Treaties, Conventions, Protocols and Conferences
A treaty is a compact, or contract, made between or among sovereign nations, involving matters of each country's public interest. It has the force of law within each signing nation. Treaties are the formal conclusion of the negotiating process rather than an intermediate step. Ideally, they include both the formal commitment of nations and mechanisms for enforcement, although many international environmental treaties fall short on the adequacy of enforcement mechanisms.
A convention is also an international agreement, although it often has a narrower scope and is less politically motivated than a treaty. In addition, a convention may consist of agreed-upon arrangements that precede a formal treaty or that serve as the basis for an anticipated treaty.
A protocol is an agreed-upon document or instrument that provides the template for subsequent diplomatic transactions, serving, in a manner of speaking, as a first draft that is subject to further refinement.
Conferences are diplomatic meetings conducted in order to agree upon policy statements in lieu of formal, and more time-consuming, international negotiations. In addition to such bilateral or even multilateral agreements between nations, international organizations may create mechanisms for examining and resolving international disputes and other issues. Most notably, the United Nations, through its Environmental Programme, and joined by the World Meteorological Organization, was instrumental in establishing the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 1988. The IPCC created working groups and special committees that assessed the scientific information related to various components of climate change, including, specifically, data regarding the emissions of major greenhouse gases, analyzed that information in environmental and socioeconomic contexts, and then formulated realistic response strategies for the management of climate change. The IPCC's analysis and recommendations thus became the template for subsequent attempts to draft international agreements. The Climate Change Convention, discussed below, was one such result.
These various tools and arrangements are unique to international law, which imposes constraints not typically present in national, or "domestic," law. International law has traditionally differed from the domestic law of nation-states in that it is fundamentally voluntary, notwithstanding the fact that political or military pressures may have prompted the parties to negotiate or enter into any compacts in the first place. Hence, ultimate enforcement, short of political or military responses, can be problematic.
Major Environment Treaties and Conventions
Antarctic Treaty
Entered into force - 23 June 1961
Objective - to ensure that Antarctica is used for peaceful purposes only (such as international cooperation in scientific research); to defer the question of territorial claims asserted by some nations and not recognized by others; to provide an international forum for management of the region; applies to land and ice shelves south of 60 degrees south latitude
Basel Convention on the Control of Trans-boundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal
Entered into force - 5 May 1992
Objective - to reduce trans-boundary movements of wastes subject to the Convention to a minimum consistent with the environmentally sound and efficient management of such wastes; to minimize the amount and toxicity of wastes generated and ensure their environmentally sound management as closely as possible to the source of generation; and to assist LDCs in environmentally sound management of the hazardous and other wastes they generate
Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals
Entered into force - 11 March 1978 (India is not a signatory)
Objective - to promote and achieve the protection, scientific study, and rational use of Antarctic seals, and to maintain a satisfactory balance within the ecological system of Antarctica
Convention on Biological Diversity
Entered into force - 29 December 1993
Objective - to develop national strategies for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity
Convention on Fishing and Conservation of Living Resources of the High Seas
Entered into force - 20 March 1966 (India is not a signatory)
Objective - to solve through international cooperation the problems involved in the conservation of living resources of the high seas, considering that because of the development of modern technology some of these resources are in danger of being overexploited
Convention on Long-Range Trans-boundary Air Pollution
Entered into force - 16 March 1983 (India is not a signatory)
Objective - to protect the human environment against air pollution and to gradually reduce and prevent air pollution, including long-range trans-boundary air pollution
Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat (Ramsar)
Entered into force - 21 December 1975
Objective - to stem the progressive encroachment on and loss of wetlands now and in the future, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural, scientific, and recreational value
Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources
Entered into force - 7 April 1982
Objective - to safeguard the environment and protect the integrity of the ecosystem of the seas surrounding Antarctica, and to conserve Antarctic marine living resources
Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES)
Entered into force - 1 July 1975
Objective - to protect certain endangered species from over-exploitation by means of a system of import/export permits
Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping Wastes and Other Matter (London Convention)
Entered into force - 30 August 1975 (India is not a signatory)
