INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS AND PROTOCOLS .1 Background and Definition

Environmental problems are not new to the world. But for many decades, environmental problems were characterized by issues of local pollution like effluent pipes discharging to rivers or low-level chimneys creating atmospheric problems or hazardous waste dumped at land site.

These problems generally do not require very sophisticated science to establish a solution and rarely involved more than one political jurisdiction in developing the enforcing the appropriate regulations.

Since the late 1960s, however, environmental issues have taken on a more global and complex nature. Issues such as stratospheric ozone depletion, acid rain, or global warming are large-scale issues necessitating the involvement of several nations in defining their cause and effects, and in implementing management actions. These issues are also scientifically more complex.

Consequently, they require a greater understanding of global ecological systems (e.g. the global carbon cycle), of longer time-scales (sometimes centuries), and of integrated ecological processes.

It is necessary to develop new scientific and political mechanisms that could operate at the international level in order to deal with regional and global environmental change. While there are many variations of the theme, the concept of developing an International Convention as a first step in addressing problems has become well established, frequently under the general guidance of the United Nations Environmental Programme.

7.11.2 Important International Conventions and Associated Protocols Related to Environmental Protection

• United nations conference on human environment, June 1972

• United nations General assembly regulation, December 15, 1972

• Charter of Economic rights and duties of states 1974

• The convention on international trade in endangered species CITES, 1975

• UN habitat conference on human settlement of 1976 and water conference of 1977

• Environmental education conference

• Control of transboundry movement and disposal of hazardous waste (Basel Convention)

• Earth summit–1992 (Rio–Declarations on Environment and development)

• The Vienna Convention on Ozone Layer Depletion–Montreal protocol

• United Nations Climate Change Control Convention (UNCCC)–Climate of Greenhouse control convention

• Manila Declaration on Green productivity

• United Nations Framework Convention On Climate Change Kyoto Protocol.

7.11.2.1 United Nations Conference on Human Environment, 1972

The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment was held at Stockholm from 5 to 16 June 1972 considered the need for a common outlook and for common principles to inspire and guide the peoples of the world in the preservation and enhancement of the human environment.

The Conference called upon Governments and peoples to exert common efforts for the preservation and improvement of the human environment, for the benefit of all the people and for their posterity. Some of the principles are:

• Man has the fundamental right to freedom, equality and adequate conditions of life, in an environment of a quality that permits a life of dignity and well being, and he bears a solemn responsibility to protect and improve the environment for present and future generations. In this respect, policies promoting or perpetuating apartheid, racial segregation, discrimination, colonial and other forms of oppression and foreign domination stand condemned and must be eliminated.

• Man has a special responsibility to safeguard and wisely manage the heritage of wildlife and its habitat, which are now gravely imperiled by a combination of adverse factors.

Nature conservation, including wildlife, must therefore receive importance in planning for economic development.

• The discharge of toxic substances or of other substances and the release of heat, in such quantities or concentrations as to exceed the capacity of the environment to render them harmless, must be halted in order to ensure that serious or irreversible damage is not inflicted upon ecosystems. The just struggle of the peoples of ill countries against pollution should be supported.

• Scientific research and development in the context of environmental problems, both national and multinational, must be promoted in all countries, especially the developing countries. In this connection, the free flow of up-to-date scientific information and transfer of experience must be supported and assisted, to facilitate the solution of environmental problems; environmental technologies should be made available to developing countries on terms which would encourage their wide dissemination without constituting an economic burden on the developing countries.

Many speakers supported the proposed Environment Fund. Several delegations announced their intention of making contributions to the Fund. Concern was expressed by some representatives of developing countries that the Fund might be regarded by some developed countries as an alternative to development assistance. Some speakers emphasized the need to use the Fund to help developing countries meet the additional environmental costs incurred in their development programmes. Several speakers endorsed the argument that “the polluter must pay”.

