Pollution Control and Environment Governance

An Overview of International Environmental Convention, Policies and Protocols:

Background

In late 18^th Century industrial revolution was held and after that only international community realized about the necessity of environmental law. Then, in the 1960s Environmental law as a distinct system arose in the major industrial economies as it was becoming clear that the cumulative negative environmental effects of human activities were becoming unsustainable in the long term. Then Stockholm Declaration of the United Nations Conference results on the Human Environment in 1972, the international environmental law changed greatly that led to new thinking on how to reduce damages and better preserve the environment through law. The world Conservation Strategy (WCS) was prepared in 1980 following the Stockholm Conference which brings environmental awareness all over the world. After three years of formulation of WCS, the United Nations General Assembly (1983) formulate a commission known as the Brundtland Commission formally the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) under the chairmanship of Gro Harlem Brundtland. The Report of the Commission, Our Common Future, was published by Oxford University Press in 1987 which deals with sustainable development. Accordingly, both national and international policies and laws came into force gradually based on sustainable development. The brief description of international environmental conventions and protocols is given below:

1. Ramsar Convention

Since prehistoric times the relations between Man and Wetlands have been marked by conflict though the fact that many of the most advanced human civilizations developed within or in immediate proximity to wetlands. Without recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural, scientific and recreational value, however, the existence of wetlands in the world was at risk due to progressive encroachment and drainage of the wetlands. Ornithologists were the first to support wetland conservation, because they wished to maintain the diversity of migratory waterfowl and therefore, the name of the Ramsar Convention to this day bears the appendage “especially as waterfowl habits”. The Convention on Wetlands- formally entitled “The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, especially as Waterfowl Habitat”- is an international treaty for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. The convention was developed and adopted by participating nations at a meeting in Ramsar on 2 February, 1971 and came into force on 21 December, 1975. It was ratified on 17 December, 1987 in Nepal.

The Convention's mission is "the conservation and wise use of all wetlands through local and national actions and international cooperation, as a contribution towards achieving sustainable development throughout the world".

Upto September 2010, there are 160 numbers of Contracting Parties and 1897 number of sites designated for the Ramsar List covering an area of 185,621,539 hectares throughout the world.

Major obligations of the convention are:

• Designation of wetlands of national and international importance
• Conservation, management and wise use of migratory stock of waterfowl and their habitat

1. CITES

CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement between governments whose aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. The text of the Convention was agreed at a meeting of representatives of 80 countries in Washington DC., United States of America, on 3 March 1973, and it was entered in force on 1 July 1975. There are 175 parties of CITES up to date. The convention was ratified by Nepal on 18 June, 1975 and become a member of CITES officially on 16 September, 1975.

In the context of Nepal, among 47 species of mammals in CITES Appendixes, 28, 16 and 3 species of mammals are included in CITES Appendix I, II and III respectively whereas altogether 110 species of birds of which 16 species are included in appendix I and 94 species are in appendix II. Similarly, 8 species of reptiles are included in CITES Appendix I and 10 species of reptiles in Appendix II. But, only one species of amphibian is included in CITES Appendix II and 3 species of butterflies are in CITES Appendix II. There are altogether 14 species of plants of which 9 species are included in Appendix II and 5 species of plants are included in Appendix III.

1. Convention on Biological Diversity

Being Earth's biological resources vital to humanity's economic and social development in one hand and species extinction caused by human activities continues at an alarming rate on the other; the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) convened the Ad Hoc Working Group of Experts on Biological Diversity in November 1988. It established the Ad Hoc Working Group of Technical and Legal Experts to prepare an international legal instrument for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity in May 1989. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), known informally as the Biodiversity Convention, is an international legally binding treaty was opened for signature on 5 June 1992 at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development popularly known as the Rio "Earth Summit". It remained open for signature until 4 June 1993, by which time it had received 168 signatures and entered into force on 29 December 1993. In Nepal, it entered into force on 21 February, 1994.

There are three main goals of the convention and they are:

1. conservation of biological diversity (or biodiversity);
2. Sustainable use of its components;
3. And fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from genetic resources.