Objective - to control pollution of the sea by dumping and to encourage regional agreements supplementary to the Convention; the London Convention came into force in 1996
Convention on the Prohibition of Military or Any Other Hostile Use of Environmental Modification Techniques
Entered into force - 5 October 1978
Objective - to prohibit the military or other hostile use of environmental modification techniques in order to further world peace and trust among nations
International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling
Entered into force - 10 November 1948
Objective - to protect all species of whales from over-hunting; to establish a system of international regulation for the whale fisheries to ensure proper conservation and development of whale stocks; and to safeguard for future generations the great natural resources represented by whale stocks
International Tropical Timber Agreement, 1983
Entered into force - 1 April 1985; this agreement expired when the International Tropical Timber Agreement, 1994, went into force
Objective - to provide an effective framework for cooperation between tropical timber producers and consumers and to encourage the development of national policies aimed at sustainable utilization and conservation of tropical forests and their genetic resources
International Tropical Timber Agreement, 1994
Entered into force - 1 January 1997
Objective - to ensure that by the year 2000 exports of tropical timber originate from sustainably managed sources; to establish a fund to assist tropical timber producers in obtaining the resources necessary to reach this objective
Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
Entered into force - 23 February 2005
Objective - to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions by enhancing the national programs of developed countries aimed at this goal and by establishing percentage reduction targets for the developed countries
Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer
Entered into force - 1 January 1989
Objective - to protect the ozone layer by controlling emissions of substances that deplete it
Protocol of 1978 Relating to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973 (MARPOL)
Entered into force - 2 October 1983
Objective - to preserve the marine environment through the complete elimination of pollution by oil and other harmful substances and the minimization of accidental discharge of such substances
Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty
Entered into force - 14 January 1998
Objective - to provide for comprehensive protection of the Antarctic environment and dependent and associated ecosystems; applies to the area covered by the Antarctic Treaty
Protocol to the 1979 Convention on Long-Range Trans-boundary Air Pollution Concerning the Control of Emissions of Nitrogen Oxides or Their Trans-boundary Fluxes
Entered into force - 14 February 1991 (India is not a signatory)
Objective - to provide for the control or reduction of nitrogen oxides and their trans-boundary fluxes
Protocol to the 1979 Convention on Long-Range Trans-boundary Air Pollution Concerning the Control of Emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds or Their Trans-boundary Fluxes
Entered into force - 29 September 1997 (India is not a signatory)
Objective - to provide for the control and reduction of emissions of volatile organic compounds in order to reduce their trans-boundary fluxes so as to protect human health and the environment from adverse effects
Protocol to the 1979 Convention on Long-Range Trans-boundary Air Pollution on Further Reduction of Sulphur Emissions
Entered into force - 5 August 1998 (India is not a signatory)
Objective - to provide for a further reduction in sulfur emissions or trans-boundary fluxes
Protocol to the 1979 Convention on Long-Range Trans-boundary Air Pollution on Persistent Organic Pollutants
Entered into force - 23 October 2003 (India is not a signatory)
Objective - to provide for the control and reduction of emissions of persistent organic pollutants in order to reduce their trans-boundary fluxes so as to protect human health and the environment from adverse effects
Protocol to the 1979 Convention on Long-Range Trans-boundary Air Pollution on the Reduction of Sulphur Emissions or Their Trans-boundary Fluxes by at Least 30%
Entered into force - 2 September 1987 (India is not a signatory)
Objective - to provide for a 30% reduction in sulfur emissions or trans-boundary fluxes by 1993
Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests in the Atmosphere, in Outer Space, and Under Water
Entered into force - 10 October 1963
Objective - to obtain an agreement on general and complete disarmament under strict international control in accordance with the objectives of the United Nations; to put an end to the armaments race and eliminate incentives for the production and testing of all kinds of weapons, including nuclear weapons
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOS)
Entered into force - 16 November 1994
Objective - to set up a comprehensive new legal regime for the sea and oceans; to include rules concerning environmental standards as well as enforcement provisions dealing with pollution of the marine environment
United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa
Entered into force - 26 December 1996
Objective - to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought through national action programs that incorporate long-term strategies supported by international cooperation and partnership arrangements
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
Entered into force - 21 March 1994
Objective - to achieve stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a low enough level to prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system
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