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Multilateral Environmental Agreements: Pacific regional clearinghouse mechanism

The Pacific regional clearinghouse mechanism for MEAs is a project component of the ACP MEA project. The ACP MEA project is funded by the EC and implemented by UNEP. For further details see the ACP MEA project homepage, the Pacific component homepage, and the latest ACP MEA Newsletter and related publications.

Contents

Introduction
---1992 Earth Summit
---Rio Declaration on Environment and Development
---Agenda 21
---Forest Principles
---Rio and Rio + 10 Pacific country reports
Multilateral Environmental Agreements
---Biodiversity
---Chemicals and hazardous waste
---Climate change
---Land degradation
---Marine pollution
---Ozone depletion
---Regional Conventions (Pacific)
Related resources

Introduction

The main method available under international law for countries to work together on global environmental issues is the multilateral environmental agreement (MEA). MEAs are agreements between states which may take the form of “soft-law”, setting out non-legally binding principles which parties will respect when considering actions which affect a particular environmental issue, or “hard-law” which specify legally-binding actions to be taken to work toward an environmental objective.

The 1992 Earth Summit

Several important MEAs were entered into at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED, or the “Earth Summit”), which was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Earth Summit produced five key documents on sustainable development issues.): two “hard law” – the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the Framework Convention on Climate Change which many PICTs have signed and ratified (see below); and three “soft law” – the Rio Declaration, Agenda 21, and the Forest Principles which were adopted by consensus at Rio.

Rio Declaration on Environment and Development

The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development describes states’ obligations for promoting the principle of sustainable development. This principle involves managing resources in a way that provides for our needs in using those resources, as well as providing for their protection – both for their inherent value, and to preserve mankind’s future interests in them. The obligation to “conserve, protect and restore the health and integrity of the Earth's ecosystem” is framed in a way that recognises that states have differing abilities and methods to draw on when dealing with environmental problems.

The Declaration identifies 27 guiding principles on sustainable development, including:

intergenerational equity – that there should be equity between the rights and needs of the current generation and of generations to come

precautionary approach – that lack of full scientific certainty of the causes and effects of environmental damage should not be a reason for delaying action to prevent such damage

polluter pays – that polluters should bear the cost of pollution, and that the costs of environmental damage should be reflected in cost/benefit analyses of actions affecting the environment

responsibilities – that the world community has a common responsibility for protecting the global environment. However, countries that pollute more should do more for environmental protection than countries that pollute less.

Agenda 21

Agenda 21 is a comprehensive plan of action to be taken globally, nationally and locally by organizations of the United Nations System, Governments, and Major Groups in every area in which human impacts on the environment.

Agenda 21, the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, and the Statement of principles for the Sustainable Management of Forests were adopted by more than 178 Governments at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de Janerio, Brazil, 3 to 14 June 1992.

The Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) was created in December 1992 to ensure effective follow-up of UNCED, to monitor and report on implementation of the agreements at the local, national, regional and international levels. It was agreed that a five year review of Earth Summit progress would be made in 1997 by the United Nations General Assembly meeting in special session.

The full implementation of Agenda 21, the Programme for Further Implementation of Agenda 21 and the Commitments to the Rio principles, were strongly reaffirmed at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) held in Johannesburg, South Africa from 26 August to 4 September 2002.

This 40-chapter document has significant status as a consensus document adopted by about 180 countries. Some its main themes include:

reforming policies – for bringing together environmental and economic issues. It calls for environmental considerations to be built into policy-making from the start rather than being added as an afterthought

controlling wasteful consumption and production – Agenda 21 pinpoints the wasteful consumption and production associated with industrialisation and wealth acquisition as the most serious current cause of global degradation of the environment

improving technologies – promoting greater use of environmentally sound technologies that use resources more efficiently and generate minimal levels of waste

integrating trade and environment – to make environment and trade mutually supportive. This recognises that as trade can be adversely affected by the unjustifiable use of environmental concerns as technical barriers, so trade can adversely affect the environment if it leads to unsustainable production or unsustainable use of resources.

Of particular relevance to the Pacific is Chapter 17 of Agenda 21:

Chapter 17 - Protection of the oceans, all kinds of seas, including enclosed and semi-enclosed seas, and coastal areas and the protection, rational use and development of their living resources

Forest Principles

The Forest Principles address the management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests. One aspect of work pursuant to the Principles concerns the development of criteria and indicators for the sustainable management of forests. Since Rio, work on the Forest Principles has been advanced by an “Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Panel on Forests” (the IPF) and an Intergovernmental Forum on Forests (the IFF), both under the auspices of the CSD.

The 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development agreed on the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation.

