189
Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs)
189
The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, especially as
Waterfowl Habitat (the Ramsar Convention)
C.25. The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable
utilisation of wetlands.190 Signed in 1971, it is an intergovernmental treaty that provides a
framework for national action and international cooperation. It encourages the “wise use”
of wetlands and the maintenance of their “ecological character”.191 It is intended to stem the
progressive encroachment on and loss of wetlands now and in the future, recognizing the
fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural, scientific, and
recreational value. Parties are charged with identifying suitable wetlands for placement on the
List of Wetlands of International Importance (also called “Ramsar Sites”). The Convention
requests relevant international bodies to prepare reports and statistics on matters which are
essentially international in character affecting wetlands. It urges Parties to submit detailed
National Reports to the Secretariat at least six months before each ordinary meeting of the
Conference, and this tradition has continued unbroken to this day.192 National reporting
covers a well-developed set of indicators on the ecological character of sites, the conservation
status of wetlands, bird populations, etc., that cover its effectiveness at different levels of
implementation.193
The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and
Agriculture
C.26. The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture aims at
recognizing the enormous contribution of farmers to the diversity of crops that feed the world,
establishing a global system to provide farmers, plant breeders and scientists with access to
plant genetic materials, and ensuring that recipients share benefits they derive from the use of
these genetic materials with the countries where they originated. The Treaty came into force
on 29 June 2004 194 and is crucial in the fight against hunger and poverty and essential for the
achievement of Millennium Development Goals 1 and 7.195
C.27. No country is self-sufficient in plant genetic resources; all depend on genetic diversity
in crops from other countries and regions. International cooperation and open exchange of
genetic resources are therefore essential for food security. The fair sharing of benefits arising
from the use of these resources has for the first time been practically implemented at the inter
national level through the Treaty and its Standard Material Transfer Agreement. The treaty
benefits: farmers and their communities, through Farmers’ Rights; consumers, because of a
greater variety of foods, and of agriculture products, as well as increased food security; the
xxGovernmental Conference on the Convention on the Dumping of Wastes at Sea, which met
in London in November 1972 at the invitation of the United Kingdom, adopted the London
Convention which came into force on 30 August 1975.197 Since 1977, it has been administered
by the International Maritime Organization (IMO).198
The London Convention
C.28. The London Convention contributes to the international control and prevention of
marine pollution by prohibiting the dumping of certain hazardous materials. In 1996, the Par
ties adopted a protocol which represents a major change of approach to the question of how
to regulate the use of the sea as a depository for waste materials. Rather than stating which
materials may not be dumped, it prohibits all dumping, except for possibly acceptable wastes on
the so-called “reverse list”. This protocol entered into force in 2006.199 It restricts all dumping
except for a permitted list (which still require permits). The permitted substances are: dredged
191 The Ramsar Convention (2005),
Resolutions on the 9th Meeting
of the Conference of the
Contracting Parties—Resolution
IX.1 Annex A, available from
http://ramsar.rgis.ch/cda/en
/ramsar-documents-resol
-resolution-ix-1-annex-a
/main/ramsar/1-31
-107%5E23536_4000_0__
(accessed 4 August 2017).
192 The Ramsar Convention. National
Reports, available from
http://ramsar.rgis.ch/cda/en
/ramsar-documents-natl-rpts
-national-reports-cop12/main
/ramsar/1-31-121-592_4000_0__
(accessed 4 August 2017).
193 International Expert Workshop
on the 2010 Biodiversity
Indicators and Post-2010
Indicator Development, available
from www.cbd.int/doc
/meetings/ind/emind-02/official
/emind-02-08d-en.pdf (accessed
4 August 2017).
194 The International Treaty on Plant
Genetic Resources for Food and
Agriculture. History: Evolution of
the Treaty, available from www
.planttreaty.org/content/history
-evolution-treaty (accessed
4 August 2017).
195 The International Treaty on Plant
Genetic Resources for Food and
Agriculture, The Importance
of the International Treaty,
available from www.planttreaty.
org/ (accessed 4 August 2017).
