Welcome to the Precautionary Principle website
The mission of this website is to promote the understanding and implementation of the Precautionary Principle for the management of new and emerging risks.
The Precautionary Principle is a strategy to cope with possible risks where scientific understanding is yet incomplete, such as the risks of nano technology, genetically modified organisms and systemic insecticides.
The Precautionary Principle is defined as follows:
When human activities may lead to morally unacceptable harm that is scientifically plausible but uncertain, actions shall be taken to avoid or diminish that harm. Morally unacceptable harm refers to harm to humans or the environment that is
- threatening to human life or health, or
- serious and effectively irreversible, or
- inequitable to present or future generations, or
- imposed without adequate consideration of the human rights of those affected.
Actions are interventions that are undertaken before harm occurs that seek to avoid or diminish the harm. Actions should be chosen that are proportional to the seriousness of the potential harm, with consideration of their positive and negative consequences, and with an assessment of the moral implications of both action and inaction. The choice of action should be the result of a participatory process.
Source: UNESCO COMEST report The Precautionary Principle
Documentation on the Precautionary Principle
December 10, 2008 - 4:20pm — ppadminLate lessons from early warnings: the precautionary principle 1896-2000 (EEA, 2002)
The Precautionary Principle (UNESCO COMEST, 2005)
Communication from the Commission on the precautionary principle (EU, 2000)
In Dutch:
Voorzorg met Rede (Gezondheidsraad, 2008)
Onzekere veiligheid (WRR, 2008)
Nuchter omgaan met risico's (RIVM, 2003)
