International agreements on environmental protection: examples

As far back as 1902, the law on the protection of wildlife was first issued in Paris, the convention that regulated the protection of birds used in agriculture. The issue of ecology is particularly acute in our life. But the problem has been around for a long time. Therefore, many nations decided to meet and create international agreements on environmental protection. Give examples of some of them to us in this article.

Ramsar Convention

The goal of this agreement is the legal protection of the environment, as well as the conservation of wetland resources on our planet. In 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 participating country 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.
• Encourage regular activities to maintain water quality, fisheries, agriculture and recreation.
• Expansion of 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 in different countries around the world to review and expand measures to protect resources. In 1987, the Canadian city of Regina (Saskatchewan province) was amended.

Legal regulation of species

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

• Conservation of biological diversity;
• Renewable use of its components;
• Fair and equitable sharing of the 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 was declared the International Year of Biodiversity.

The Helsinki Convention

The Helsinki Convention was adopted to protect the marine environment in the Baltic Sea. The first international agreements on environmental protection 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 agreements on environmental protection have committed themselves to organize all necessary measures to prevent and reduce pollution in order to help in restoring the ecological balance of the Baltic Sea. A number of measures have also been developed to prevent or minimize damage to the environment of the accident.

Organic Pollutants

The Convention was signed in 2001 in Stockholm, and entered into force in May 2004. Its purpose was to eliminate or reduce the production of these pollutants. The key positions of this agreement on environmental protection include the requirements for developed countries to provide additional financial resources and measures to eliminate the production and use of deliberately produced POPs, as well as the elimination of unintentionally produced POPs where possible and the competent destruction of wastes.

The UN 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 21 March 1994. The Framework Convention is an international environmental treaty (currently the only international policy agreement in A climate with broad legitimacy), discussed at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). Its goal is to establish a stable level of concentration of greenhouse gases, which will prevent dangerous anthropogenic impact on the climate system. The treaty itself does not set mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions for individual countries and does not contain any coercive mechanisms. In the legal sense, the convention is not considered mandatory. Instead, the treaty is the basis for creating a special document that contains specific international agreements on environmental protection (the so-called protocols), through which it is possible to set mandatory limits on the emission of greenhouse gases.

The Kyoto Protocol under the UNFCCC

After the signing of the UNFCCC, the 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 agreements on environmental protection and sets emission reduction targets for developed countries that are mandatory under international law.

The Biological Weapons Convention (BWC)

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

1. Never, under any circumstances, acquire or retain biological weapons.
2. Destroy or switch to peaceful purposes biological weapons and related resources.
3. Do not transfer biological weapons to anyone, do not provide assistance in acquiring and preserving it.
4. Take any national measures necessary to implement the provisions of BWC in the domestic market.
5. To consult on a bilateral and multilateral basis 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. Assist States that are endangered by a violation of the Biological Weapons Convention.
8. Do everything possible to encourage the peaceful use of biological technologies and science.

Treaty on the Protection of Migratory Birds 1918

This document is also included in international agreements on environmental protection. According to the statute, it is illegal to prosecute, hunt, catch, capture, kill or sell birds included in it (migratory birds). The charter does not stipulate the distinction between living and dead birds, and also applies to feathers, eggs and nests. The list includes more than 800 species.

CITES (SITES)

Sites is a convention signed in 1973 in Washington and came into force on July 1, 1975, concerning the trade in representatives of wild flora and fauna that are now under threat 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 that controls all imports, exports and re-exports. Each party to the Convention should create one (or more) management body that would be responsible for managing this licensing system, as well as at least one scientific body to consult on the impact of trade on specific animal or plant species. Under the protection of the Sites are approximately 5000 species of animals and 29,000 plant species. Each of them can be found in the Annex to the Convention, as well as the degree of threat and limits for trade.

International agreements on environmental protection in Russia

In our country, the necessary measures are taken to preserve the ecological balance. Russia, like other countries, actively supports international agreements on environmental protection. The following examples can be cited: since 1979 - the convention on air pollution (transboundary), since 1992 - the convention protecting against pollution of the Black Sea, since 2011 - about organic pollutants and many others.