The power plant of Salto Grande: transboundary Environmental Management ; La represa hidroeléctrica de Salto Grande: gestión ambiental transfronteriza

Abstract

The Stockholm Declaration of 1972 states that, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, States have the sovereign right to exploit their own resources in pursuit of their own environmental policy and the obligation to ensure that activities under their jurisdiction or control do not harm the environment of other States or areas beyond any national jurisdiction. That said, it expresses a customary rule which can be regarded as the general basis for the prohibition of transboundary pollution, the concept of which is directly linked to that of damage (potential or actual), the objective of which is not merely fair compensation but the prevention and equitable distribution between States of the burdens and benefits of the use of environmental resources (Díez de Velasco, 2013). The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Uses of International Water Causes for Diverse Purposes of Navigation is the only global agreement focusing on the management of international watercourses, their conservation and their use for purposes other than navigation, such as the management of dams. This Convention plays an important role in codifying a number of principles and standards that can serve as guidelines for establishing a regime for the management of shared water resources (International Union for Conservation of Nature and Nature Resources (IUCN), 2008). In this context, the rule of good neighbourliness — according to which a State is required to prevent activities likely to cause damage in a neighbouring State — has been extended to prohibit acts of transboundary pollution where they cause significant damage not only to third States but more generally to common areas beyond any national jurisdiction (Díez de Velasco, 2013). Department of Environment and Development. Institute for International Relations ; La Declaración de Estocolmo de 1972 establece que, en conformidad con la Carta de las Naciones Unidas, los Estados tienen el derecho soberano de explotar sus propios recursos en aplicación de su propia ...