highly
urbanized or independent component city:
(1) City - Sixty-five percent (65%); and
(2) Barangay - Thirty-five percent (35%)
Provided, however, That where the natural resources are
located in such two (2) or more cities, the allocation of
shares shall be based on the formula on population and land
area as specified in paragraph (a) of this Section.
Section 293. Remittance of the Share of Local Government Units. -
The share of local government units from the utilization and
development of national wealth shall be remitted in accordance with
Section 286 of this Code: Provided, however, That in the case of any
government agency or government-owned or controlled corporation
engaged in the utilization and development of the national wealth, such
share shall be directly remitted to the provincial, city, municipal or
barangay treasurer concerned within five (5) days after the end of each
quarter.
Section 294. Development and Livelihood Projects. - The proceeds
from the share of local government units pursuant to this chapter shall
be appropriated by their respective sanggunian to finance local
government and livelihood projects: Provided, however, That at least
eighty percent (80%) of the proceeds derived from the development
and utilization of hydrothermal. geothermal, and other sources of
energy shall be applied solely to lower the cost of electricity in the local
government unit where such a source of energy is located.
2. Sec. 5 (i) RA 7638 (Dept of Energy Act);
Section 5. Powers and Functions. The Department shall have the
following powers and functions:
(i) Devise ways and means of giving direct benefits to the
province, city, or municipality, especially the community
and people affected, and equitable and preferential
benefit to the region that hosts the energy resource
and/or the energy-generating facility: Provided,
however, That the other provinces, cities,
municipalities, or regions shall not be deprived of their
energy requirements;
3. Sec. 82, RA 7942, Mining Act
Section 82. Allocation of Government Share. - The Government share as
referred to in the preceding sections shall be shared and allocated in
accordance with Sections 290 and 292 of Republic Act No. 7160 otherwise
known as the Local Government Code of 1991. In case the development and
utilization of mineral resources is undertaken by a government-owned or -
controlled corporation, the sharing and allocation shall be in accordance with
Sections 291 and 292 of the said Code.
4. .Sections 1, 3, 5, 7 8, Article III, RA 9054 (Revised Organic
Act of ARMM); also Article XII, Secs. 1, 5 (a) and (b), 6-9,
21-24;
ARTICLE III
GUIDING PRINCIPLES AND POLICIES
Section 1. Integral Part of the Republic. - The Autonomous Region in
Muslim Mindanao shall remain an integral and inseparable part of the
national territory of the Republic as defined by the Constitution and
existing laws.
The autonomous region shall be governed and administered in
accordance with the laws enacted by the Regional Assembly and by
this Organic Act.
Section 3. Devolution of Powers. - The regional government shall
adopt a policy on local autonomy whereby regional powers shall be
devolved to local government units particularly in areas of education,
health, human resource, science and technology and people
empowerment. Until a law implementing this provision is enacted by
the Regional Assembly, Republic Act No. 7160, the Local Government
Code of 1991, shall continue to apply to all the provinces, cities,
municipalities, and barangay within the autonomous region.
The Regional Assembly may not pass any law to diminish, lessen, or
reduce the powers, functions, and shares in the internal revenue taxes
of the said local government units as provided by Republic Act No.
7160, the Local Government Code of 1991.
Section 5. Customs, Traditions, Religious Freedom Guaranteed. - The
beliefs, customs, and traditions of the people in the autonomous region
and the free exercise of their religions as Muslims, Christians, Jews,
Buddhists, or any other religious denomination in the said region are
hereby recognized, protected and guaranteed.
The Regional Assembly shall adopt measures to ensure mutual
respect for and protection of the distinct beliefs, customs, and
traditions and the respective religions of the inhabitants thereof, be
they Muslims, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, or any other religious
denomination. The Regional Assembly, in consultation with the
Supreme Court and consistent with the Constitution, may formulate a
Shari'ah legal system including the criminal cases, which shall be
applicable in the region, only to Muslims or those who profess the
Islamic faith. The representation of the regional government in the
various central government or national government bodies as provided
for by Article V, Section 5 shall be effected upon approval of the
measures herein provided.
The Shari'ah courts shall have jurisdiction over cases involving
personal, family and property relations, and commercial transactions,
in addition to their jurisdiction over criminal cases involving Muslims.
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The Regional Assembly shall, in consultation with the Supreme Court,
determine the number and specify the details of the jurisdiction of
these courts.
No person in the autonomous region shall be subjected to any form of
discrimination on account of creed, religion, ethnic origin, parentage or
sex.
The regional government shall ensure the development, protection,
and well-being of all indigenous tribal communities. Priority legislation