This was followed by the United Nations General Assembly regulation on December 15, 1972, emphasizing the need of active cooperation among the states in the field of human environment. The resolution has designated June 5 as the world environment day and has urged governments and organizations in the U.N. System to undertake on that date every year worldwide activities reaffirming their concern for the preservation and enhancement of the environment.

7.11.2.2 Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States 1974

Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States was framed in the UN General Assembly Resolution in 1974. According to this the protection, prevention and enhancement of the environment for the present and future generation is the responsibility of all states. All the states have the responsibility to ensure that the activities within their jurisdiction or control do not cause damage to the environment of the other states or of areas beyond the limits of national jurisdiction. All states should co-operate in evolving international norms and regulations in the field of Environment.

7.11.2.3. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species CITES, 1975

CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement between Governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.

Widespread information nowadays about the endangered status of many prominent species, such as the tiger and elephants, might make the need for such a convention seem obvious. But at the time when the ideas for CITES were first formed, in the 1960s, international discussion of the regulation of wildlife trade for conservation purposes was something relatively new. With hindsight, the need for CITES is clear. Annually, international wildlife trade is estimated to be worth billions of dollars and to include hundreds of millions of plant and animal specimens. The trade is diverse, ranging from live animals and plants to a vast array of wildlife products derived from them, including food products, exotic leather goods, wooden musical instruments, timber, tourist curios and medicines. Levels of exploitation of some animal and plant species are high and the trade in them, together with other factors, such as habitat loss, is capable of heavily depleting their populations and even bringing some species close to extinction. Many wildlife species in trade are not endangered, but the existence of an agreement to ensure the sustainability of the trade is important in order to safeguard these resources for the future.

Because the trade in wild animals and plants crosses borders between countries, the effort to regulate it requires international cooperation to safeguard certain species from over-exploitation.

CITES was conceived in the spirit of such cooperation. Today, it accords varying degrees of protection to more than 30,000 species of animals and plants, whether they are traded as live specimens, fur coats or dried herbs.

CITES was drafted as a result of a resolution adopted in 1963 at a meeting of members of The World Conservation Union. The text of the Convention was finally agreed at a meeting

of representatives of 80 countries in Washington DC., United States of America, on 3 March 1973, and on 1 July 1975 CITES entered in force.

CITES is an international agreement to which States (countries) adhere voluntarily. States that have agreed to be bound by the Convention (‘joined’ CITES) are known as Parties. Although CITES is legally binding on the Parties – in other words they have to implement the Convention–

it does not take the place of national laws. Rather it provides a framework to be respected by each Party, which has to adopt its own domestic legislation to make sure that CITES is implemented at the national level.

Not one species protected by CITES has become extinct as a result of trade since the convention entered into force and, for many years, CITES has been among the largest conservation agreements in existence, with now 166 parties.

7.11.2.4 Un Habitat Conference On Human Settlement

UN-HABITAT is mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all. The main documents outlining the mandate of the organization are:

The Vancouver Declaration on Human Settlements, known as the Habitat I conference when the agency was created at the first major United Nations conference on human settlements in Vancouver, Canada, 31 May–11 June 1976.

The Habitat Agenda is the main political document that came out of the Habitat II conference in Istanbul, Turkey 3 to 14 June 1996. Adopted by 171 countries, at what was called the City Summit it contains over 100 commitments and 600 recommendations on human settlements issues.

The Istanbul Declaration on Human Settlements of 1996 is a reaffirmation of the Habitat Agenda agreed separately at the Habitat II conference. It notably reaffirms the commitment of world governments to better standards of living in larger freedom for all humankind.

Declaration on Cities and Other Human Settlements in the New Millennium, is the United Nations General Assembly Resolution of 9 June 2001 reaffirming that the Istanbul Declaration and the Habitat Agenda will remain the basic framework for sustainable human settlements development in the years to come.

