Resolution 4 of the 21st CGPM (1999)

The need to use SI units in studies of Earth resources, the environment, human well-being and related issues

The 21st Conférence Générale des Poids et Mesures,

considering that

• the effects on the geosphere and biosphere of industrial and commercial activities and of many other human pursuits, as well as natural phenomena, and the consequences for human health and well-being are the subject of major studies worldwide,
• governments are increasingly faced with decisions of great economic and political significance concerning the regulation of these activities,
• the policies of governments are influenced by studies depending critically on accurate and mutually compatible measurements often requiring very large economic investments,
• much of the important scientific evidence required for decisions by governments comes from measurements of small changes in certain key parameters, measurements sometimes extending over several decades,
• certain critical measurements have traditionally been made in ad hoc units, based upon special instrumentation or procedures, and not in the well-characterized and internationally agreed SI units,
• experience over many years has shown that measurements not directly linked to the SI cannot be relied upon in the long term, cannot be compared with similar measurements made elsewhere and do not adequately bring out possible relationships with measurements made in other scientific disciplines,
• increasing demands for reliability in measurements made for medical and therapeutic purposes are leading to more demanding regulation in these areas,

recommends that those responsible for studies of Earth resources, the environment, human well-being and related issues ensure that measurements made within their programmes are in terms of wellcharacterized SI units so that they are reliable in the long term, are comparable worldwide and are linked to other areas of science and technology through the world's measurement system established and maintained under the Metre Convention.

DOI : 10.59161/CGPM1999RES4E