List of international environmental agreements

The list of international environmental agreements includes bilateral and multilateral international agreements which serve to protect the environment or nature (see International Environmental Agreement ).

The respective impact and significance of the individual contracts varies greatly. Furthermore, environmental protection can be secondary or even subordinate to other goals in some contracts. Nevertheless, such contracts can also have a significant impact on environmental and nature conservation issues. Examples of this are the Antarctic Treaty or the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea . International environmental agreements are often concluded under the umbrella of the United Nations .

The Ecolex database set up by the International Union for the Preservation of Nature (IUCN), the World Food Organization (FAO) and the United Nations Environment Program lists around 2000 international environmental agreements as of April 2020

Notes on the list

Agreement name : If available, the German title of the environmental agreement is used.

Abbreviations: The abbreviations used are the internationally accepted abbreviations (usually as an abbreviation of the English contract title).

Years: year of signing

Protection of the climate and the earth's atmosphere

• Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer (1985)
• Montreal Protocol (Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer) (1987)
• Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) (1992)
• Kyoto Protocol (1997)
• Asia-Pacific Partnership for Clean Development and Climate (WP6) (2005)
• Cebu Declaration on East Asian Energy Security (2007)
• Western Climate Initiative (WCI)
• Paris Agreement (2015)

Biodiversity , biotope protection and species protection

• International Convention on the Regulation of Whaling (1946)
• ICCAT (International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna) (1966)
• UNESCO program " Man and the Biosphere " (1970)
• Ramsar Convention (Convention on Wetlands, Particularly as Habitat for Waterbirds and Waders, of International Importance) (1971)
• Washington Convention on Species Conservation (CITES) (1973)
• Bern Convention (Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Wildlife and Their Natural Habitats) (1979)
• Bonn Convention (Convention for the Conservation of Migratory Wildlife Species) (CMS) (1979)
  • Agreement for the Conservation of Seals in the Wadden Sea (1990)
  • Agreement for the Conservation of European Bat Populations (EUROBATS) (1991)
  • Agreement for the Conservation of Small Whales in the North and Baltic Seas, the Northeast Atlantic and the Irish Sea (ASCOBANS) (1991)
  • Agreement for the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterfowl (AEWA) (1995)
  • Convention for the Protection of the Whales of the Black Sea, Mediterranean and Adjacent Atlantic Zones (ACCOBAMS) (1996)
  • Convention for the Protection of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP) (2001)
  • Agreement for the Conservation of Gorillas and their Habitat (Gorilla Agreement) (2007)
• International Tropical Timber Agreement (1983)
• Marine Mammal Action Plan (MMAP) (1984)
• CBD (Convention on Biological Diversity) (CBD) (1992)
  • Global Strategy for the Protection of Plants (GSPC)

Fair benefit sharing

Acess and Benefit-Sharing (ABS, in German access to genetic resources and fair benefit sharing )

• Nagoya Protocol (2010) under the CBD

Landscape protection

• UNESCO World Heritage (1975)
• European Landscape Convention (Landscape Convention, Florence Convention) (2000)

See also below for mountain, sea and river landscapes

Genetic engineering

• Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (2000)
• International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) (2001)

Sustainable development

• Espoo Convention (Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context) (1991)
  • SEA Protocol (Protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessment to the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context) (2003)
• Agenda 21 (including local Agenda 21 ) (1992)

Combating desertification

• United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Countries Severely Affected by Drought and / or Desertification, Particularly in Africa (UNCCD) (1996)

Marine protection

• International Maritime Organization (IMO) (1948)
• London Convention (Convention on the Prevention of Pollution by Discharge of Litter and Other Substances) (1972)
• International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) (1973)
• United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) (1982)
• Wadden Sea Cooperation (Trilateral Cooperation Declaration for the Protection of the Wadden Sea) (1982)
• International North Sea Protection Conference (INK) (1984)
• International Convention on Precautions, Countermeasures and Cooperation in the Event of Oil Spills (OPRC) (1990)
• Convention on the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks (1995)
• Ballast Water Convention (2004)