in this regard shall be enacted for the benefit of those tribes that are in
danger of extinction as determined by the Southern Philippines
Cultural Commission.
Section 7. Improving Status of the Marginalized. - The regional
government shall devote its resources to the improvement of the well-
being of all its constituents, particularly the marginalized, deprived,
disadvantaged, underprivileged, disabled, and the elderly.
Section 8. Regional Government Authority Over Natural Resources. -
Subject to the provisions of the Constitution and this Organic Act, the
Regional Government shall have the authority, power, and right to
explore, develop and utilize the natural resources, including surface
and sub-surface rights, in-land and coastal waters, and renewable and
non-renewable resources in the autonomous region. Muslims and the
other indigenous cultural communities shall, however, have priority
rights to explore, develop and utilize the said resources in the areas
designated as parts of their respective ancestral domains.
ARTICLE XII
ECONOMY AND PATRIMONY
Section 1. Regional Economy and Conservation of Patrimony. -
Consistent with the Constitution and existing laws, the Regional
Assembly may enact laws pertaining to the regional economy and
patrimony that are responsive to the needs of the region. The Regional
Government may not lower the standards required by the central
government or national government for the protection, conservation,
and enhancement of the natural resources.
Section 5. Use, Development of Mines, Minerals, and Other Natural
Resources; Revenue Sharing; Exceptions. -
(a)Regional Supervision and Control. The control and
supervision over the exploration, utilization, development,
and protection of the mines and minerals and other natural
resources within the autonomous region are hereby vested
in the Regional Government in accordance with the
Constitution and the pertinent provisions of this Organic Act
except for the strategic minerals such as uranium,
petroleum, and other fossil fuels, mineral oils, all sources of
potential energy, as well as national reserves and aquatic
parks, forest and watershed reservations already delimited
by authority of the central government or national
government and those that may be defined by an Act of
Congress within one (1) year from the effectivity of this
Organic Act.
(b)Sharing Between Central Government or National
Government and Regional Government in Strategic Minerals
Revenues, Taxes, or Fees. Fifty percent (50%) of the
revenues, taxes, or fees derived from the use and
development of the strategic minerals shall accrue and be
remitted to the Regional Government within thirty (30) days
from the end of every quarter of every year. The other fifty
percent (50%) shall accrue to the central government or
national government.
Section 6. Use and Development of Natural Resources Open to
Citizens. - The exploration, development, and utilization of natural
resources, except those referred to in the first paragraph of Section 5
of this Article, shall be allowed to all citizens and to private enterprises,
including corporations, associations, cooperatives, and such other
similar collective organizations with at least sixty percent (60%) of their
capital investment or capital stocks directly controlled or owned by
citizens.
Section 7. Preferential Rights of Citizen-Inhabitants of Autonomous
Region. - Subject to the exceptions provided in this Organic Act,
citizens who are inhabitants of the autonomous region shall have
preferential rights over the exploration, utilization, and development of
natural resources of the autonomous region. Existing rights over the
exploration, utilization, and development of natural resources shall be
respected subject to the exceptions specified in this Organic Act.
Section 8. Rules, Regulations and Fees. - The Regional Assembly
shall by law regulate the exploration, utilization, development, and
protection of the natural resources, including the mines and minerals,
except the strategic minerals as provided in this Organic Act. The
Regional Government shall, pursuant to the said law, shall prescribe
the rules and regulations and impose regulatory fees in connection
therewith. Upon the enactment of the said law and the effectivity of
such rules and regulations, the fees imposed by the Regional
Government shall replace those that had been imposed by the central
government or national government.
Section 9. Regulation of Small-Scale Mining. - Small-scale mining
shall be regulated by the Regional Government to the end that the
ecological balance, safety and health, and the interests of the
indigenous cultural communities, the miners, and the people of the
place where such operations are conducted are duly protected and
safeguarded.
Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquatic Resources
Section 21. Farming and Fishing Cooperatives. - The Regional
Government shall recognize, promote, and protect the rights and
welfare of farmers, farm-workers, fisherfolk, and fish-workers, as well
as cooperatives and associations of farmers and fish-workers.
Section 22. Agricultural Productivity; Organic Farming. -The Regional
Government shall encourage agricultural productivity and promote
diversified and organic farming.
Section 23. Soil and Water Conservation. - The Regional Government
shall give top priority to the conservation, protection, utilization, and
development of soil and water resources for agricultural purposes.
Section 24. Aquatic and Fisheries Code. - The Regional Assembly
may enact an aquatic and fisheries code which shall enhance,
develop, conserve, and protect marine and aquatic resources, and