Major obligations of the convention are:

• Conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity
• Equitable sharing of benefits
• Preparation and implementation of national strategies, plans and programmes for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity
• Promotion of biotechnology and genetic resources
• Conservation of in-situ and ex-situ processes

1. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC or FCCC)

Human activities have been substantially increasing the atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases, that these increases enhance the natural greenhouse effect, and that this will result on average in an additional warming of the Earth's surface and atmosphere and may adversely affect natural ecosystems and humankind. In order to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system, an international environmental treaty was produced at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), informally known as Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro from 3 to 14 June, 1992. The UNFCCC was opened for signature on May 9, 1992, after an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee produced the text of the Framework Convention as a report following its meeting in New York from 30 April to 9 May 1992. It entered into force on 21 March, 1994. As of December 2009, UNFCCC had 192 parties. It was entered into force in Nepal on 31 July, 1994.

The treaty is legally non-binding i.e. it does not set mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions for individual countries but it is complemented by the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.

One of its first tasks was to establish national greenhouse gas inventories of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and removals, which were used to create the 1990 benchmark levels for accession of Annex I countries (Industrialized countries and economics in transition) to the Kyoto Protocol and for the commitment of those countries to GHG reductions.

1. The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)

Desertification- the major land degradation problem in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas- caused primarily due to human activities and climatic variations. The Convention addresses specifically the arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas, known as the dry lands, where some of the most vulnerable ecosystems and peoples can be found. Realizing the desertification as a major economic, social and environmental problem by international community, the United Nations Conference on Desertification (UNCOD) adopted a Plan of Action to Combat Desertification (PACD) in 1977. The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification is based on the principles of participation, partnership and decentralization was adopted in Paris on 17 June 1994 and opened for signature there on 14-15 October 1994. It entered into force on 26 December 1996, 90 days after the fiftieth ratification was received and entered into force in Nepal on 13 January, 1997. It has 193 countries Parties as at August 2009.

The major obligations of the convention are to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought by adopting integrated approach to address the physical, biological and socio-economic aspects of the process of desertification and drought and integration of strategies of poverty alleviation, reparation and implementation of national action plan.

1. Kyoto Protocol

The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, whichcommitsits Parties by setting internationally binding emission reduction targets. The Kyoto Protocol was adopted at the third Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP 3) in Kyoto, Japan, on 11 December 1997. The Protocol shares the objective and institutions of the Convention. The major distinction between the two, however, is that while the Convention encouraged industrialized countries to stabilize GHG emissions, the Protocol commits them to do so. The detailed rules for its implementation were adopted at COP 7 in Marrakesh in 2001, and are called the “Marrakesh Accords.” Its first commitment period started in 2008 and ended in 2012.

The Kyoto Protocol entered into force on 16 February 2005. Nepal ratified the protocol on 28 September, 2005. 184 Parties have ratified the treaty to date. Under the Protocol, 37 industrialized countries and the European Community have committed to reducing their emissions by an average of 5 percent against 1990 levels over the five-year period 2008-2012. 6

The Kyoto Mechanisms

The three Kyoto mechanisms are: Emissions Trading – known as “the carbon market” – the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Joint Implementation (JI). The carbon market is a key tool in reducing emissions worldwide. It was worth 30 billion USD in 2006 and is set to increase.

JI and CDM are the two project-based mechanisms which feed the carbon market. JI enables industrialized countries to carry out joint implementation projects with other developed countries (usually countries with economies in transition), while the CDM involves investment in sustainable development projects that reduce emissions in developing countries.

References:

Matthews, G. V. T. 1993. The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands: its History and Development

Yadab, B.R. 2008. Managing Biodiversity in Protected Areas of Nepal. pp (91-92)

http://unfccc.int/press/fact_sheets/items/4977.php

http://www.cbd.int/history/

http://www.ramsar.org/cda/en/ramsar-about-parties-contracting-parties-to-23808/main/ramsar/1-36-123

http://www.unccd.int/convention/menu.php

http://www.unccd.int/convention/text/leaflet.php