The principal objective of the Manual is to contribute to the improvement of environmental legislation on various levels of scope and goals, and under different conditions of resources and development. Common and comparable elements and principles are therefore emphasized. They are set in the framework of rational human uses of the environmental resources and the interdependence of socioeconomic development and proper resource management. The Manual is directed primarily at legislative efforts of the comprehensive enabling kind. The basic concepts, elements and approaches are, however, applicable and recommended on other levels of sectoral or subsidiary legislation and implementation. They can be scaled down to serve these various purposes.