Precaution. Calculating the likelihood and cost of damage is a difficult task, because our knowledge of ecological and environmental processes is frequently rudimentary at best and is based on an evolving foundation of scientific research. Despite increasing availability of scientific, reliable and internationally accepted information (through processes such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services), science does not always provide clear guidance on the measures that may be needed, so we are often faced with the task of making policy in the face of uncertainty. As articulated in the 1992 Rio Declaration, the lack of conclusive scientific evidence does not justify inaction, particularly when the consequences of inaction may be serious or irreversible, or when the costs of action are low. The Seabed Disputes Chamber of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea recognized in its 2011 opinion on “activities in the area” that precaution is a component of due diligence and thus an extension of prevention. The possibility of precautionary action is also included in some WTO provisions, such as Article 5.7 of the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement) (see Section 3.4.6 on the SPS Agreement, Box 3.11 on the EC–Hormones case and Box 3.10 on the EC–Biotech case).
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