Environmental Conventions and Protocols Notes
Convention | Year of establishment | Purpose | Remarks |
Ramsar Convention | 1971 | for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands | · Known as Waterfowl convention. · India is part of it. · There are currently 27 Ramsar sites · in India |
Stockholm Declaration | 1972 | International protection of the environment | · UNEP was the result of it. |
Convention on International Trade in Endangered species of Wild flora and fauna (CITES) | 1973 | Control or prevent international commercial trade in endangered species or products derived from them. | · Known as Washington Convention · Legally binding |
Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) | 1979 | Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals | · Also known as the Bonn Convention · It is under the aegis of United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) |
Nairobi Declaration | 1982 | for achieving sustainable developments | · 10th anniversary of Stockholm) |
Vienna convention | 1985 | for the protection of the ozone layer | · It does not include legally binding reduction goals |
Montreal Protocol | 1987 | To control Ozone-depleting Substances | · It is a protocol to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of Ozone Layer · Universal treaty (Ratified by all UN countries) · Legally binding · Target only ozone depleting substances (Not GHG i.e. Hydro Fluorocarbons) |
Brundtland Report | 1987 | Sustainable Development | · gave the concept of "sustainable development" |
Earth Summit/ United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED)/ Rio Declaration | 1992 | Environment conservation & Development | · It had 27 principles · Three legally binding agreements were opened for signature: |
Agenda 21 | 1992 | Sustainable Development | · It is a product of Earth Summit, 1992 · Agenda 21 refers to the 21st Century. · Non-binding |
UNFCCC | 1992 | Reducing greenhouse gas emissions to combat global warming. | · Environmental treaty produced at the Earth Summit, 1992. · Secretariat: Bonn, Germany · legally non-binding · Kyoto Protocol was negotiated under this framework. |
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) | 1992 | Three main goals: 1. Conservation of biological diversity (or biodiversity); 2. Sustainable use of its components; 3. Sharing the benefits of genetic resources fairly and equitably | · Legally binding · USA has signed but not ratified · The two protocols to CBD are: |
UNCCD | 1994 | Convention to Combat Desertification | · Headquarter: Bonn, Germany · Only convention that came out from direct recommendations of Rio Agenda 21 · Legally Binding · Canada withdrew |
Kyoto Protocol (COP 3) | 1997 | to fight global warming by reducing greenhouse gas concentrations | · Negotiated under UNFCC · Came into force in 2005 · Binding targets to Annex I countries · Mechanisms under protocol: · This protocol applies to follow GHGs (Annex A): · The Protocol is based on the principle of shared (Common) but differentiated responsibilities. · It places the obligation on developed countries to reduce current emissions on the basis that they are historically responsible for the current levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. · Annex I countries: industrialized countries and economies in transition · Annex II countries: developed countries which pay for costs of developing countries · Non-Annex I countries: Developing countries · India is Non-Annex party to UNFCC. · There are two commitment periods Note: The second commitment period was agreed on in 2012, known as the Doha Amendment to the protocol. |
Rotterdam Convention | 1998 | Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade | · UN Treaty |
Cartagena Protocol | 2000 | Biosafety | · Protecting biological diversity from potential risks posed by living modified organisms resulting from modern biotechnology. |
Stockholm Convention | 2001 | Eliminate or restrict the production and use of persistent organic pollutants | · UN Treaty · US is not a party to this treaty · Intergovernmental Forum on Chemical Safety (IFCS) and the International Programme for Chemical Safety (IPCS) prepared a list, known as the Dirty Dozen. |
REDD & REDD+ | 2005 | Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries | · Negotiated under UNFCC since 2005. · UN-REDD was launched in 2008. India did not participate in it. · REDDD+ (Defined in Bali Action Plan, 2007, CoP13) · REDD+ extends to |
Nagoya Protocol | 2010 | Access to genetic resources and a fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from their use of the Convention on Biological Diversity | · It is a supplementary agreement to the CBD. |
Rio+20 | 2012 | Conference on Sustainable Development | · 20th Anniversary of Rio Earth Summit 1992. |
Paris Agreement (COP 21) | 2015 | Climate Change | · It will come into force by 2020. · Not legally binding. Aims
Indian NDCs · Greenhouse gas emissions per unit of GDP- by 33 to 35 per cent below 2005 levels by the year 2030. · By 2030, 40 percent of its energy would be generated from non-fossil fuels. · Increase its forest cover to create an additional carbon sink equivalent to 2.5 to 3 billion tons of carbon dioxide by 2030. Note: Recently the US has withdrawn from it. |
Kigali Amendment | 2016 | Reduce Ozone Layer Depletion | · It amends the 1987 Montreal Protocol. · Its aims to reduce Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) by roughly 80-85 Percent by late 2045. · It will be binding on member countries from 2019. |
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