shall protect the rights of subsistence fisherfolk to the preferential use
of communal marine and fishing resources, including seaweeds. This
protection shall extend to offshore fishing grounds, up to and including
all waters fifteen (15) kilometers from the coastline of the autonomous
region but within the territorial waters of the Republic, regardless of
depth and the seabed and the subsoil that are included between two
(2) lines drawn perpendicular to the general coastline from points
where the boundary lines of the autonomous region touch the sea at
low tide and a third line parallel to the general coastline.
The provinces and cities within the autonomous region shall have
priority rights to the utilization, development, conservation, and
protection of the aforementioned offshore fishing grounds.
The provinces and cities concerned shall provide support to
subsistence fisherfolk through appropriate technology and research,
adequate financial, production, marketing assistance, and other
services.
The Regional Assembly shall enact priority legislation to ensure that
fish-workers shall receive a just share from their labor in the utilization,
production, and development of marine and fishing resources.
The Regional Assembly shall enact priority legislation to develop
science, technology, and other disciplines for the protection and
maintenance of aquatic and marine ecology.
5. RA 7279 (UDHA), particularly Sections 6, 7, 8, 13, 21, 28-29,
34, 39, 43.
ARTICLE III NATIONAL URBAN DEVELOPMENT AND HOUSING FRAMEWORK
Sec. 6. Framework for Rational Development. There shall be a National
Urban Development and Housing Framework to be formulated by the
Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board under the direction of the Housing
and Urban Development Coordinating Council in coordination with all local
government units and other concerned public and private sectors within one
(1) year from the effectivity of this Act.
The framework shall refer to the comprehensive plan for urban and
urbanizable areas aimed at achieving the objectives of the Program. In the
formulation of the Framework, a review and rationalization of testing town
and land use plans, housing programs, and all other objectives and activities
of government agencies and the private sectors which may substantially
affect urban land use patterns, transportation and public utilities,
infrastructure, environment and population movement shall be undertaken
with the concurrence of the local government units concerned.
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ARTICLE IV LAND USE, INVENTORY, ACQUISITION AND DISPOSITION
Sec. 7. Inventory of Lands. Within one (1) year from the effectivity of this
Act, all city and municipal governments shall conduct an inventory of all kinds
and improvements thereon within their respective localities. The inventory
shall include the following:
(a) Residential lands;
(b) Government-owned lands, whether owned by the National
Government or any of its subdivisions, instrumentalities, or
agencies, including government-owned or-controlled corporations
and their subsidiaries;
(c) Unregistered or abandoned and idle lands; and
(d) Other lands.
In conducting the inventory, the local government units concerned, in
coordination with the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board and with the
assistance of the appropriate government agencies, shall indicate the type of
land use and the degree of land utilization, and other data or information
necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act.
For planning purposes, the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating
Council shall be furnished by each local government unit a copy of its
inventory which shall be updated every three (3) years.
Sec. 8. Identification of Sites for Socialized Housing. After the inventory
the local government units, in coordination with the National Housing
Authority, the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board, the National
Mapping Resource Information Authority, and the Land Management
Bureau, shall identify lands for socialized housing and resettlement areas for
the immediate and future needs of the underprivileged and homeless in the
urban areas, taking into consideration and degree of availability of basic
services and facilities, their accessibility and proximity of jobs sites and other
economic opportunities, and the actual number of registered beneficiaries.
Government-owned lands under paragraph (b) of the preceding section
which have not been used for the purpose for which they have been
reserved or set aside for the past ten (10) years from the effectivity of this
Act and identified as suitable for socialized housing, shall immediately be
transferred to the National Housing Authority subject to the approval of the
President of the Philippines or by the local government unit concerned, as
the case may be, for proper disposition in accordance with this Act.
Sec. 13. Valuation of Lands for Socialized Housing. Equitable land valuation
guidelines for socialized housing shall be set by the Department of Finance
on the basis of the market value reflected in the Zonal valuation, or in its
absence, on the latest real property tax declaration.
For site already occupied by qualified Program beneficiaries, the Department
of Finance shall factor into the valuation the blighted status of the lands as
certified by the local government unit or the National Housing Authority.
Sec. 21. Basic Services. Socialized housing or resettlement areas shall be
