International environmental agreements: examples

As early as 1902, a legal act concerning the protection of wildlife was first issued in Paris - a convention that regulated the protection of birds used in agriculture. The issue of ecology is now particularly acute in our lives. But the problem has existed for a long time. Therefore, many nations have decided to convene and create international environmental agreements. We will give examples of some of them in this article.

Ramsar Convention

The purpose of this agreement is the legal protection of the environment, as well as the conservation of wetland resources on our planet. Within its framework in 1971 international agreements on environmental protection were adopted. This happened in the Iranian city of Ramsar. The convention describes the points how each country participating in it and the International Committee can contribute to the protection of the inhabitants of the wetland environment:

• Establishment of national, protected wetlands in each country.
• Recognition of their traditional and cultural significance.
• Promoting regular activities to maintain water quality, fisheries, agriculture and recreation.
• Enhancing public participation in the protection of resources.
• Strengthening knowledge and improving education in the field of wetland resources.

Members of the convention continued to meet regularly around the world to review and expand resource protection measures. In 1987, the Canadian city of Regine (Saskatchewan) was amended.

Legal regulation of species

An agreement on the maintenance of biological diversity was adopted in Rio de Janeiro on June 5, 1992. This multilateral treaty contains several main objectives, which are also included in other international agreements on environmental protection. Examples of these goals:

• conservation of biological diversity ;
• renewable use of its components;
• fair and equitable distribution of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources.

In other words, the object of the agreement is the development of national strategies for the conservation and proper use of biological diversity. This convention is also included in international agreements on environmental protection, examples of which are in the article. 2010 has been declared the International Year of Biodiversity.

Helsinki Convention

The Helsinki Convention was adopted to protect the marine environment in the Baltic Sea. The first international environmental agreements in its framework were signed in 1974 by countries such as Denmark, Finland, West and East Germany, Poland, the USSR and Sweden, and entered into force on May 3, 1980. The second convention was signed in 1992 Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Estonia, the European Union, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia and Sweden. The participating countries that have adopted international environmental agreements have committed themselves to organize all the necessary measures to prevent and reduce pollution in order to help restore the ecological balance of the Baltic Sea. A number of measures have also been developed to prevent or minimize damage to the environment from accidents.

Organic pollutants

The Convention on them was signed in Stockholm in 2001, and entered into force in May 2004. Its purpose was to eliminate or reduce the production of these pollutants. The key positions of this environmental protection agreement include requirements for developed countries to provide additional financial resources and measures to eliminate the production and use of intentionally produced POPs, also to eliminate unintentionally produced POPs where possible, and to correctly dispose of waste.

United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

This agreement, signed by more than 180 countries, was adopted at the Earth Summit in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro and entered into force on March 21, 1994. The Framework Convention is an international environmental treaty (currently it is the only international policy treaty in climate with wide legitimacy), discussed at the United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development (UNCED). Its goal is to establish a stable level of concentration of greenhouse gases, which will prevent a dangerous anthropogenic impact on the climate system. The agreement itself does not establish mandatory greenhouse gas emission limits for individual countries and does not contain any enforcement mechanisms. In a legal sense, a convention is not considered binding. Instead, the agreement provides the basis for the creation of a special document that contains specific international agreements on environmental protection (the so-called protocols), with which you can set mandatory limits for greenhouse gas emissions.

Kyoto Protocol under UNFCCC

After the UNFCCC was signed, participating countries gathered at conferences to discuss how to achieve the objectives of the treaty. Further discussions led to the creation of the Kyoto Protocol. It is also part of international environmental agreements and sets emission reduction targets for developed countries, which are mandatory under international law.

Biological Weapons Convention (BWC)

This was the first multilateral disarmament agreement to ban the production of a whole category of weapons. The Convention was the result of the international community's long work to create a new document that could supplement the Geneva Protocol of 1925 (which, in turn, prohibits only the use, but not possession of chemical and biological weapons or their distribution). The BWC project, submitted by the British, was signed on April 10, 1972 and entered into force on March 26, 1975. It obliges 172 member states to ban the development, production, and stockpiling of biological and toxin weapons as of December 2014. However, the absence of any formal control regime limits the effectiveness of the Convention. In brief about the contents of this agreement we can say the following:

1. Never, under any circumstances, acquire or retain biological weapons.
2. Destroy or switch biological weapons and related resources to peaceful purposes.
3. Do not transfer biological weapons to anyone or assist in their acquisition and preservation.
4. Take any national measures necessary to implement the provisions of the BWC in the domestic market.
5. Consult bilaterally and multilaterally on issues related to the implementation of the BWC.
6. Create requests to the UN Security Council to investigate alleged violations of the convention and respect its subsequent decisions.
7. Provide assistance to States at risk from violations of the Biological Weapons Convention.
8. To do everything possible to promote the peaceful use of biological technology and science.

Treaty for the Protection of Migratory Birds 1918

This document is also included in international environmental agreements. According to the charter, the prosecution, hunting, fishing, catching, killing or selling of birds included in it (migratory birds) is declared unlawful. The charter does not stipulate differences between living and dead birds, and also applies to feathers, eggs and nests. The list contains more than 800 species.

CITES

CITES is a convention signed in Washington in 1973 and entered into force on July 1, 1975, concerning the trade in wildlife and fauna that are now in danger of extinction. This is one of the most extensive and oldest existing agreements in history. This international convention regulates and controls the trade in certain species of animals and plants. A special licensing system was developed to control all imports, exports and re-exports. Each party to the Convention must create one governing body (or more) that is responsible for managing this licensing system, as well as at least one scientific body to advise on the impact of trade on specific species of the animal or plant world. About 5000 species of animals and 29000 species of plants are protected by Cytes. Each of them can be found in the Appendix to the Convention, as well as the degree of threat and limits for trade.

International environmental agreements in Russia

In our country, the necessary measures are being taken to maintain ecological balance. Russia, like other countries, actively supports international environmental agreements. Examples are as follows: from 1979 - the Convention on Air Pollution (transboundary), from 1992 - the Convention for the Protection of the Black Sea from Pollution, from 2011 - on organic pollutants and many others.