196 Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United
Nations (2012), Sixth Session
of the Intergovernmental
Technical Working Group on
Plant Genetic Resources for
Food and Agriculture, CGRFA/
WG-PGR-6/12/2 Rev.1, Targets
and indicators for plant
genetic resources for food and
agriculture, available from www
.fao.org/fileadmin/templates
/agphome/documents/PGR
/ITWG/ITWG6/working_docs
/CGRFA-WG-PGR-6.12.2_Rev.1
.pdf (accessed 4 August 2017).
197 International Maritime
Organization. Convention on the
Prevention of Marine Pollution
by Dumping of Wastes and Other
Matter. Available from www.imo
.org/About/Conventions
/ListOfConventions/Pages
/Convention-on-the-Prevention
-of-Marine-Pollution-by
-Dumping-of-Wastes-and-Other
-Matter.aspx (accessed 4 August
2017).
198 Ibid.
199 Ibid.
Framework for the Development of Environment Statistics (FDES 2013)
190
material; sewage sludge; fish waste or material resulting from industrial fish processing opera
tions; vessels and platforms or other man-made structures at sea; inert, inorganic geological
material; organic material of natural origin; bulky items primarily comprising iron, steel, con
crete and similar non-harmful materials for which the concern is physical impact and limited
to those circumstances, where such wastes are generated at locations, such as small islands with
isolated communities, having no practicable access to disposal options other than dumping;
and CO2 streams from CO2 capture processes (added under the amendments adopted in 2006,
which entered into force in 2007).200
C.29. The London Protocol stresses a “precautionary approach”, which requires that “appro
priate preventative measures are taken when there is reason to believe that wastes or other
matter introduced into the marine environment are likely to cause harm even when there is
no conclusive evidence to prove a causal relation between inputs and their effects”.201 It also
states that “the polluter should, in principle, bear the cost of pollution” and emphasizes that
Contracting Parties should ensure that the Protocol should not simply result in pollution being
transferred from one part of the environment to another.202
The World Heritage Convention
C.30. A United Nations Educational, Science and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World
Heritage Site is a place (such as a forest, mountain, lake, desert, monument, building, complex
or city) that is listed by UNESCO as having special cultural or physical significance. The list is
maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO
World Heritage Committee, which is composed of 21 of the States Parties to the Convention.
They are elected by their General Assembly.203
C.31. The programme catalogues, names and monitors sites of outstanding cultural or natu
ral importance to the common heritage of humanity. Under certain conditions, listed sites may
obtain funds from the World Heritage Fund. The programme was founded with the Conven
tion Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage, which was adopted by
the General Conference of UNESCO on 16 November 1972. As of September 2012, 190 States
Parties have ratified the Convention. Periodic reporting is intended to provide information on
general policy development, status of services provided, scientific and technical studies and
research and other aspects relating to the protection, conservation and presentation of the
cultural and natural heritage. The Periodic Reporting process provides an assessment of the
application of the World Heritage Convention by the States Parties as well as information about
the sites to record possible changes in the state of conservation of sites. The Periodic Reports,
submitted by the States Parties themselves, are prepared on a regional basis and are examined
by the World Heritage Committee on a pre-established schedule based on a six-year cycle. For
each of them, regional periodic reporting strategies are developed to ensure full participation
of States Parties, competent institutions and regional expertise. The final result of each regional
strategy is a Regional State of the World Heritage Report.204
The Nagoya Protocol
C.32. The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Shar
ing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity is an
international agreement which aims at sharing the benefits arising from the utilization of genetic
resources in a fair and equitable way. The sharing of the benefits is to be achieved by providing
appropriate access to genetic resources and appropriate transfer of relevant technologies, tak
ing into account all rights to those resources and technologies, and by providing appropriate
funding to contribute to the conservation of biological diversity and to the sustainable use of its
components. It was adopted by the Conference of the Parties to the CBD at its tenth meeting on
200 Ibid.
201 Ibid.
202 Ibid.
203 United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural
Organization. World Heritage
Convention, available from
http://whc.unesco.org/en
/convention/ (accessed 4 August
2017).