provided by the local government unit or the National Housing Authority in
cooperation with the private developers and concerned agencies with the
following basic services and facilities:
(a) Potable water;
(b) Power and electricity and an adequate power distribution system;
(c) Sewerage facilities and an efficient and adequate solid waste
disposal system; and
(d) Access to primary roads and transportation facilities.
The provisions of other basic services and facilities such as health, education,
communications, security, recreation, relief and welfare shall be planned and
shall be given priority for implementation by the local government unit and
concerned agencies in cooperation with the private sector and the
beneficiaries themselves.
The local government unit, in coordination with the concerned national
agencies, shall ensure that these basic services are provided at the most
costefficient rates, and shall set as mechanism to coordinate operationally
the thrusts, objectives and activities of other government agencies
concerned with providing basic services to housing projects.
Sec. 28. Eviction and Demolition. Eviction or demolition as a practice shall
be discouraged. Eviction or demolition, however, may be allowed under the
following situations:
(a) When persons or entities occupy danger areas such as esteros,
railroad tracks, garbage dumps, riverbanks, shorelines,
waterways, and other public places such as sidewalks, roads,
parks, and playgrounds;
(b) When government infrastructure projects with available funding
are about to be implemented; or
(c) When there is a court order for eviction and demolition.
In the execution of eviction or demolition orders involving underprivileged
and homeless citizens, the following shall be mandatory:
(1) Notice upon the effected persons or entities at least thirty (30)
days prior to the date of eviction or demolition;
(2) Adequate consultations on the matter of settlement with the duly
designated representatives of the families to be resettled and the
affected communities in the areas where they are to be relocated;
(3) Presence of local government officials or their representatives
during eviction or demolition;
(4) Proper identification of all persons taking part in the demolition;
(5) Execution of eviction or demolition only during regular office
hours from Mondays to Fridays and during good weather, unless
the affected families consent otherwise;
(6) No use of heavy equipment for demolition except for structures
that are permanent and of concrete materials;
(7) Proper uniforms for members of the Philippine National Police
who shall occupy the first line of law enforcement and observe
proper disturbance control procedures; and
(8) Adequate relocation, whether temporary or permanent: Provided,
however, That in cases of eviction and demolition pursuant to a
court order involving underprivileged and homeless citizens,
relocation shall be undertaken by the local government unit
concerned and the National Housing Authority with the assistance
of other government agencies within forty-five (45) days from
service of notice of final judgment by the court, after which period
the said order shall be executed: Provided, further, That should
relocation not be possible within the said period, financial
assistance in the amount equivalent to the prevailing minimum
daily wage multiplied by sixty (60) days shall be extended to the
affected families by the local government unit concerned.
This Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Housing and
Urban Development Coordinating Council shall jointly promulgate the
necessary rules and regulations to carry out the above provision.
Sec. 29. Resettlement. Within two (2) years from the effectivity of this Act,
the local government units, in coordination with the National Housing
Authority, shall implement the relocation and resettlement of persons living
in danger areas such as esteros, railroad tracks, garbage dumps, riverbanks,
shorelines, waterways, and in other public places as sidewalks, roads, parks,
and playgrounds. The local government unit, in coordination with the
National Housing Authority, shall provide relocation or resettlement sites
with basic services and facilities and access to employment and livelihood
opportunities sufficient to meet the basic needs of the affected families.
Sec. 34. Promotion of Indigenous Housing Materials and Technologies. The
local government units, in cooperation with the National Housing Authority,
Technology and Livelihood Resource Center, and other concerned agencies,
shall promote the production and use of indigenous, alternative, and low-
cost construction materials and technologies for socialized housing.
Sec. 39. Role of Local Government Units. The local government units shall
be charged with the implementation of this Act in their respective localities,
in coordination with the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating
Council, the national housing agencies, the Presidential Commission for the
Urban Poor, the private sector and other nongovernment organizations.
Sec. 43. Socialized Housing Tax. Consistent with the constitutional
principle that the ownership and enjoyment of property bear a social
function and to raise funds for the Program, all local government units are
hereby authorized to impose an additional one-half percent (0.5%) tax on the
assessed value of all lands in urban areas in excess of Fifty thousand pesos
(P50,000).
6. Article XIII, Sections 9 and 10, of the Constitution
ARTICLE XIII
SOCIAL JUSTICE AND HUMAN RIGHTS
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URBAN LAND REFORM AND HOUSING

