Māris kļaviņŠ, azamat azizov, JĀnis zaļoksnis environment, pollution, development: the case of uzbekistan

the principle of high level of environ mental protection prohibits 
deteriorating the existing level of environ mental protection.
The  precautionary  principle does not allow to start on an 
environ ment-affecting  action  until  the  information  has  been  ob-
tai ned as to how high a risk exists and what measures have to be 
taken to reduce it. If the research process reveals a threat, the pre-
cau tionary principle calls for precautionary measures, despite the 
fact that there is some uncertainty as to whether the risk is indeed 
real. The aim of the precautionary principle is not to permit certain 
actions only when the risk to the environ ment or human health is 
equated to zero, but to assess the magnitude of the risk and, in case 
of need, take the necessary measures.
Although all kinds of chemical substances we use on a daily basis 
help to simplify our life, they can imperceptibly harm us in the future. 
Humans have created thousands of new chemicals, and only part of 
them have been proven dangerous and, therefore, are pro hi bited to 

---

11. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT: LEGISLATION, POLICIES, INSTITUTIONS
 239
use (for example, the use of some plastic softeners in children’s toys). 
At the same time, there is a great deal of chemicals still in use whose 
hazards have not yet been properly researched. These substances 
are contained in various goods and products that are widely used on 
a daily basis, and we can take them in with food, breathe in with 
air or absorb through the skin. Until now, before a country could be 
prohibited to produce some chemical sub stance, its hazardousness 
had to be conclusively proved. Now the European Union law has 
brought new binding requirements based on the precautionary 
principle – over 30 thousand existing and new chemical substances 
will have to be tested with regard to their effect on human health. It 
is no longer the country but manufacturers and importers of chemical 
substances who must obtain certain infor mation on the properties 
of these substances and test them to deter mine their impact on the 
environ ment and humans, as well as guarantee their safe use, that is, 
prove that the substance is not hazardous.