ACCOBAMS
- Agreement on the Conservation of
Cetaceans in the Black Sea Mediterranean Sea and contiguous Atlantic area .
- ACCOBAMS is
a cooperative agreement for the conservation of marine biodiversity in the
Mediterranean and Black Seas.
ASEAN
Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution
- It is an
environmental agreement signed in 2002 between all ASEAN nations to reduce
haze pollution in Southeast Asia.
- As of June
2007, eight countries Viz.Malaysia,
Singapore, Brunei Darussalam , Myanmar , Viet Nam , Thailand , Lao PDR ,
Cambodia have ratified the agreement.
Aarhus
Convention:
- Aarhus
Convention, was signed on June 25, 1998 in the Danish city of Aarhus.
- As of July
2009, it had been signed by 40 (primarily European and Central Asian)
countries and the European Community and ratified by 41 countries.
Bali
Communiqué
- On 30
November 2007, the business leaders of 150 global companies published a
communiqué at Bali Indonesia to world leaders calling for a comprehensive,
legally binding United Nations framework to tackle climate change.
- It is a
comprehensive, legally binding United Nations framework to tackle climate
change emission reduction targets to be guided primarily by science those countries
that have already industrialised to make the greatest effort world
leaders to seize the window of opportunity and agree on a work plan of
negotiations to ensure an agreement can come into force after 2012 (when
the existing Kyoto Protocol expires)
- Among
others, it established the Ad-hoc Working Group on Long Term
Cooperative Action under the UNFCCC, and this Working Group
was mandated by the Conference of Parties in Copenhagen in December 2009
to continue its work
Basel
Convention:
- The Basel
Convention is Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous
Wastes and Their Disposal.
- Its an
international treaty that was designed to reduce the movements of
hazardous waste between nations, and specifically to prevent transfer of
hazardous waste from developed to less developed countries (LDCs) (except
radioactive waste)
- A waste can
eb defined hazardous by exporting/importing/transit country
- The
Convention was opened for signature on 22 March 1989, and entered into
force on 5 May 1992.
Bonn
Convention:
- Convention
on the Conservation
of Migratory Species of Wild Animals.
- To conserve terrestrial,
marine and avian migratory species throughout their range was the onjective
of this convention.
- It is an intergovernmental treaty,
concluded under the aegis of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), concerned with the
conservation of wildlife and habitats on a global scale.
- The
Convention was signed
in 1979
in Bonn (hence the name) and entered
into force in 1983.
CITES
or Washington Convention
- Convention
on International Trade in Endangered Species
- Convention
on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora or
Washington Convention is an international agreement between governments,
drafted as a result of a resolution adopted in 1973 at a meeting of members of the
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
- Its aim is
to ensure that international trade
in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival
and it accords varying degrees of protection to more than 33,000 species
of animals and plants.
Convention
on Biological Diversity (CBD)
- Convention
on Biological Diversity (CBD) or Biodiversity Convention, is an
international legally
binding treaty
that was adopted in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992.
- The
Convention was opened for signature at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro
on 5 June 1992 and entered into force on 29 December 1993.
ENMOD
- The
Environmental Modification Convention (ENMOD) is an international treaty prohibiting
the military or other hostile use of environmental modification techniques.
- It opened
for signature on 18 May 1977 in Geneva and entered into force on October
5, 1978.
Kyoto
Protocol
- The Kyoto
Protocol is a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC)
- It is an international
environmental treaty with the goal of achieving "stabilization
of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would
prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.
- The Kyoto
Protocol establishes legally binding commitment for the reduction of four
greenhouse gases (carbon
dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulphur hexafluoride), and two
groups of gases (hydrofluorocarbons
and perfluorocarbons).
- It was
initially adopted for use on 11 December 1997 in Kyoto, Japan and entered
into force on 16
February 2005.
- As of
February 2009 183 parties (nations) have ratified the protocol.