Resolution A/56/206 of 1 January 2002, is the UN General Assembly resolution in which governments strengthened the agency by transforming the United Nations Commission on Human Settlements (Habitat) into a full fledged programme renamed as the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), under the Economic and Social Council which coordinates the work of all the United Nations 14 specialized agencies.

7.11.2.5 Water Conference of 1977

The United Nations Water Conference held at Mar del Plata, Argentina, from 14 to 25 March 1977 reviewed the general world water situation, and adopted the Mar del Plata Action Plan directed to solving the water problems facing the international community, as well as specific resolutions on the role of water in combating desertification and on drought loss management. These recommendations include inter alia some measures relating to specific problems of dry lands and drought-prone areas subject to desertification.

7.11.2.6 Control of Transboundry Movement and Disposal Of Hazardous Waste (Basel Convention)

In the late 1980s, a tightening of environmental regulations in industrialized countries led to a dramatic rise in the cost of hazardous waste disposal. Searching for cheaper ways to get rid of the wastes, “toxic traders” began shipping hazardous waste to developing countries and to Eastern Europe. When this activity was revealed, international outrage led to the drafting and adoption of the Basel Convention.

During its first Decade (1989–1999), the Convention was principally devoted to setting up a framework for controlling the “transboundary” movements of hazardous wastes, that is, the movement of hazardous wastes across international frontiers. It also developed the criteria for

“environmentally sound management”. A Control System, based on prior written notification, was also put into place.

During The Next Decade (2000-2010), the Convention will build on this framework by emphasizing full implementation and enforcement of treaty commitments. The other area of focus will be the minimization of hazardous waste generation. Recognizing that the long-term solution to the stockpiling of hazardous wastes is a reduction in the generation of those wastes–both in terms of quantity and hazardousness – Ministers meeting in December of 1999 set out guidelines for the Convention’s activities during the Next Decade, including:

• Active promotion and use of cleaner technologies and production methods;

• Further reduction of the movement of hazardous and other wastes;

• Prevention and monitoring of illegal traffic;

• Improvement of institutional and technical capabilities -through technology when appropriate–especially for developing countries and countries with economies in transition;

• Further development of regional and sub regional centers for training and technology transfer.

A central goal of the Basel Convention is “environmentally sound management” (ESM), the aim of which is to protect human health and the environment by minimizing hazardous waste production whenever possible. ESM means addressing the issue through an “integrated life-cycle approach”, which involves strong controls from the generation of a hazardous waste to its storage, transport, treatment, reuse, recycling, recovery and final disposal.

The Basel Convention contains specific provisions for the monitoring of implementation and compliance. A number of articles in the Convention oblige Parties (national governments which have acceded to the Convention) to take appropriate measures to implement and enforce its provisions, including measures to prevent and punish conduct in contravention of the Convention.

Because hazardous wastes pose such a potential threat to human health and the environment, one of the guiding principles of the Basel Convention is that, in order to minimize the threat, hazardous wastes should be dealt with as close to where they are produced as possible. Therefore, under the Convention, transboundary movements of hazardous wastes or other wastes can take place only upon prior written notification by the State of export to the competent authorities of the States of import and transit (if appropriate). Each shipment of hazardous waste or other waste must be accompanied by a movement document from the point at which a transboundary movement begins to the point of disposal. Hazardous waste shipments made without such documents are

illegal. In addition, there are outright bans on the export of these wastes to certain countries.

Transboundary movements can take place, however, if the state of export does not have the capability of managing or disposing of the hazardous waste in an environmentally sound manner.

The Basel Convention entered into forces in 1992.

7.11.2.7 Earth Summit–1992

The Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro was unprecedented for a UN conference, in terms of both its size and the scope of its concerns. Twenty years after the first global environment conference, the UN sought to help Governments rethink economic development and find ways to halt the destruction of irreplaceable natural resources and pollution of the planet. Hundreds of thousands of people from all walks of life were drawn into the Rio process. They persuaded their leaders to go to Rio and join other nations in making the difficult decisions needed to ensure a healthy planet for generations to come.

