Therefore, sustainable development strategies and programmes which aim at integrating environmental protection requirements into economic, social and development policies should be formulated and implemented at all levels. All States have, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law, the sovereign right to exploit their own resources pursuant to their own environmental and development policies and the responsibility to ensure that activities within their jurisdiction or control do not cause damage to the environment of other States or of areas beyond the limits of national jurisdiction, in keeping with the principles contained in the Rio Declaration, Agenda 21 and relevant international environment conventions. Eradication of poverty should have the highest priority on the international agenda. One of the adverse effects of poverty, which affects mostly developing countries, is related to environmental and natural resource degradation. The essential task of eradicating poverty is an indispensable requirement for sustainable development in order to decrease the disparities in standards of living and better meet the needs of the majority of the people of the world.
Strategies aimed at poverty eradication are also important in avoiding degradation of resources.
While poverty results in certain kinds of environmental stress, the major cause of the continued deterioration of the global environment is the unsustainable patterns of consumption and production, particularly in industrial countries, which is a matter of grave concern, aggravating poverty and imbalances. Promoting changes in such consumption and production patterns should also be of the highest priority. All countries should strive to promote sustainable consumption and production patterns. In view of the different contributions to global environmental degradation, States have common but differentiated responsibilities. Developed countries bear a special responsibility and should take the lead in this area.