- Under the
Kyoto Protocol, industrialized countries agreed to reduce their collective
green house gas (GHG) emissions by 5.2% from the level in 1990.
- National
limitations range from the reduction of 8% for the European Union and
others to 7% for the United States, 6% for Japan, and 0% for Russia.
- The treaty
permitted the emission increases of 8% for Australia and 10% for Iceland.
- Kyoto
includes defined "flexible
mechanisms"
such as
Emissions
Trading,
Clean Development Mechanism
Joint Implementation
Montreal
Protocol:
- The Montreal
Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer is a protocol to the
Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer.
- It is an
international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out
the production of a number of substances believed to be responsible for
ozone depletion.
- The treaty
was opened for signature on September
16, 1987 and entered into force on January 1, 1989 followed by a first
meeting in Helsinki, May 1989.
- Since then,
it has undergone seven revisions, in 1990 (London), 1991 (Nairobi), 1992
(Copenhagen), 1993 (Bangkok), 1995 (Vienna), 1997 (Montreal), and 1999 (Beijing).
- It is
believed that if the international agreement is adhered to, the ozone
layer is expected to recover by 2050.
- Due to its
widespread adoption and implementation it has been hailed as an example of
exceptional international co-operation with Kofi Annan quoted as saying
that "perhaps
the single most successful international agreement to date has been the
Montreal Protocol"
Multi effect protocol:
·
The geographic scope of the Protocol includes Europe, North America and countries of Eastern Europe, Caucus and
Central Asia
Talloires declaration
The Talloires
Declaration is a declaration for sustainability, created for
and by presidents
of institutions of higher learning. Jean Mayer, Tufts University president,
convened a conference of 22 universities in 1990 in Talloires, France. This
document is a declaration that institutions of higher learning will be world
leaders in developing, creating, supporting and maintaining sustainability.
Sydney
Declaration:
- The Sydney
APEC Leaders' Declaration on Climate Change, Energy Security and Clean
Development was adopted at APEC
Australia 2007 on 8 September 2007.
United
Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
- The United
Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries
Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in
Africa is a Convention 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.
- It was
adopted in Paris on 17 June 1994 and entered into force in
December 1996.
- It is the
first and only internationally legally binding framework set up to address
the problem of desertification.
- The
Convention is based on the principles
of participation, partnership and decentralization - the
backbone of Good Governance and Sustainable Development.
- It now has
193 country Parties to the Convention, making it truly global in reach.
- To help
publicise the Convention, 2006 had
been declared "International Year of Deserts and
Desertification".
United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
- The United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC or FCCC) is an
international environmental treaty produced at the United Nations
Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), informally known as the
Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro from 3 to 14 June 1992.
- The treaty
is aimed at stabilizing
greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level
that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate
system.
- It entered
into force on
March 21, 1994.
- Its stated
objective is to achieve stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in
the atmosphere at a low enough level to prevent dangerous anthropogenic
interference with the climate system.
- One of its
first achievements was to establish a national greenhouse gas inventory, as a count
of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and removals.
- Accounts
must be regularly submitted by signatories of the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change.
- The UNFCCC
is also the name of the United Nations Secretariat charged with supporting
the operation of the Convention, with offices in Haus Carstanjen, Bonn,
Germany.
- Since 2006
the head of the secretariat has been Yvo de Boer.
Vienna
Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer
- The Vienna
Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer is a multilateral
environmental agreement.
- It was
agreed upon at the Vienna
Conference of 1985 and entered into force in 1988.
- It acts as a
framework for the international efforts to protect the ozone layer.
- However, it does not include legally binding
reduction goals for the use of CFCs (Choloro-Fluoro Carbons) the main
chemical agents causing ozone depletion which are laid out in the
accompanying Montreal Protocol.
Wadden sea agreement
·
Agreement on the Conservation of Seals in the
Wadden Sea is an agreement between Wadden Sea
countries, aimed at protection of seals and concluded in the aegis of Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) in
1990.
