5.4 International Environmental Conventions Organisations

Convention Year of establishment Purpose Remarks
International Whaling Commission 1946 - Prohibition on commercial whaling in 1986
- Iceland, Norway and Japan have withdrawn
- Intergov organisation
- Set up under International Convention for Regulation of Whaling ICRW
- India is a mem
International Union for Conservation of Nature IUCN 1948 - Red list of threatened species
- Observer and consultative status at UN
Ramsar Convention 1971 for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands - aka Waterfowl convention
- India is part 37 Ramsar sites in IN
Stockholm Declaration 1972 International protection of the environment - UNEP was the result of it
- Also recognised poverty alleviation for protection of env
Convention on International Trade in Endangered species of Wild flora and fauna (CITES) 1973 Control or prevent international commercial trade in endangered species or products derived from them. - Known as Washington Convention
- Legally binding but not take place of national laws
- Secretariat by UNEP
- App I (most endangered currently 931 listed) : prohibits trade except for scientific purpose
- Appendix II may become threatened w/ extinction and look alike species export and reexport certificate required no import permit req
- Appx III : species that are regulated by 1 country wants helps of other, trade allowed only on presentation of appropriate permits/certificates
- The International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC) consortium of CITES, INTERPOL, UNODC, WB, WCO was established tackle illegal trade
- CITES COP 18 2019
> Smooth Coated Otter, Indian Star tortoise to Appx I, Tokay Gecko included in App II
> Proposal to prohibit Smooth Coated Otter and Small Clawed otter international trade
> Proposal to remove Rosewood from Appx II
'The Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network' aka TRAFFIC 1976 Wildlife Trade monitoring Network - Alliance of WWF and IUCN
- NGO HQ in Cambridge, UK
- Close coop w/ CITES
- 'Wanted Alive Campaign' for Tiger, Leopard, Snow Leopard and Clouded Leopard
- Helped form SAWEN South Asia Wildlife Enforcement Network - an Intergov body established in 2011 in Bhutan
World Conservation Strategy 1980 Document for implementation of conservation measures all over the world
Nairobi Declaration 1982 for achieving sustainable developments 10th anniversary of Stockholm Strategies to achieve sustainable dev up to year 2000
Vienna convention 1985 for the protection of the ozone layer It does not include legally binding reduction goals Achieved universal ratification in 2009 Montreal Protocol, Kigali amend under it
International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) 1986
Montreal Protocol 1987 To control Ozone-depleting Substances It is a protocol to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of Ozone Layer · Universal treaty (Ratified by all UN countries) · Legally binding · Target only ozone depleting substances (Not GHG i.e. Hydro Fluorocarbons) Led to phase out of 99% ozone depleting chemicals in refrigerators, AC's etc
Brundtland Report 1987 Sustainable Development gave the concept of "sustainable development"
Helsinki Declaration 1989 Protection of Ozone layer Encourage states to join Vienna Convention
Basel Convention 1989 Hazardous waste Reduce movt of hazardous waste b/w countries Particularly transfer from developed to less dev
Earth Summit/ United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED)/ Rio Declaration 1992 Environment conservation & Development It had 27 principles Pledge to reduce current rate of biodiversity loss Resulted in the following documents Rio Dec on Env and Development Agenda 21 Forest Principles · Three legally binding agreements were opened for signature (i) CBD (ii) UNFCCC (iii) UNCCD
Agenda 21 1992 Sustainable Development product of Earth Summit, 1992 · Non-binding
UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 1992 Reducing greenhouse gas emissions to combat global warming Environmental treaty produced at the Earth Summit, 1992. · Secretariat: Bonn, Germany · Legally non-binding · Kyoto Protocol was negotiated under this framework COP 25 2019 Katowice, Poland 'Chile Madrid Time for Action' Dec to improve pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emission Disagreements on Carbon market - allowing buying and selling of carbon emission Definition and composition of Climate Finances
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) 1992 Three main goals: Conservation of biological diversity (or biodiversity); Sustainable use of its components; Sharing the benefits of genetic resources fairly and equitably Legally binding · USA has signed but not ratified · The two protocols to CBD are: (a) Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, 2000 (b) Nagoya Protocol (Biodiversity Accord), 2010
