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Principal environmental treatiesThe treaty is designed to protect the antarctic continent from the exploitation of it's raw materials and to ensure the use of it's territory for peaceful purpose only, such as scientific research. In addition to several other objectives, the treaty also prescribes the preservation and conversation of Antarctic living resources. Agrement on the Conversation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic and North Seas With the establishment of this enviromental treaty, Northern European countries such as Denmark, Germany and the UK sought to secure long-term protection of small cetaceans in the Baltic and North Seas from hazards such as high bycatch rates and habitat deterioration. The barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea Established in 1976 for the protection of the Mediterranean as part of the UNEP Regional Seas Programme. Its objective is to achieve international co-operation for a co-ordinated and comprehensive approach to the protection and enhancement of the Mediterranean marine environment. Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal The Basel Convention provides targets for the reduction of hazardous wastes and the creation of adequate disposal facilities; since 1998, it has also instituted a ban on waste exports from OECD to non-OECD countries. Convention on Biological Diversity The Convention's objectives are the conservation of bological diversity, the sustainable use of its components and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources. It is the first comprehensive agreement to address all aspects of biological diversity. Its objectives have led to a broad work plan, involving all primary sectors(forests, oceans, and agriculture) and cross-cutting issues such as genetic engineering, indigenous peoples, technology transfer amd intellectual property rights. Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources The convention focuses on the conversation of Antarctic marine living resources by attempting to minimise the risk of irreversible changes to the Antarctic marine ecosystem and ensuring an increase in the populations of exploited species. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora This is the only treaty whose focus is the global protection of plant and animal spcies from unregulated international trade. A classification of endangered species is constantly monitored and updated to co-ordinate protection measures. Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area This is the first convention to take into account all aspects of the Baltic marine environment and its protection. It deals with all aspects of pollution, including land-based, from ships, from dumping, and resulting from the exploration and exploitation of the sea-bed and its subsoil. The convention also regulates co-operation in combating marine pollution by oil and other harmful substances. London Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter This convention is the principal international instrument to limit marine pollution and ocean contamination by dumping of wastes and other harmful matter. Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic In 1992, this Commission replaced, and combined the aims of, the Oslo Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Ships & Aircraft (1972) and the Paris Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution from Land-Based Sources (1974). Ramsar Convention on Wetlands This convention,signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971, is an intergovernmental treaty which provides the framework for international cooperation for the conservation and prudent use of wetlands and their resources. There are presently over 1100 wetland sites, toltaling 87,25 million hectares, designated for inclusion in the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance. This convention focuses on the elemination of a priority list of 12 of the most hazardous persistent organic pollutants, the elemination of other existing pollutants and the prevention of the marketing of new chemicals with persistent organic pollutants character. United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea This Convention addresses protection and preservation of the marine environment to reflect customary international law with respect to maritime navigaiton. In addition, it provides basic obligations to prevent and reduce pollution from land-based sources, from sea-bed activities subject to national jurisdiction and from ocean dumping. United Nations Framework Convention on Climte Change The objective of hte Convention is to achieve stabilisation of greenhouse gas concentrations in the athmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. Such a lavel should be achieved within a time frame sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, to ensue that food production is not threatenend and to enable economic development to proceed in sustainable manner. As part of the UNFCCC, the widely discussed Kyoto Protocol commits its signatories to targets in the reduction and limitation og their national greenhouse gas emission. To date, the Protocol has yet to receive the 55 national ratifications necessary for it to come into force. Montreal Protocol on Substances the Deplete the Ozone Layer The Montreal Protocol operates within the framework of the 1985 Vienna Convention, which seeks to protect human health and the environment against adverse effects resulting from depletion of the ozone layer. The Montreal Protocol os specifically concerned with the protection of the ozone layer by taking precautionary measures to control global emissions of substances that deplete it, such as CFCs and Halons. It also seeks to promote the exchange of appropriate technological research. |