On Jun. 5, 1972, the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, Sweden was the first world conference to make the environment a major issue began. The participants adopted a series of principles for sound management of the environment including the Stockholm Declaration and Action Plan for the Human Environment and several resolutions. The Conference convened rom June 5-16, 1972.

The Stockholm Declaration, which contained 26 principles, placed environmental issues at the forefront of international concerns and marked the start of a dialogue between industrialized and developing countries on the link between economic growth, the pollution of the air, water, and oceans and the well-being of people around the world.

It was the UN’s first major conference on international environmental issues, and marked a turning point in the development of international environmental politics. One of the major results of the Stockholm conference was the creation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).