UNCCD 1994 Convention to Combat Desertification Headquarter: Bonn, Germany · Only convention that came out from direct recommendations of Rio Agenda 21 · Legally Binding · Canada withdrew
Oslo Protocol 1994 Further Reduction of Sulphur Emission
Kyoto Protocol (COP 3) 1997 to fight global warming by reducing greenhouse gas concentrations Negotiated under UNFCCC · Came into force in 2005 · Binding targets to Annex I countries · Mechanisms under protocol: (a) Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) (b) Emission Trading (c) Joint Implementation (JI) · This protocol applies to follow GHGs (Annex A): (a) Carbon Dioxide (CO2) (b) Methane (CH4) (c) Nitrous Oxide (NO2) (d) Sulphur Hexafluoride (SF6) (e) Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) (f) Perfluorocarbons (PFCs) · The Protocol is based on the principle of shared (Common) but differentiated responsibilities. · It places the obligation on developed countries to reduce current emissions on the basis that they are historically responsible for the current levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. · Annex I countries: industrialized countries and economies in transition · Annex II countries: developed countries which pay for costs of developing countries, Annex II is a subset of Annex I · Non-Annex I countries: Developing countries · India is Non-Annex party to UNFCC. · There are two commitment periods (i) 2008–2012 (ii) 2013–2020 Note: The second commitment period was agreed on in 2012, known as the Doha Amendment to the protocol.
Bamako Convention 1998 Prohibit import of hazardous waste into Africa
Aarhus Protocol 1998 Persistent Organic Pollutants
Rotterdam Convention 1998 Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade UN Treaty
Gothenburg Protocol 1999 Acidification, Eutrophication and Ground Level Ozone
Agreement on Conservation of AfricanEurasian Migratory Birds AEWA 1999
Cartagena Protocol 2000 Biosafety Protecting biological diversity from potential risks posed by living modified organisms resulting from modern biotechnology
United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) 2000
Stockholm Convention 2001 Eliminate or restrict the production and use of persistent organic pollutants(POPs) UN Treaty · US is not a party to this treaty · Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety (IFCS) and the International Programme for Chemical Safety (IPCS) prepared a list, known as the Dirty Dozen.
Johannesburg Declaration 2002 Sustainable Development
Carpathian Convention 2003 Sustainable Development of 7 European countries
REDD & REDD+ 2005 Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries Negotiated under UNFCCC since 2005. · UN-REDD was launched in 2008. India did not participate in it. · REDDD+ (Defined in Bali Action Plan, 2007, CoP13) · REDD+ extends to (a) Sustainable Forest Management (b) Conservation of Forests (c) Enhancement of carbon sinks
Coalition Against Wildlife Trafficking (CAWT) 2005
Bali Summit 2007 Climate Change
Nagoya Protocol 2010 Access to genetic resources and a fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from their use of the Convention on Biological Diversity It is a supplementary agreement to the CBD.
Rio+20 2012 Conference on Sustainable Development · 20th Anniversary of Rio Earth Summit 1992.
Paris Agreement (COP 21) 2015 Climate Change It will come into force by 2020. · Not legally binding. Aims This century, global temperature rises well below 2 degrees Celsius above circa-industrial level. Pursue efforts to limit the temperature upsurge even further to 5 degrees Celsius. Indian NDCs · Greenhouse gas emissions per unit of GDPby 33 to 35 per cent below 2005 levels by the year 2030. · By 2030, 40 percent of its energy would be generated from non-fossil fuels · Increase its forest cover to create an additional carbon sink equivalent to 2.5 to 3 billion tons of carbon dioxide by 2030. Note: Recently the US has withdrawn from it.
Kigali Amendment 2016 Reduce Ozone Layer Depletion - amends the 1987 Montreal Protocol. ·
- aims to reduce Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) by roughly 80-85 Percent by 2045 and expected to arrest global avg temp up to 0.5 C by 2100 · will be binding on member countries from 2019 Divided signatories in 3 groups 1st group of rich and dev countries will reduce HFCs by 15% of 2012 level by 2036 Emerging economies reduce 20% of 2021 by 2045 start by 2024 Developing economies like IN, PAK, KSA etc reduce 15% of 2024-2026 level by 2047 start by 2028
Minamata Convention 2017 Mercury - Ban on new mercury mines, phasing out existing ones
- Phase out mercury use in products and processes
- Also addresses interim storage, disposal
- IN Ratified, excludes use in Ayurvedic, Siddha and Unani medicines