(Rio de Janeiro, 3-14 June
1992)
Section 9. The State shall, by law, and for the common good,
undertake, in cooperation with the private sector, a continuing program
of urban land reform and housing which will make available at Annex I
affordable cost, decent housing and basic services to under-privileged
and homeless citizens in urban centers and resettlement areas. It shall RIO DECLARATION ON ENVIRONMENT AND
also promote adequate employment opportunities to such citizens. In DEVELOPMENT
the implementation of such program the State shall respect the rights
of small property owners.
The United Nations Conference on Environment
Section 10. Urban or rural poor dwellers shall not be evicted nor their and Development,
dwelling demolished, except in accordance with law and in a just and
humane manner. Having met at Rio de Janeiro from 3 to 14
June 1992,

No resettlement of urban or rural dwellers shall be undertaken without Reaffirming the Declaration of the United
adequate consultation with them and the communities where they are Nations Conference on the Human
to be relocated. Environment, adopted at Stockholm on 16 June
1972, a/ and seeking to build upon
it,
7. LGC, Sections 25 and 27
With the goal of establishing a new and
CHAPTER III equitable global partnership
Intergovernmental Relations through the creation of new levels of
cooperation among States, key sectors of
societies and people,
ARTICLE I
National Government and Local Government Units Working towards international agreements
which respect the interests of
Section 25. National Supervision over Local Government Units. - all and protect the integrity of the global
environmental and developmental
system,
(a) Consistent with the basic policy on local autonomy, the
President shall exercise general supervision over local Recognizing the integral and interdependent
government units to ensure that their acts are within the scope of nature of the Earth, our
their prescribed powers and functions. home,

