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International environmental conventions: quick recap
The whole chapter in one sitting: treaty design, the CBD and its protocols and targets, CITES, CMS, Ramsar and whaling; the Basel, Rotterdam, Stockholm and Minamata conventions, the UNCCD, UNEP, IUCN and the GEF.
International environmental conventions were taught in two parts. Part 1 covered how treaties are built and the treaties of the living world: the Convention on Biological Diversity with its Cartagena and Nagoya Protocols and its global targets, and the older wildlife treaties on trade, migration, wetlands and whaling. Part 2 covered the treaties on chemicals, waste and dry land, and the bodies behind the system: UNEP, IUCN and the Global Environment Facility. This recap condenses both parts for revision, and the table puts the main treaties, their years and their subjects side by side.
Environmental treaties usually start as a framework convention and grow through protocols; a state is bound only after ratifying, and each treaty has a Conference of the Parties and a secretariat. The Stockholm Conference of 1972 led to UNEP and World Environment Day, and the Rio Earth Summit of 1992 produced the three Rio conventions on biodiversity, climate and desertification. The Convention on Biological Diversity, adopted at Nairobi on 22 May 1992 and in force since 29 December 1993, has three objectives: conservation, sustainable use and fair sharing of benefits from genetic resources, over which states keep sovereign rights. Its Cartagena Protocol (2000, in force 2003) governs living modified organisms through advance informed agreement; its Nagoya Protocol (2010, in force 2014) governs access and benefit sharing. The twenty Aichi targets for 2011–2020 were replaced at Montreal in December 2022 by the Kunming-Montreal framework, whose '30 by 30' target asks for 30 per cent of land and of sea to be conserved by 2030.
The older wildlife treaties each guard one front. CITES, signed at Washington on 3 March 1973 and in force from 1 July 1975, controls only international trade, through permits: Appendix I species need both export and import permits and are in principle barred from commercial trade, Appendix II species need an export permit, and Appendix III species are listed by a single party. The Convention on Migratory Species, the Bonn Convention of 1979, protects animals across their range; India hosted its COP13 at Gandhinagar in 2020. The Ramsar Convention of 2 February 1971, not a UN treaty, asks for the wise use of all wetlands and keeps a List of Wetlands of International Importance, with the Montreux Record for threatened sites. The whaling convention of 1946 set up the International Whaling Commission, whose pause on commercial whaling has applied since the 1986 season.
The chemical and waste family has four members. The Basel Convention (1989, in force 1992) makes every cross-border shipment of hazardous waste depend on prior informed consent; its Ban Amendment, in force since 2019, bars exports from OECD and EU countries and Liechtenstein to others, and plastic waste amendments have applied since 2021. The Rotterdam Convention (1998, in force 2004), run by UNEP and FAO, uses the same consent idea for trade in the chemicals and pesticides of its Annex III. The Stockholm Convention (2001, in force 2004) targets persistent organic pollutants: Annex A for elimination, Annex B for restriction (DDT, still allowed against malaria mosquitoes) and Annex C for chemicals released unintentionally, such as dioxins. The Minamata Convention (2013, in force 2017) covers mercury from mines to products and emissions, and India ratified it in 2018. The ozone treaties of Vienna (1985) and Montreal (1987), with the Kigali Amendment (2016), belong to the same family.
The desertification convention (Paris, 17 June 1994, in force 1996) works for land degradation neutrality, also SDG target 15.3; India hosted its COP14 at Greater Noida in 2019 and aims to restore 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030. Behind all the treaties stand three bodies. UN Environment Programme, created in December 1972 after the Stockholm Conference and based in Nairobi, reviews the global environment, hosts many treaty secretariats and leads World Environment Day on 5 June. IUCN, founded in 1948 and based at Gland, is a union of states and NGOs, not a UN agency, and publishes the Red List. The Global Environment Facility, set up in 1991, is a financial mechanism for the CBD, the climate convention, the Stockholm and Minamata conventions and the UNCCD, with the World Bank as trustee; the Montreal Protocol has its own Multilateral Fund.