“International Environmental ConventionsOrganisations 1.pdf” could not be found.

International Whaling Commission 1946

  • Prohibition on commercial whaling in 1986
  • Iceland, Norway and Japan have withdrawn
  • Intergov organisation
  • Set up under International Convention for Regulation of Whaling ICRW
  • India is a mem

International Union for Conservation of Nature IUCN 1948

  • Red list of threatened species
  • Observer and consultative status at UN

Ramsar Convention 1971

for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands

  • aka Waterfowl convention
  • India is part 37 Ramsar sites in IN

Stockholm Declaration 1972

International protection of the environment

  • UNEP was the result of it
  • Also recognised poverty alleviation for protection of env

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) 1973

Control or prevent international commercial trade in endangered species or products derived from them.

  • Known as Washington Convention
  • Legally binding but not take place of national laws
  • Secretariat by UNEP
  • App I (most endangered currently 931 listed) : prohibits trade except for scientific purpose
  • Appendix II may become threatened w/ extinction and look alike species export and reexport certificate required no import permit req
  • Appx III : species that are regulated by 1 country wants helps of other, trade allowed only on presentation of appropriate permits/certificates
  • The International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC) consortium of CITES, INTERPOL, UNODC, WB, WCO was established tackle illegal trade
  • CITES COP 18 2019
  • Smooth Coated Otter, Indian Star tortoise to Appx I, Tokay Gecko included in App II
  • Proposal to prohibit Smooth Coated Otter and Small Clawed otter international trade
  • Proposal to remove Rosewood from Appx II

'The Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network' Aka TRAFFIC 1976

Wildlife Trade monitoring Network

  • Alliance of WWF and IUCN
  • NGO HQ in Cambridge, UK
  • Close coop w/ CITES
  • 'Wanted Alive Campaign' for Tiger, Leopard, Snow Leopard and Clouded Leopard
  • Helped form SAWEN South Asia Wildlife Enforcement Network - an Intergov body established in 2011 in Bhutan

World Conservation Strategy 1980

  • Document for implementation of conservation measures all over the world

Nairobi Declaration 1982

  • for achieving sustainable developments
  • 10th anniversary of Stockholm Strategies to achieve sustainable dev up to year 2000

Vienna Convention 1985

  • for the protection of the ozone layer
  • It does not include legally binding reduction goals Achieved universal ratification in 2009 Montreal Protocol, Kigali amend under it

International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) 1986

Montreal Protocol 1987

  • To control Ozone-depleting Substances
  • It is a protocol to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of Ozone Layer ·
  • Universal treaty (Ratified by all UN countries) ·
  • Legally binding ·
  • Target only ozone depleting substances (Not GHG i.e. Hydro Fluorocarbons)
  • Led to phase out of 99% ozone depleting chemicals in refrigerators, AC's etc

Brundtland Report 1987

  • Sustainable Development
  • gave the concept of "sustainable development"

Helsinki Declaration 1989

  • Protection of Ozone layer
  • Encourage states to join Vienna Convention

Basel Convention 1989

  • Hazardous waste
  • Reduce movt of hazardous waste b/w countries Particularly transfer from developed to less dev