Rio and Rio + 10 Pacific country reports

United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED: Brazil, 1992)
Country Reports : Cook Islands (1992; 3.63mb), Federated States of Micronesia (1991 ; 290kb), Fiji (1992: 6.12mb), Kiribati (1992; 7.07MB), Marshall Islands (1992; 2.01MB), Niue (1991; 630kb), Solomon Islands (1992), Tokelau (1992; 2.32mb), Tonga (1992; 2.83mb), Tuvalu (1992; 42mb), Vanuatu (3.11mb)

World Summit on Sustainable Development [Rio+10 - Johannesburg 2002]
Country profiles: Fiji (2002; 376kB),Tonga (2002; 334Kb)

National Assessment Reports:
Cook Islands (2002; 594kb), Federated States of Micronesia (2002; 564kb), Kiribati (2002; 226kb), Marshall Islands (2002; 301kb), Niue (2002; 217kb), Palau (2002; 421kb), Papua New Guinea (2002; 669kb), Samoa (2002; 429kb), Solomon Islands (2002; 227kb), Tokelau (2002; 207kb), Tonga (2002; 974kb), Vanuatu (2002; 171kb)

Pacific WSSD Regional Assessment (2002; 91kb) and Pacific Position Paper (2004; 91kb)
see also: Synthesis Report for Asia and the Pacific (2001; 1.22mb)

Multilateral Environmental Agreements

Biodiversity

Convention on Biological Diversity [CBD]
An international legally binding treaty that was adopted in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992. The Convention has three main goals:

conservation of biological diversity (or biodiversity);
sustainable use of its components; and
fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from genetic resources

see also

Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety
On 29 January 2000, the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity adopted a supplementary agreement to the Convention known as the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. The Protocol seeks to protect biological diversity from the potential risks posed by living modified organisms resulting from modern biotechnology. It establishes an advance informed agreement (AIA) procedure for ensuring that countries are provided with the information necessary to make informed decisions before agreeing to the import of such organisms into their territory. The Protocol contains reference to a precautionary approach and reaffirms the precaution language in Principle 15 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. The Protocol also establishes a Biosafety Clearing-House to facilitate the exchange of information on living modified organisms and to assist countries in the implementation of the Protocol.

Note also:
WORLD COMMUNITY ADOPTS A NEW UN TREATY ON LIVING MODIFIED ORGANISMS
Nagoya, 16 October 2010. At 6.15 p.m. Friday here in Japan, a new international treaty, “the Nagoya – Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety”, was adopted at one of the largest intergovernmental meetings ever held on the safe use of modern biotechnology. The adoption of the new treaty came at the end of the five-day meeting of the governing body of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (known as the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Protocol or COP-MOP 5) and concluded six years of negotiations. The new supplementary Protocol provides international rules and procedure on liability and redress for damage to biodiversity resulting from living modified organisms (LMO)...more

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora [CITES]
Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival and it accords varying degrees of protection to more than 33,000 species of animals and plants.

Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals [CMS]
Aims to conserve terrestrial, marine and avian migratory species throughout their range. It is an intergovernmental treaty, concluded under the aegis of the United Nations Environment Programme, concerned with the conservation of wildlife and habitats on a global scale

Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International importance
The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, called the Ramsar Convention, is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources.

World Heritage Convention
The World Heritage Convention aims to promote cooperation among nations to protect heritage from around the world that is of such outstanding universal value that its conservation is important for current and future generations

Chemicals and hazardous waste

Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Waste and their Disposal, 1989 [Basel Convention]
The Basel Convention was adopted in 1989. During its first decade, the Convention’s
principal focus was the elaboration of controls on the “transboundary” movement of hazardous wastes, that is the movement of such wastes across international frontiers, and the development of criteria for environmentally sound management of the wastes. More recently the work of the Convention has emphasized full implementation of treaty commitments, promotion of the environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes, a lifecycle approach, and minimization of hazardous waste generation. The Convention entered into force 5 May 1992.

Convention to Ban the Importation into Forum Island Countries of Hazardous and Radioactive Wastes and to Control the Transboundary Movement and Management of Hazardous Wastes within the South Pacific Region [Waigani Convention]
The Convention to Ban the Importation into Forum Island Countries of Hazardous and Radioactive Wastes and to Control the Transboundary Movement and Management of Hazardous Wastes within the South Pacific Region opened for signature in Waigani, Papua New Guinea in 1995 and entered into force in 2001. SPREP serves as the Convention’s Secretariat while the Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat serves as Depositary.

Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade, 1998 (PIC)
The Rotterdam Convention was adopted in 1998. In the 1980s, UNEP and FAO developed voluntary codes of conduct and information exchange systems, culminating in the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) procedure introduced in 1989. The Convention replaces this arrangement with a mandatory PIC procedure and information exchange mechanism on hazardous chemicals and
pesticides. The Convention entered into force 24 February 2004. The Convention creates legally binding obligations for the implementation of the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) procedure.

Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, 2001 (POPs)
The Stockholm Convention was adopted in 2001. POPs are chemicals that are highly toxic,
persistent, bio-accumulate and move long distance in the environment. The Convention seeks
the elimination or restriction of production and use of all intentionally produced POPs (i.e.
industrial chemicals and pesticides). It also seeks the continuing minimization and, where
feasible, ultimate elimination of the releases unintentionally produced POPs such as dioxins and furans. The Convention entered into force 17 May 2004.

Climate change

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change [UNFCCC]
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC,1992) is concerned with global warming and the consequent rise in sea levels that may result in the flooding of coastal areas, and submerging islands, which could adversely affect coastal communities. The treaty aims at reducing emissions of greenhouse gas in order to combat global warming. Although the treaty as originally framed set no mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions for individual nations and contained no enforcement provisions; it did include provisions for updates (called "protocols") that would set mandatory emission limits. The principal update is the Kyoto Protocol.

see also

Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The major feature of the Kyoto Protocol is that it sets binding targets for 37 industrialized countries and the European community for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions .These amount to an average of five per cent against 1990 levels over the five-year period 2008-2012.

Land degradation

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification [UNCCD]
A Convention to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought through national action programs that incorporate long-term strategies supported by international cooperation and partnership arrangements.

Marine pollution

Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter 1972 [London Convention and Protocol]
The "Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter 1972", the "London Convention" for short, is one of the first global conventions to protect the marine environment from human activities and has been in force since 1975. Its objective is to promote the effective control of all sources of marine pollution and to take all practicable steps to prevent pollution of the sea by dumping of wastes and other matter. Currently, 86 States are Parties to this Convention.

In 1996, the "London Protocol" was agreed to further modernize the Convention and, eventually, replace it. Under the Protocol all dumping is prohibited, except for possibly acceptable wastes on the so-called "reverse list". The Protocol entered into force on 24 March 2006 and there are currently 37 Parties to the Protocol.

International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978 relating thereto [Marpol Convention]
The most important convention regulating and preventing marine pollution by ships is the IMO International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978 relating thereto (MARPOL 73/78). It covers accidental and operational oil pollution as well as pollution by chemicals, goods in packaged form, sewage, garbage and air pollution.

International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation (OPRC)
The International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation (OPRC), 1990 provides a global framework for international co-operation in combating major incidents or threats of marine pollution. A protocol to this convention (HNS Protocol) covers marine pollution by hazardous and noxious substances.

International Conventional Relating to Intervention on the High Seas in Cases of Oil Pollution Casualties, 1969
The Convention affirms the right of a coastal State to take such measures on the high seas as may be necessary to prevent, mitigate or eliminate danger to its coastline or related interests from pollution by oil or the threat thereof, following upon a maritime casualty. The 1973 Protocol extended the Convention to cover substances other than oil.

International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damages, 1992
The Civil Liability Convention was adopted to ensure that adequate compensation is available to persons who suffer oil pollution damage resulting from maritime casualties involving oil-carrying ships. The Convention places the liability for such damage on the owner of the ship from which the polluting oil escaped or was discharged.

International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage, 1992
Although the 1969 Civil Liability Convention provided a useful mechanism for ensuring the payment of compensation for oil pollution damage, it did not deal satisfactorily with all the legal, financial and other questions raised during the Conference adopting the CLC Convention. Some States objected to the regime established, since it was based on the strict liability of the shipowner for damage which they could not foresee and, therefore, represented a dramatic departure from traditional maritime law which based liability on fault. On the other hand, some States felt that the limitation figures adopted were likely to be inadequate in cases of oil pollution damage involving large tankers. They therefore wanted an unlimited level of compensation or a very high limitation figure. the International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage was adopted at a Conference held in Brussels in 1971. It is supplementary to the 1969 Civil Liability Convention.

International Convention on Liability and Compensation for Damage in Connection with the Carriage of Hazardous and Noxious Substances by Sea (HNS), 1996
The Convention will make it possible for up to 250 million SDR (about US$320 million) to be paid out in compensation to victims of accidents involving HNS, such as chemicals. The HNS Convention is based on the two-tier system established under the CLC and Fund Conventions . However, it goes further in that it covers not only pollution damage but also the risks of fire and explosion, including loss of life or personal injury as well as loss of or damage to property.