| Treaty | Adopted (in force) | Subject | Key point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ramsar | 1971 (1975) | Wetlands | Not a UN treaty; Montreux Record |
| CITES | 1973 (1975) | Trade in wild species | Appendices I, II, III |
| CMS | 1979 (1983) | Migratory animals | COP13 Gandhinagar 2020 |
| CBD | 1992 (1993) | Biodiversity | Cartagena 2000; Nagoya 2010; Kunming-Montreal 2022 |
| Basel | 1989 (1992) | Hazardous waste across borders | Ban Amendment in force 2019 |
| Rotterdam | 1998 (2004) | Traded chemicals and pesticides | Prior informed consent; UNEP and FAO |
| Stockholm | 2001 (2004) | Persistent organic pollutants | Annexes A, B (DDT), C |
| Minamata | 2013 (2017) | Mercury | India ratified 2018 |
| UNCCD | 1994 (1996) | Land in dry areas | Land degradation neutrality; COP14 India 2019 |
The whole chapter comes down to matching each treaty with its harm, its year and its tool. Living things and genes belong to the CBD and its protocols, trade in wild species to CITES, moving animals to CMS, wetlands to Ramsar, waste to Basel, traded chemicals to Rotterdam, long-lived poisons to Stockholm, mercury to Minamata, the ozone layer to Vienna and Montreal, and dry land to the UNCCD. Prior consent links Basel, Rotterdam and Nagoya; days of the year mark several of them (2 February, 3 March, 22 May, 5 June, 17 June). India is a party to all of them and carries them into its own laws.
Exam traps
- The CBD has three objectives and confirms states' sovereign rights over genetic resources; the United States is not a party.
- Cartagena is about living modified organisms; Nagoya is about access and benefit sharing. Both are CBD protocols.
- '30 by 30' means 30 per cent of land and inland waters and 30 per cent of coastal and marine areas by 2030; the framework was adopted at Montreal in 2022.
- CITES controls only international trade; Appendix I needs export and import permits, Appendix II only an export permit.
- Basel is waste, Rotterdam is traded chemicals; both use prior informed consent. Basel's Ban Amendment came into force only in 2019.
- DDT is in Annex B of the Stockholm Convention, not Annex A. The Stockholm Convention (2001) is not the Stockholm Conference (1972).
- IUCN is not a UN agency; the GEF does not fund the Montreal Protocol, which has its own Multilateral Fund.
Recap
- Treaty design: framework convention, protocols, ratification, Conference of the Parties, secretariat; Stockholm 1972 and Rio 1992.
- CBD (1992, in force 1993): conservation, sustainable use, fair benefit sharing; Cartagena (2000) and Nagoya (2010) Protocols.
- Aichi targets (2010) replaced by the Kunming-Montreal framework (2022): 23 targets including 30 by 30.
- CITES (1973, in force 1975): Appendices I, II, III; CMS (1979); Ramsar (1971); whaling moratorium from 1986.
- Basel (1989): hazardous waste, prior informed consent; Rotterdam (1998): traded chemicals, Annex III.
- Stockholm (2001): persistent organic pollutants, Annexes A, B, C; Minamata (2013, in force 2017): mercury, India 2018.
- UNCCD (1994): land degradation neutrality, SDG 15.3, COP14 Greater Noida 2019, 26 million hectares by 2030.
- UNEP (1972, Nairobi); IUCN (1948, Gland, Red List); GEF (1991, financial mechanism, World Bank trustee).
Practice questions
Q1. Which of the following are objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity?
1. Conservation of biological diversity
2. Sustainable use of its components
3. Fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
- 1 and 2 only
- 2 and 3 only
- 1 and 3 only
- 1, 2 and 3
Show answer
Answer: D. 1, 2 and 3
Article 1 of the CBD lists all three objectives. Each of the other options leaves one of them out.
Q2. The Cartagena Protocol deals with:
- access to genetic resources and benefit sharing
- the safe movement of living modified organisms across borders
- trade in endangered species
- ozone-depleting substances
Show answer
Answer: B. the safe movement of living modified organisms across borders
The Cartagena Protocol (2000) is the CBD's biosafety protocol on living modified organisms. Access and benefit sharing is the Nagoya Protocol, trade in endangered species is CITES, and ozone-depleting substances are the Montreal Protocol.