The President shall exercise supervisory authority directly over Proclaims that:
provinces, highly urbanized cities, and independent component
cities; through the province with respect to component cities and Principle 1
municipalities; and through the city and municipality with respect
to barangays. Human beings are at the centre of concerns
for sustainable development.
They are entitled to a healthy and productive
(b) National agencies and offices with project implementation life in harmony with nature.
functions shall coordinate with one another and with the local
government units concerned in the discharge of these functions.
They shall ensure the participation of local government units both Principle 2
in the planning and implementation of said national projects.
States have, in accordance with the Charter
of the United Nations and the
(c) The President may, upon request of the local government unit principles of international law, the sovereign
concerned, direct the appropriate national agency to provide right to exploit their own
financial, technical, or other forms of assistance to the local resources pursuant to their own environmental
government unit. Such assistance shall be extended at no extra and developmental policies, and
cost to the local government unit concerned. the responsibility to ensure that activities
within their jurisdiction or
(d) National agencies and offices including government-owned or control do not cause damage to the environment
controlled corporations with field units or branches in a province, of other States or of areas
city, or municipality shall furnish the local chief executive beyond the limits of national jurisdiction.
concerned, for his information and guidance, monthly reports
including duly certified budgetary allocations and expenditures.
Principle 3

Section 27. Prior Consultations Required. - No project or program The right to development must be fulfilled
shall be implemented by government authorities unless the so as to equitably meet
consultations mentioned in Sections 2 (c) and 26 hereof are developmental and environmental needs of present
complied with, and prior approval of the sanggunian concerned is and future generations.
obtained: Provided, That occupants in areas where such projects
are to be implemented shall not be evicted unless appropriate Principle 4
relocation sites have been provided, in accordance with the
provisions of the Constitution. In order to achieve sustainable development,
environmental protection
shall constitute an integral part of the
8. Boracay Foundation vs. Province of Aklan (G.R. No.
development process and cannot be
196870), 2012 Decision considered in isolation from it.

