Principles and Approaches of Sustainable Development and Chemicals Management for a Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM)

The report analyzes 15 key principles for the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM), including integrated chemicals management, precaution, and the polluter pays principle. It provides descriptions, legal origins, and recommendations for integrating these concepts into the SAICM Overarching Policy Strategy and concrete implementation measures.

• The study identifies 15 principles and approaches most directly relevant to the SAICM, though it recommends listing only 13 in the Overarching Policy Strategy (OPS) because the life cycle approach and confidential business information are components of other principles.
• Integrated chemicals management (ICM) is presented as an overarching concept for the SAICM, consisting of four main components: a life cycle approach, stakeholder involvement, coordination across and between governments, and the pursuit of synergies to avoid duplication of effort.
• Precaution is defined as a tool for taking action against threats of serious or irreversible damage to human health or the environment even when full scientific certainty is lacking, and the report argues its scope has expanded from environmental protection to include human health.
• The report warns that strict versions of proportionality, such as 'least-restrictive means' or formal cost-benefit balancing, can make the application of precaution impossible and may prevent the adoption of necessary risk management regulations.
• The 'polluter pays' principle (internalization of costs) is identified as a cost-efficient tool for meeting the SAICM 2020 goal by using economic instruments to ensure prices reflect full social and environmental costs, thereby incentivizing producers to minimize pollution.
• Public participation is based on three pillars: access to information, access to decision-making, and access to justice, with the 'right to know' serving as a specific iteration of the access to information pillar.
• Confidential business information (CBI) often creates tension with the public's right to know; the report suggests that for the purposes of the SAICM, information regarding the health and safety of humans and the environment should not be regarded as confidential.
• Good governance is described as essential for sustainable development and specifically for the prevention and punishment of illegal trafficking in hazardous wastes and banned chemicals.
• The principle of common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR) recognizes that developed countries have special obligations to provide technical and financial assistance to developing countries and countries with economies in transition due to their different contributions to environmental degradation.
• Liability mechanisms, while complex, can serve as a deterrent and a means of implementing the polluter pays principle by holding entities responsible for providing compensation for injuries after they occur.

APA

Wiser, G. M., & Jr., D. B. M. (2005). Principles and Approaches of Sustainable Development and Chemicals Management for a Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM). Center for International Environmental Law. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/SAICM_PrinciplesStudyFinal_July05.pdf

Chicago

Wiser, Glenn M., and Daniel B. Magraw, Jr. Principles and Approaches of Sustainable Development and Chemicals Management for a Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM). Center for International Environmental Law, 2005. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/SAICM_PrinciplesStudyFinal_July05.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Wiser |first1=Glenn M. |last2=Jr. |first2=Daniel B. Magraw, |title=Principles and Approaches of Sustainable Development and Chemicals Management for a Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) |publisher=Center for International Environmental Law |date=July 2005 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/SAICM_PrinciplesStudyFinal_July05.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wiser2005principles, author = {Wiser, Glenn M. and Jr., Daniel B. Magraw,}, title = {{Principles and Approaches of Sustainable Development and Chemicals Management for a Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM)}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2005}, month = jul, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/SAICM_PrinciplesStudyFinal_July05.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }