Future generations have a right to Mother Earth being uncontaminated and undamaged and to Her Blessings of enjoyment as the ground of human history, of culture, and of social bonds that make each generation and individual a member of one human family.
Each generation, sharing in the estate and heritage of Our Earth Mother, has a duty as a trustee for future generations to prevent irreversible and irreparable harm to Life on Earth and to human freedom and dignity.
It is, therefore, the paramount responsibility of each generation to maintain a constantly vigilant and prudential assessment of technological disturbances and modifications adversely affecting Life on Earth, the balance of Mother Nature, and the evolution of humanity in order to protect the rights of future generations.
All appropriate measures, including education, research, and legislation, shall be taken to guarantee these rights and to ensure that they not be sacrificed for present expediences and conveniences.
Governments, non-governmental organisations, and the individuals are urged, therefore, imaginatively to implement these principles, as if in the very presence of those future generations whose rights we seek to establish and perpetuate.
The Cousteau Society