Earth Summit/ United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED)/ Rio Declaration 1992

  • Environment conservation & Development
  • It had 27 principles Pledge to reduce current rate of biodiversity loss
  • Resulted in the following documents Rio Dec on Env and Development Agenda 21 Forest Principles
  • Three legally binding agreements were opened for signature (i) CBD (ii) UNFCCC (iii) UNCCD

Agenda 21 1992

  • Sustainable Development
  • product of Earth Summit, 1992
  • Non-binding

UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 1992

  • Reducing greenhouse gas emissions to combat global warming
  • Environmental treaty produced at the Earth Summit, 1992.
  • Secretariat: Bonn, Germany ·
  • Legally non-binding
  • · Kyoto Protocol was negotiated under this framework
  • COP 25 2019 Katowice, Poland
    • 'Chile Madrid Time for Action' Decl : to improve pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emission
    • Disagreements on Carbon market : ie allowing buying and selling of carbon emission and Definition and composition of Climate Finances

Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) 1992

  • Three main goals:
    • Conservation of biological diversity (or biodiversity);
    • Sustainable use of its components;
    • Sharing the benefits of genetic resources fairly and equitably
  • Legally binding
  • · USA has signed but not ratified
  • · The two protocols to CBD are:

UNCCD 1994

  • Convention to Combat Desertification
  • Headquarter: Bonn, Germany ·
  • Only convention that came out from direct recommendations of Rio Agenda 21 ·
  • Legally Binding · Canada withdrew

Oslo Protocol 1994

  • Further Reduction of Sulphur Emission

Kyoto Protocol (COP 3) 1997

  • to fight global warming by reducing greenhouse gas concentrations
  • Negotiated under UNFCCC ·
  • Came into force in 2005 ·
  • Binding targets to Annex I countries ·
  • Mechanisms under protocol:
    • (a) Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)
    • (b) Emission Trading
    • (c) Joint Implementation (JI) ·
  • This protocol applies to follow GHGs (Annex A):
    • (a) Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
    • (b) Methane (CH4)
    • (c) Nitrous Oxide (NO2)
    • (d) Sulphur Hexafluoride (SF6)
    • (e) Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)
    • (f) Perfluorocarbons (PFCs)
  • · The Protocol is based on the principle of shared (Common) but differentiated responsibilities. ·
  • It places the obligation on developed countries to reduce current emissions on the basis that they are historically responsible for the current levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
  • · Annex I countries: industrialized countries and economies in transition ·
  • Annex II countries: developed countries which pay for costs of developing countries,
  • Annex II is a subset of Annex I ·
  • Non-Annex I countries: Developing countries · India is Non-Annex party to UNFCC. ·
  • There are two commitment periods (i) 2008–2012 (ii) 2013–2020
  • Note: The second commitment period was agreed on in 2012, known as the Doha Amendment to the protocol.

Bamako Convention 1998

  • Prohibit import of hazardous waste into Africa

Aarhus Protocol 1998

  • Persistent Organic Pollutants

Rotterdam Convention 1998

  • Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade
  • UN Treaty

Gothenburg Protocol 1999

  • Acidification, Eutrophication and Ground Level Ozone

Agreement on Conservation of AfricanEurasian Migratory Birds AEWA 1999

Cartagena Protocol 2000

  • Biosafety
  • Protecting biological diversity from potential risks posed by living modified organisms resulting from modern biotechnology