9. Mondano vs. Silvosa (G.R. No. L-7708, May 30, 1955)

10. Province of Negros Occidental vs. COA, et al. (G.R. No.
182574, September 28, 2010)
11. MMDA vs. CONCERNED RESIDENTS OF MANILA BAY,
G.R. Nos. 171947-48, December 18, 2008, (Manila Bay
clean-up)
12. Rodriguez, et al. vs. Montinola, et al. (GR No. L-5689, May
14, 1954)
13. 1992 RIO DECLARATION ON ENVIRONMENT AND
DEVELOPMENT
Principle 5
All States and all people shall cooperate in
the essential task of
eradicating poverty as an indispensable
requirement for sustainable
development, in order to decrease the
disparities in standards of living and
better meet the needs of the majority of the
people of the world.

REPORT OF THE UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON Principle 6

ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT*
 5
The special situation and needs of
developing countries, particularly the
least developed and those most environmentally
vulnerable, shall be given
special priority. International actions in the
field of environment and
development should also address the interests
and needs of all countries.
Principle 7
States shall cooperate in a spirit of global
partnership to conserve,
protect and restore the health and integrity of
the Earth's ecosystem. In view
of the different contributions to global
environmental degradation, States have
common but differentiated responsibilities. The
developed countries
acknowledge the responsibility that they bear in
the international pursuit of
sustainable development in view of the pressures
their societies place on the
global environment and of the technologies and
financial resources they
command.
Principle 8
To achieve sustainable development and a
higher quality of life for all
people, States should reduce and eliminate
unsustainable patterns of production
and consumption and promote appropriate
demographic policies.
Principle 9
States should cooperate to strengthen
endogenous capacity-building for
sustainable development by improving scientific
understanding through exchanges
of scientific and technological knowledge, and
by enhancing the development,
adaptation, diffusion and transfer of
technologies, including new and
innovative technologies.
Principle 10
Environmental issues are best handled with
the participation of all
concerned citizens, at the relevant level. At
the national level, each
individual shall have appropriate access to
information concerning the
environment that is held by public authorities,
including information on
hazardous materials and activities in their
communities, and the opportunity
to participate in decision-making processes.
States shall facilitate and
encourage public awareness and participation by
making information widely
available. Effective access to judicial and
administrative proceedings,
including redress and remedy, shall be provided.
Principle 11
States shall enact effective environmental
legislation. Environmental
standards, management objectives and priorities
should reflect the
environmental and developmental context to which
they apply. Standards applied
by some countries may be inappropriate and of
unwarranted economic and social
cost to other countries, in particular
developing countries.
Principle 12
States should cooperate to promote a
supportive and open international
economic system that would lead to economic
growth and sustainable development
in all countries, to better address the problems
of environmental degradation.
Trade policy measures for environmental purposes
should not constitute a means
of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination or
a disguised restriction on
international trade. Unilateral actions to deal
with environmental challenges
outside the jurisdiction of the importing
country should be avoided.
Environmental measures addressing transboundary
or global environmental
problems should, as far as possible, be based on
an international consensus.
Principle 13
States shall develop national law regarding
liability and compensation
for the victims of pollution and other
environmental damage. States shall also
cooperate in an expeditious and more determined
manner to develop further
international law regarding liability and
compensation for adverse effects of
environmental damage caused by activities within
their jurisdiction or control
to areas beyond their jurisdiction.
Principle 14
States should effectively cooperate to
discourage or prevent the
relocation and transfer to other States of any
activities and substances that
cause severe environmental degradation or are
found to be harmful to human
health.
Principle 15
In order to protect the environment, the
precautionary approach shall be
widely applied by States according to their
capabilities. Where there are
threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack
of full scientific certainty
shall not be used as a reason for postponing
cost-effective measures to prevent
environmental degradation.
Principle 16
National authorities should endeavour to
promote the internalization of
environmental costs and the use of economic
instruments, taking into account
the approach that the polluter should, in
principle, bear the cost of
pollution, with due regard to the public
interest and without distorting
international trade and investment.
Principle 17
Environmental impact assessment, as a
national instrument, shall be
undertaken for proposed activities that are
likely to have a significant
adverse impact on the environment and are
subject to a decision of a competent
national authority.
Principle 18
States shall immediately notify other States
of any natural disasters or
other emergencies that are likely to produce
sudden harmful effects on the
environment of those States. Every effort shall
be made by the international
community to help States so afflicted.
Principle
19
States shall provide prior and timely
notification and relevant
 6

information to potentially affected States on

activities that may have a
significant adverse transboundary environmental
effect and shall consult with
those States at an early stage and in good
faith.

Principle 20

Women have a vital role in environmental

management and development.
Their full participation is therefore essential
to achieve sustainable
development.

Principle 21

The creativity, ideals and courage of the

youth of the world should be
mobilized to forge a global partnership in order
to achieve sustainable
development and ensure a better future for all.

Principle 22

Indigenous people and their communities and

other local communities have
a vital role in environmental management and
development because of their
knowledge and traditional practices. States
should recognize and duly support
their identity, culture and interests and enable
their effective participation
in the achievement of sustainable development.

Principle 23

The environment and natural resources of

people under oppression,
domination and occupation shall be protected.

Principle 24

Warfare is inherently destructive of

sustainable development. States
shall therefore respect international law
providing protection for the
environment in times of armed conflict and
cooperate in its further
development, as necessary.

Principle 25

Peace, development and environmental

protection are interdependent and
indivisible.

Principle 26

States shall resolve all their environmental

disputes peacefully and by
appropriate means in accordance with the Charter
of the United Nations.

Principle 27

States and people shall cooperate in good

faith and in a spirit of
partnership in the fulfilment of the principles
embodied in this Declaration
and in the further development of international
law in the field of sustainable
development.