204 United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural
Organization. World Heritage
Convention. Periodic Reporting.
Available from
http://whc.unesco.org/en
/periodicreporting/ (accessed
4 August 2017).
191
Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs)
191
29 October 2010 in Nagoya, Japan.205 Since adoption in 2010, 92 (48 per cent) CBD Parties have
signed the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing
of Benefits Arising from their Utilization.206 As of 26 September 2014, 53 Parties to the CBD
have deposited their instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession. The Nagoya
Protocol will enter into force 90 days after the date of deposit of the 50th instrument of ratifica
tion, acceptance, approval or accession, thus on 12 October 2014.207
C.33. The Nagoya Protocol is important because it will create greater legal certainty and
transparency for both providers and users of genetic resources by establishing more predict
able conditions for access to genetic resources and by helping to ensure benefit-sharing when
genetic resources leave the contracting party providing the genetic resources. By helping to
ensure benefit-sharing, the Nagoya Protocol creates incentives to conserve and sustainably
use genetic resources, and therefore enhances the contribution of biodiversity to development
and human well-being. Aichi Biodiversity Target 16 states that by 2015, the Nagoya Protocol
on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from
their Utilization shall be in force and operational, consistent with national legislation.208 The
headline indicator (arising from the Convention on Biological Diversity) for this protocol is
trends in access and equity of benefit sharing of genetic resources.209
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)
C.34. The UNCLOS is the international agreement that resulted from the third United
Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III), which took place from 1973 through
1982.210 The Convention defines the rights and responsibilities of nations in their use of the
world’s oceans, establishing guidelines for businesses, the environment and the management
of marine natural resources. The Convention was concluded in 1982 and replaced four 1958
treaties. One of its implementing agreements, relating to the seabed and ocean floor and their
subsoils beyond the limits of national jurisdiction, came into force in 1996 and the other, relat
ing to fish stocks, came into force in 2001.
C.35. Enforcement of the Convention is facilitated by organizations such as the IMO, the
International Whaling Commission, and the International Seabed Authority (the last estab
lished by the UN Convention).
C.36. Aside from its provisions defining ocean boundaries, Article 145 of the Convention
explicitly provides for protection of the marine environment. Other articles of the Conven
tion relate to freedom of scientific research on the high seas and creation of a legal system for
controlling the exploitation of mineral resources in deep seabed areas beyond national juris
diction.211 Following are the fishery-related UNCLOS sustainability indicators which have
been put forward by the FAO to monitor this Convention. The fishery-related indicators are:212
i. Yield-related indicators such as Catches, Catch value, Pelagic/Demersal ratio (P/D);
ii. Capacity-related indicators such as Fishing effort, Fishing intensity;
iii. Other economic indicators such as Investment, Level of subsidies;
iv. Technological indicators such as Lists of acceptable gear;
v. Social indicators such as Coastal populations and Ratio between fisheries and other
revenues;
vi. Institutional indicators such as Per cent of fisheries covered by management com
mittees;
vii. Ecosystem-related indicators such as Catch per unit of effort;
viii. Resource demographic structure such as School size where relevant or Fat index;
ix. Biological diversity such as Existence of protected marine areas;
205 Convention on Biological
Diversity, Nagoya Protocol,
About the Nagoya Protocol,
available from www.cbd.int/abs
/about/default.shtml (accessed
4 August 2017).
206 Biodiversity Indicators
Partnership, Ratification Status
of the Nagoya Protocol, available
from www.bipindicators.net
/NagoyaProtocolratification
(accessed 4 August 2017).
207 Ibid.
208 Ibid.
209 Ibid.
210 Text of the United Nations
Convention on the Law of the
Sea, available from www
.un.org/Depts/los/convention
_agreements/texts/unclos
/unclos_e.pdf (accessed
4 August 2017).
211 Ibid.
212 Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United
Nations (1997), “Land quality
indicators and their use in
sustainable agriculture and
rural development, Indicators
of Sustainable Development of
Fisheries”, Appendix 2, available
from www.fao.org/docrep
/W4745E/w4745e0f.htm
(accessed 4 August 2017).