United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) 2000

Stockholm Convention 2001

  • Eliminate or restrict the production and use of persistent organic pollutants(POPs)
  • Was also called as UN Conference on Human Environment;
  • UN Treaty
  • US is not a party to this treaty
  • Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety (IFCS) and the International Programme for Chemical Safety (IPCS) prepared a list, known as the Dirty Dozen.
  • Its major reports are Emission Gap Report, Global Environment Outlook, Frontiers, Invest into Healthy Planet
  • Major Campaigns are : Beat pollution, UN75, World Environment Day, Wild for Life.
  • MARPOL was signed under it in 1973.
  • CITES was signed in 1984. It is administered by UNEP
  • Regional Seas Program established 1974
  • 1976 Convention for the protection of Mediterranean Sea against pollution Barcelona Convention
  • 1979 States adopted Convention on Migratory Species aka Bonn Convention.
  • UNEP hosts secretariats of various bodies including
    • CBD
    • Convention on international Trade and Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
    • Minamata convention
    • Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Convention
    • Vienna Convention and Montreal Protocol
    • Convention on Migratory Species
    • Carpathian Convention
    • Bamako Convention
    • Tehran Convention

Johannesburg Declaration 2002

  • Sustainable Development

Carpathian Convention 2003

  • Sustainable Development of 7 European countries

REDD & REDD+ 2005

  • Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries
  • Negotiated under UNFCCC since 2005.
  • UN-REDD was launched in 2008.
  • India did not participate in it.
  • REDDD+ (Defined in Bali Action Plan, 2007, CoP13) ·
    • REDD+ extends to (a) Sustainable Forest Management (b) Conservation of Forests (c) Enhancement of carbon sinks

Coalition Against Wildlife Trafficking (CAWT) 2005

Bali Summit 2007

  • Climate Change

Nagoya Protocol 2010

  • Access to genetic resources and a fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from their use of the Convention on Biological Diversity
  • It is a supplementary agreement to the CBD.

Rio+20 2012

  • Conference on Sustainable Development
  • 20th Anniversary of Rio Earth Summit 1992.

Paris Agreement (COP 21) 2015

  • Climate Change
  • It will come into force by 2020.
  • Not legally binding.
  • Aims :
    • This century, global temperature rises well below 2 degrees Celsius above circa-industrial level.
    • Pursue efforts to limit the temperature upsurge even further to 5 degrees Celsius.
  • Indian NDCs
    • Greenhouse gas emissions per unit of GDPby 33 to 35 per cent below 2005 levels by the year 2030.
    • By 2030, 40 percent of its energy would be generated from non-fossil fuels
    • Increase its forest cover to create an additional carbon sink equivalent to 2.5 to 3 billion tons of carbon dioxide by 2030.
  • Note: Recently the US has withdrawn from it.

Kigali Amendment 2016

  • Reduce Ozone Layer Depletion
  • amends the 1987 Montreal Protocol.
  • aims to reduce Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) by roughly 80-85 Percent by 2045 and expected to arrest global avg temp up to 0.5 C by 2100
  • will be binding on member countries from 2019
  • Divided signatories in 3 groups
    • 1st group of rich and dev countries will reduce HFCs by 15% of 2012 level by 2036
    • Emerging economies reduce 20% of 2021 by 2045 start by 2024
    • Developing economies like IN, PAK, KSA etc reduce 15% of 2024-2026 level by 2047 start by 2028

Minamata Convention 2017

  • Mercury
  • Ban on new mercury mines, phasing out existing ones
  • Phase out mercury use in products and processes
  • Also addresses interim storage, disposal
  • IN Ratified, excludes use in Ayurvedic, Siddha and Unani medicines

International Tropical Timber Organisation ITTO

  • Estd 1983
  • commodity org brings together producer and consumer to discuss and exchange info and dev policies
  • 59 mem countires including IN

International Network for Bamboo and Rattan INBAR

  • estd 1997 to inc socio economic and environmental benefit of bamboo and rattan
  • connects govt, private orgs and NPOs
  • IN is a mem out of 34 mem
  • has undertaken various studies in Orissa, Mizoram, Manipur, Tripura, Uttarakhand etc

Asia Pacific Forestry Commission APFC

  • one of the 6 commission of FAO
  • estd to provide forum for discussion at regional level b/w Govts, NGOs, local orgs, private sector.
  • IN is founding mem has hosted 2 session.

Asia Pacific Forest Invasice Species Newtwork APFISN

  • sharing info and awareness on threats from forest invasive species
  • estd in 2003