UNEP marine protection agreements limited to world regions

• Mediterranean: Barcelona Convention ( Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean from Pollution) (BarCon) (1976)
• Gulf Region: Kuwait Convention (1978)
• West and Central Africa: Abidjan Convention (1981)
• East Africa: Nairobi Convention (1985)
• Southeast Pacific: Lima Convention (1981)
• Red Sea and Gulf of Aden: Jeddah Convention (1982)
• Caribbean: Cartagena Convention (1983)
• Black Sea: Bucharest Convention (1992)
• South Pacific: Noumea Convention (Convention for the Protection of the Natural Resources and Environment of the South Pacific Region) (1986)
• Northeast Atlantic and North Sea:
  • Oslo Convention (OSCOM) (1972)
  • Paris Convention (PARCOM) (1974)
  • Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic (OSPAR) (1992)
• Baltic Sea:
  • Helsinki Convention (1974)
  • Helsinki Convention (Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area) (1992)
• Scandinavian waters: Stockholm Convention (1974)

Other, regional

• Lisbon Agreement (Agreement on the Protection of Coasts and the Sea of ​​the Northeast Atlantic from (Oil) Pollution)
• for the Southern Ocean see Antarctica

Rivers and lakes

• Water Convention (Convention for the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes) (1992)

Special agreements

• Convention on the Protection of Lake Constance against Pollution (IGKB) (1960)
• International Commission for the Protection of the Moselle and Saar against Pollution (IKSMS) (1961)
• Agreement on the International Commission for the Protection of the Elbe (IKSE) (1990)
• Danube Protection Convention (Agreement on Cooperation for the Protection and Compatible Use of the Danube) (1994)
• Treaty on the International Commission for the Protection of the Oder against Pollution (IKSO) (1996)
• Convention for the Protection of the Rhine (ICPR) (1999)
• International Meuse Convention (Ghent Convention) (2002)

Mountain areas

• Alpine Convention (Convention for the Protection of the Alps) (AV) (1991)
  • Protocol "Nature Conservation and Landscape Management" (1994)
  • Protocol "Mountain Agriculture" (1994)
  • Protocol "Spatial Planning and Sustainable Development" (1994)
  • Protocol "Mountain Forest" (1996)
  • Protocol "Soil Protection" (1998)
  • Protocol "Tourism" (1998)
  • Protocol "Energy" (1998)
  • Protocol "Traffic" (2000)
  • Protocol "Dispute Resolution" (2000)
• Carpathian Convention (Framework Convention for the Protection and Sustainable Development of the Carpathian Mountains) (2003)

Antarctic

• Antarctic Treaty (1961)
• Agreed Measures to Conserve Arctic Fauna and Flora (1964)
• CCAS (Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals) (1972)
• CCAMLR (Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources) (1980)
• Environmental Protocol to the Antarctic Treaty (Madrid Protocol) (1991)

waste

• Basel Convention (Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal) (1989)
• Bamako Convention (1991)

Nuclear weapons and nuclear power plant security

• Convention on Nuclear Safety ( IAEA ) (1994)
• Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) (1996)
• Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons Tests in the Atmosphere, Space and Underwater (NTBT or PTBT) (1963)

Chemicals and pollutants

• Geneva Convention (Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP)) (1979)
  • Protocol on the long-term funding of the program for cooperation in the measurement and evaluation of long-range air pollution transmission in Europe ( EMEP ) (1984)
  • Protocol on reducing sulfur emissions or their transboundary flow by at least 30 per hundred (1985)
  • Protocol on the control of emissions of nitrogen oxides or their transboundary river (1988)
  • Protocol on the control of emissions of volatile organic compounds or their transboundary flow (1991)
  • Protocol on the further reduction of sulfur emissions (1994)
  • Protocol on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP Protocol) (1998)
  • Heavy Metals Protocol (1998)
  • Protocol to Combat Acidification, Eutrophication and Ground Level Ozone (1999)
• TEIA (Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents ) (1992)
• Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals, Plant Protection Products and Pesticides in International Trade (PIC) (1998)
• Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants ( POP ) (2001)
• PRTR (Protocol on Emissions and Transfer Registers of Pollutants) (2003)

Others

• UNEP (United Nations Environment Program) (1972)
• ENMOD Convention (1976)
• Aarhus Convention (Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters) (1998)
• North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC)

Web links

• ECOLEX-the gateway to environmental law
• Ronald B. Mitchell's database on international environmental agreements
• Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety : Laws, regulations and agreements. Possibility to search for bilateral and multilateral agreements with German participation
• Systematic legal collection of the Swiss Federal Council: International Law - 0.814: Protection of the ecological balance (this collection contains many multilateral agreements in German translation)

swell

1. ^ Treaties. In: Ecolex. Retrieved April 4, 2020 . 
2. ↑ Declaration by the Chairmanship 8th Asia-Europe Meeting (PDF; 96 kB)
3. ^ Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on "EU / Mexico Relations" (February 15, 2006)