PRINCIPLES OF PREVENTION AND PRECAUTION IN INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW: TWO HEADS OF THE SAME COIN

Abstract

There is no gainsaying that environmental matters, management and control are all governed by environmental law principles. Environmental principles have become established features of international environment, more especially since after 1992 Rio Conference (the Rio declaration). This paper examined the role and importance of preventive and precautionary principles in international environmental law, the institutional and legal frameworks upon which these principles have found their expressions. The paper has also examined the laws regulating to environmental matters in Nigeria and concluded by making some recommendations for better enforcement of international environmental laws both national and international jurisdictions.