Q3. Consider the following statements about CITES:
1. Trade in Appendix I specimens needs both an export permit and an import permit.
2. CITES regulates hunting of wild animals within a country.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both 1 and 2
- Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer
Answer: A. 1 only
Statement 1 is correct. Statement 2 is wrong: CITES regulates only international trade, not hunting inside a country. Option 2 picks the false statement, option 3 includes it, and option 4 rejects the true one.
Q4. With reference to the Ramsar Convention, consider the following statements:
1. It is a treaty adopted under the United Nations.
2. The Montreux Record lists Ramsar sites where the ecological character is under threat.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both 1 and 2
- Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer
Answer: B. 2 only
Statement 1 is wrong: the Ramsar Convention is not a UN treaty. Statement 2 is correct. Option 1 picks the false statement, option 3 includes it, and option 4 rejects the true statement 2.
Q5. Which one of the following conventions uses a prior informed consent procedure for trade in certain hazardous chemicals and pesticides?
- Basel Convention
- Stockholm Convention
- Rotterdam Convention
- Minamata Convention
Show answer
Answer: C. Rotterdam Convention
The Rotterdam Convention (1998) applies prior informed consent to chemicals and pesticides in trade. Basel applies consent to hazardous waste, not traded chemicals; Stockholm eliminates or restricts persistent organic pollutants; Minamata deals with mercury.
Q6. Consider the following statements:
1. DDT is listed in Annex A of the Stockholm Convention for complete elimination with no exemption.
2. The Minamata Convention on Mercury came into force in 2017.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both 1 and 2
- Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer
Answer: B. 2 only
Statement 1 is wrong: DDT is in Annex B, restricted but still allowed for controlling disease-carrying mosquitoes. Statement 2 is correct (16 August 2017). Option 1 picks the false statement, option 3 includes it, and option 4 rejects the true statement 2.
Q7. Match List I with List II:
List I: A. UNEP B. IUCN C. UNCCD secretariat D. CBD secretariat
List II: 1. Gland 2. Nairobi 3. Montreal 4. Bonn
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
- A-2, B-1, C-4, D-3
- A-1, B-2, C-4, D-3
- A-2, B-1, C-3, D-4
- A-4, B-1, C-2, D-3
Show answer
Answer: A. A-2, B-1, C-4, D-3
UNEP is in Nairobi, IUCN at Gland, the UNCCD secretariat in Bonn and the CBD secretariat in Montreal. Option 2 swaps UNEP and IUCN, option 3 swaps the UNCCD and CBD secretariats, and option 4 swaps UNEP and the UNCCD.
Q8. Consider the following statements:
1. The Global Environment Facility is the financial mechanism of the Montreal Protocol.
2. Land degradation neutrality is the central aim of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both 1 and 2
- Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer
Answer: B. 2 only
Statement 1 is wrong: the Montreal Protocol has its own Multilateral Fund (1990). Statement 2 is correct. Option 1 picks the false statement, option 3 includes it, and option 4 rejects the true statement 2.
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- Convention on Biological Diversity, 1992; Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, 2000; Nagoya Protocol, 2010; CBD COP decisions X/2 (Aichi targets, 2010) and 15/4 (Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, 2022) — https://www.cbd.int/convention/text
- CITES, 1973; Convention on Migratory Species, 1979, and CMS COP13 (Gandhinagar, 2020); Ramsar Convention, 1971, and the Montreux Record; International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, 1946 — https://cites.org/eng/disc/text.php
- Basel Convention, 1989, Ban Amendment (in force 2019) and plastic waste amendments (2019); Rotterdam Convention, 1998; Stockholm Convention, 2001; Minamata Convention, 2013; Vienna Convention, 1985, and Montreal Protocol, 1987, with the Kigali Amendment, 2016 — https://www.brsmeas.org
- UNCCD, 1994, and COP14 (Greater Noida, 2019); UN General Assembly resolution 2997 (1972) establishing UNEP; IUCN Statutes; Instrument for the Establishment of the Restructured GEF, 1994; MoEFCC on India's land restoration target — https://www.unccd.int/convention/overview