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From 2011.igem.org

Legal Issues

The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development

This is a document that was produced at the 1992 UN Earth Summit and it consists of 27 principles for sustainable development.

Relevant Articles

15 - Precautionary Principle
This is an important principle that requires that those who wish to implement a technology are the ones who are required to prove that it is safe. In other words, the burden of proof rests with those who wish to use the new technology, and should not rely on others to test the product's safety after it has been implemented.
This article also contains the following important definition:

"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"

17 - Environmental Impact Assessments
This principle outlines the need for a thorough assessment of the possible impact that a project might have upon the environment.