Issues related to global environment protection had become priority concern of states because-

• By 1990, the process of industrialisation had already caused immense damage to the environment which was visible in the changing climate.

• In 1987, the Brundtland Report, Our Common Future, had warned that traditional patterns of economic growth were not sustainable in the long term, especially with demands of south for further industrial development.

• The north and the south both had different approach to ecological conservation (which led to birth of common but differentiated responsibility). Also, the state of the Global Commons i.e. the ocean floor, earth’s atmosphere, Antarctica and outer space had started deteriorating at high rate. There had emerged a hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica.

• The climate had started varying and due to global warming the average temperature of the earth had risen. This could result in melting of ice caps and subsequent submergence of island nations and coastal countries.

Therefore, since 1990, the UN made ecological conservation one of its primary concerns.