13 Facts About Precautionary principle

Precautionary principle is a broad epistemological, philosophical and legal approach to innovations with potential for causing harm when extensive scientific knowledge on the matter is lacking.

The Precautionary principle acknowledges that while the progress of science and technology has often brought great benefit to humanity, it has contributed to the creation of new threats and risks.

In some legal systems, as in law of the European Union, the application of the precautionary principle has been made a statutory requirement in some areas of law.

In 1998 Wingspread Statement on the Precautionary Principle was convened by the Science and Environmental Health Network and concluded with the following formulation, described by Stewart Brand as "the clearest and most frequently cited":.

Various interests being represented by various groups proposing the Precautionary principle resulted in great variability of its formulation: one study identified 14 different formulations of the Precautionary principle in treaties and non-treaty declarations.

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In 1982, the United Nations World Charter for Nature gave the first international recognition to the strong version of the Precautionary principle, suggesting that when "potential adverse effects are not fully understood, the activities should not proceed".

Precautionary principle is often applied to biological fields because changes cannot be easily contained and have the potential of being global.

The application of the Precautionary principle can be seen in the public policy of requiring pharmaceutical companies to carry out clinical trials to show that new medications are safe.

The figure indicates how the Precautionary principle is implemented in the cod fisheries management proposed by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea.

In classifying endangered species, the precautionary principle means that if there is doubt about an animal's or plant's exact conservation status, the one that would cause the strongest protective measures to be realised should be chosen.

Appeals to the precautionary principle have often characterized the debates concerning animal sentience – that is, the question of whether animals are able to feel "subjective experiences with an attractive or aversive quality", such as pain, pleasure, happiness, or joy – in relation to the question of whether we should legally protect sentient animals.

Precautionary principle has been ethically questioned on the basis that its application could block progress in developing countries.

Precautionary principle calls for action in the face of scientific uncertainty, but some formulations do not specify the minimal threshold of plausibility of risk that acts as a "triggering" condition, so that any indication that a proposed product or activity might harm health or the environment is sufficient to invoke the principle.