PROTOCOL FOR THE PREVENTION OF POLLUTION OF THE PACIFIC REGION BY DUMPING [SPREP Dumping Protocol]
The Dumping Protocol was amended and 2 new Protocols adopted in order to comply with the 1996 Protocol to the London Dumping Convention as well as the OPRC and its Hazardous and Noxious Substances Protocol . The new Protocols relate to pollution from Oil and Hazardous and Noxious Substances.

Protocol concerning Cooperation in Combating Pollution Emergencies in the South Pacific Region [SPREP Pollution Emergencies Protocol]

Ozone depletion

Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer ; Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer
The Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer is a Multilateral Environmental Agreement. It was agreed upon at the Vienna Conference of 1985 and entered into force in 1988. It acts as a framework for the international efforts to protect the ozone layer. However, it does not include legally binding reduction goals for the use of CFCs, the main chemical agents causing ozone depletion. These are laid out in the accompanying Montreal Protocol.

Regional Conventions (Pacific)

Convention on Conservation of Nature in the South Pacific, 1976 [Apia Convention]
The purpose of the Convention on Conservation of Nature in the South Paciftc - or Apia Convention - is to encourage the creation of protected areas. This was the first Convention to
demonstrate tangible concern for environmental matters in the South Pacific region. The Apia Convention entered into force in 1990. At the Eighth Meeting of the Parties in 2006, its operation was suspended until further notice.

Convention for the Protection of the Natural Resources and Environment of the South Pacific Region and related Protocols, 1986 [Noumea or SPREP Convention]
The Convention for the Protection of the Natural Resources and Environment of the South Pacrfic Region and related Protocols - or SPREP Convention - provides a broad framework for
co-operation in preventing pollution of the marine and coastal environments. Each Party is committed to endeavour to condude bilateral or multilateral agreements that protect, develop and
manage the maring and coastal environments of the Convention Area. SPREP is the Secretariat for this convention. It carries out institutional arrarngements, calls meetings of Parties, and acts
as an information clearing-house.

Convention to Ban the Importation into Forum Island Countries of Hazardous and Radioactive Wastes and to Control the Transboundary Movement and Management of Hazardous Wastes within the South Pacific Region, 1995 [Waigani Convention] see also Multilateral Environment Agreements: Pacific regional clearinghouse mechanism: chemicals and hazardous waste
The Convention to Ban the Importation into Forum Island Countries of Hazardous and Radioactive Wastes and to Control the Transboundary Movement and Management of Hazardous Wastes within the South Pacific Region opened for signature in Waigani, Papua New Guinea in 1995 and entered into force in 2001. SPREP serves as the Convention’s Secretariat while the Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat serves as Depositary.

Related Resources

Case studies on inter-linkages and environmental governance in 14 Asia and Pacific countries
Studies on environmental policies and the implementation of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) in four Pacific island countries and the 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) were conducted during 2001 and 2002 bythe UNU. The overall objective of the studies is to examine prospects and challenges for environmental management, provide a practical approach to supporting synergies and coordination on a national and regional level, and offering a means of identifying opportunities
and gaps in both national and regional environmental governance.

Concept Paper on the relationship between the Apia Convention and other relevant conventions (2006)

'Confronting environmental treaty implementation challenges in the Pacific islands' (2010) Pacific Islands Policy, No. 6 (2010)
- Paper outlines the difficulties that the pacific island states have in fulfilling their international commitments, how they can better address these challenges, and what roles the donor community, regional organizations, the United Nations system, and non-governmental organizations can play in this regard.

Global environmental conventions and their Pacific regional counterparts (2003)

InforMEA portal
InforMEA is a shared web portal that harmonizes MEA information systems, making it possible to locate and retrieve all decisions and resolutions tagged to a specific term in seconds. Facilitated by the UNEP Division of Environmental Law and Conventions (DELC), the web portal was developed by UNEP-WCMC. Biodiversity-related MEAs including CBD, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), and the UNESCO World Heritage Centre.

Pacific MEAs Database: MEA Status in Pacific island countries: ratifications, signatories, accessions; reporting obligations; links to full text country reports

Manual on compliance with and enforcement of multilateral environmental agreements [UNEP] (2006)

SPREP Publications: National Legislation and Conventions

SPREP Legal Documents: International webpage

Terra Viva Grants
Terra Viva Grants develops and manages information about grants for agriculture, energy, environment, and natural resources in the world's developing countries. see grant makers active in the Pacific Islands

Virtual Library of Lessons Learned and Best Practices in Environmental Management - Multilateral Environment Agreements

see also:

Taking the floor : A Pacific Island Country guide to Negotiating International Environmental Agreements / Ian Fry, Maria Gutierrez. Australia : Tidal Influence Media, 2010. * copies available from ianfry@ozemail.com.au

Compiled by Peter Murgatroyd. Last updated 9 December 2010.

© SPREP