Question

The first conference on human environment was held in
A. Sweden
B. Mumbai
C. Hong Kong
D. Malaysia

Answer 1

Hint: Sweden first suggested to the United Nations Economic and Social Council ECOSOC in 1968 the idea of having a UN conference to focus on human interactions with the environment. ECOSOC passed resolution 1346 supporting the idea.
General Assembly Resolution 2398 in 1969 decided to convene a conference in 1972 and mandated a set of reports from the UN secretary-general suggesting that the conference focus on "stimulating and providing guidelines for action by the national government and international organizations" facing environmental issues.

Complete answer: The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment was held in Stockholm, Sweden from June 5–16 in 1972.
1. When the United Nations general assembly decided to convene the 1972 Stockholm Conference, taking up the offer of the Government of Sweden to host.
2. UN Secretary-General U Thant invited Maurice Strong to lead it as Secretary-General of the Conference, as the Canadian diplomat (under Pierre Trudeau) had initiated and already worked for over two years on the project.
3. The United Nations environment program, or UNEP, was created as a result of this conference.
4. At the conference itself, divisions between developed and developing countries began to emerge. The Chinese delegation proved hostile to the United States at the conference, issuing a 17-point memorandum condemning US policies, as well as around the world.
5. This stance emboldened other developing countries, which made up 70 of the 122 countries attending.
6. Multiple countries including Pakistan, Peru, and Chile issued statements that were anti-colonial in nature, further worrying the United States delegation.

Additional information: In 1972, environmental governance was not seen as an international priority, particularly for the Global South.
Developing nations supported its creation of the UNEP, not because they supported environmental governance, but because of its headquarters' location in Nairobi, Kenya, as the UNEP would be the first UN agency to be based in a developing country.

So the correct answer is- A. Sweden

Note: One of the seminal issues that emerged from the conference is the recognition for poverty alleviation for protecting the environment.
1. The Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in her seminal speech in the conference brought forward the connection between ecological management and poverty alleviation.
2. The Stockholm Conference motivated countries around the world to monitor environmental conditions as well as to create environmental ministries and agencies.
3. Despite these institutional accomplishments, including the establishment of UNEP, the failure to implement most of its action programme has prompted the UN to have follow-up conferences.
4. The succeeding United Nations Conference on Environment and Development convened in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 (the Rio Earth Summit).