Other Campaigns

The Environment Centre NT (ECNT) is the peak non-government environmental group in the NT. ECNT works to protect the natural heritage of the Northern Territory through ongoing campaigns which aim to involve all stakeholders and the general public. The internationally accepted principles of ecologically sustainable development set out below underpin the diverse work of the ECNT and its aspirations of ensuring the unique environment of the Top End is valued and protected.

The Australian Intergovernmental Agreement on the Environment (1992), which is included as a schedule to the National Environment Protection Council ( Northern Territory ) Act 1994 , gives an explanation of ecological sustainable development (ESD) principles:

(a) The precautionary principle—namely, that if there are threats of serious or irreversible environmental damage, lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing measures to prevent environmental degradation.

In the application of the precautionary principle, public and private decisions should be guided by:

(i) Careful evaluation to avoid, wherever practicable, serious or irreversible damage to the environment, and

(ii) An assessment of the risk-weighted consequences of various options,

(b) Inter-generational equity—namely, that the present generation should ensure that the health, diversity and productivity of the environment are maintained or enhanced for the benefit of future generations,

(c) Conservation of biological diversity and ecological integrity—namely, that conservation of biological diversity and ecological integrity should be a fundamental consideration,

(d) Improved valuation, pricing and incentive mechanisms—namely, that environmental factors should be included in the valuation of assets and services, such as:

(i) Polluterpays—that is, those who generate pollution and waste should bear the cost of containment, avoidance or abatement;

(ii) The users of goods and services should pay prices based on the full life cycle of costs of providing goods and services, including the use of natural resources and assets and the ultimate disposal of any waste;

(iii) Environmental goals, having been established, should be pursued in the most cost-effective way, by establishing incentive structures, including market mechanisms, that enable those best placed to maximise benefits or minimise costs to develop their own solutions and responses to environmental problems.

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