The Summit’s message–that nothing less than a transformation of our attitudes and behavior would bring about the necessary changes–was transmitted by almost 10,000 on-site journalists and heard by millions around the world. The message reflected the complexity of the problems facing us: that poverty as well as excessive consumption by affluent populations place damaging stress on the environment. Governments recognized the need to redirect international and national plans and policies to ensure that all economic decisions fully took into account any environmental impact. And the message has produced results, making eco-efficiency a guiding principle for business and governments alike.

• Patterns of production–particularly the production of toxic components, such as lead in gasoline, or poisonous waste–are being scrutinized in a systematic manner by the UN and Governments alike;

• Alternative sources of energy are being sought to replace the use of fossil fuels which are linked to global climate change;

• New reliance on public transportation systems is being emphasized in order to reduce vehicle emissions, congestion in cities and the health problems caused by polluted air and smog;

• There is much greater awareness of and concern over the growing scarcity of water.

The two-week Earth Summit was the climax of a process, begun in December 1989, of planning, education and negotiations among all Member States of the United Nations, leading to the adoption of Agenda 21, a wide-ranging blueprint for action to achieve sustainable development worldwide. At its close, Maurice Strong, the Conference Secretary-General, called the Summit a “historic moment for humanity”. Although Agenda 21 had been weakened by compromise and negotiation, he said, it was still the most comprehensive and, if implemented, effective programme of action ever sanctioned by the international community.

The Earth Summit influenced all subsequent UN conferences, which have examined the relationship between human rights, population, social development, women and human settlements–

and the need for environmentally sustainable development. The World Conference on Human Rights, held in Vienna in 1993, for example, underscored the right of people to a healthy environment and the right to development, controversial demands that had met with resistance from some Member States until Rio. (Refer chapter 6.2.2).

7.11.2.8 The Vienna Convention on Ozone Layer Depletion

In 1985, nations agreed in Vienna to take “appropriate measures...to protect human health and the environment against adverse effects resulting or likely to result from human activities which modify or are likely to modify the Ozone Layer”, thus the Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer was born.

The main thrust of the Convention was to encourage research and overall cooperation among countries and exchange of information. Even so it took four years to prepare and agree. Twenty nations signed it in Vienna, but most did not rush to ratify it. The Convention provided for future protocols and specified procedures for Amendment and dispute settlement.

The Vienna Convention set an important precedent. For the first time nations agreed in principle to tackle a global environmental problem before its effects were felt, or even scientifically proven.

As the experts began to explore for specific measures to be taken, the journal ‘Nature’

published a paper in May 1985 by British scientists–led by Dr. Joe Farman–about severe ozone depletion in the Antarctic. The paper’s findings were confirmed by American satellite observations and offered the first proof of severe ozone depletion and making the need for definite measures more urgent.

As a result, in September 1987, agreement was reached on specific measures to be taken and the Montreal Protocol on substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer was signed. The Vienna Convention entered into force on 22 September 1988.

7.11.2.9 Montreal Protocol

Following the discovery of the Antarctic ozone hole in late 1985, governments recognized the need for stronger measures to reduce the production and consumption of a number of CFCs (CFC 11, 12, 113, 114, and 115) and several Halons (1211, 1301, 2402).

The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer was adopted on 16 September 1987 at the Headquarters of the International Civil Aviation Organization in Montreal.

The Protocol was designed so that the phase out schedules could be revised on the basis of periodic scientific and technological assessments. Following such assessments, the Protocol was adjusted to accelerate the phase out schedules. It has also been amended to introduce other kinds of control measures and to add new controlled substances to the list.

The Protocol was designed so that the phase out schedules could be revised on the basis of periodic scientific and technological assessments. Following such assessments, the Protocol was adjusted to accelerate the phase out schedules. It has also been amended to introduce other kinds of control measures and to add new controlled substances to the list.