CANCUN climate agreement at a glance
·
EMISSION
CUTS
·
o The pledges made by rich countries
at copenhagen have been put into UN
·
documentation
·
o Devlpng countries agreed to explore
ways to cut emissions
·
CLIMATE
AID
·
o Green fund to be created for
transfer of funds from devlpd to devlpng
·
nations
·
o The supervisory panel for fund to
have more reps of poor countries
·
o 100 bn $ by 2020 and 30 bn $ by 2012
·
FORESTS
·
o Formal backing to REDD+
·
o But no details on how and what form
the scheme will take
·
KYOTO
·
o Decision deferred to durban 2011
·
o No decision yet on what rôle KP will
play in future legal document
·
TECH
TRANSFER
·
o supported the idea
·
o Tech exec
commtt and a climate technlgy center and network to be set up
CBD 10
nagoya meet
nagoya protocol deals with access and benefit
sharing which is targeted at tackling bio piracy while aichi target madates
countries to bring atleast 17% of and 10% of water bodies under protected area
by 2020 and ensure mankind lives in harmony with nature by 2050
1)
Reduce to atleast half, and where ever
possible to zero, the rate of loss of biodiversity 2) Govt to restore atleast
15% of Degraded land 3) Bring Natural Capital into National Accounting system
BALTIC MARINE ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION
COMMISSION
BARCELONA CONVENTION
The 1976 Barcelona Convention for Protection against Pollution
in the Mediterranean Sea is a regional convention to prevent and abate
pollution from ships, aircraft and land based sources in the Mediterranean Sea. This
includes, but is not limited to, dumping, run-off and discharges.
BON
AGREEMENT
The Bonn
Agreement is a European environmental agreement.
Following
several oil
spills
in 1969, the coastal nations of the North Sea formed the Bonn Agreement to ensure mutual cooperation in the
avoidance and combatting of environmental pollution.
The agreement
was revised in 1983 to include the European Union
CEBU
DECALRATION ON EAST ASIAN ENERGYS ECURITY-2007
The Cebu
Declaration on East Asian Energy Security was signed by 16 nations after a
three hour meeting of delegates at the East Asia Summit[1] in Cebu on January 15, 2007. The countries have agreed to promote energy security and find energy alternatives to conventional
fuels.
The Declaration
lists a series of goals aimed at providing "reliable, adequate and
affordable" energy supplies [2]. It was
signed by the 10 ASEAN members (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Burma and Cambodia), as well as
China, Japan, New Zealand, India, South Korea and Australia.
This was
followed by the Singapore Declaration on Climate Change, Energy and the
Environment[3] at the Third EAS.
IOSEA-2001
International tropicla timber agreement
The obje ctives of the
International Tropical Timber Agreement, 2006 (hereinafter
referred to as "this
Agreement") are to promote the expansion and diversification of
international trade in tropical
timber from sustainably
managed and legally harvested forests and to promote the sustainable
management of tropical timber producing forests
NITROGEN OXIDE PROTOCOL-1991
Protocol to the 1979
Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution Concerning the Control of
Emissions of Nitrogen Oxides or Their Transboundary Fluxes, to provide for
the control or reduction of nitrogen oxides and their transboundary
fluxes.
Ramsar
convention
The
Ramsar Convention
(
The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, especially as Waterfowl Habitat)
is an international
treaty
for the conservation and sustainable utilisation of
wetlands,
[1]
i.e., to
stem the progressive encroachment on and loss of
wetlands now and in the future, recognising the fundamental
ecological
functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural, scientific, and
recreational value.
Montreux record
The Montreux Record is a
register of wetland sites on the List of Wetlands
of International Importance where changes in ecological character have
occurred, are occurring, or are likely to occur as a result of technological
developments, pollution or other human interference. It is maintained as part of the Ramsar List. In India Kaladeo and Loktak
