SYDENHAM COLLEGE OF COMMERCE

AND ECONOMICS

NAME: SANIYA PRASHANT KATWANKAR

CLASS: FYBMS A
ROLL NO: 70
SUBJECT: EVS ASSIGNMENT

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Sr Particular Pg
no. no.
1 About International 3
Environmental Conventions
2 Conventions 6

3 Protocols 15

4 Conclusion 29

5 Biblography 30

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What are International Environmental
Conventions?
An international environmental convention is a legally
binding agreement negotiated among governments to
take action together to combat or mitigate a global
environmental threat. Reaching an agreement to take
such action among sovereign nations with diverse
interests is no small feat.

However, in recent decades, such agreements have

proliferated to address international environmental
concerns at the global and regional levels.

Why is there a Need for these

Conventions?
Ratification and implementation of the Convention and
its protocols will, for many Parties, reduce health and
environmental impacts more cost-effectively than
unilateral action.
It also creates economic benefits as harmonized
legislation and standards across borders will introduce
a level playing field for industry across countries
and prevent Parties from competing with each other at
the expense of the environment and health.
Factors that harm human health, affect food security,
hinder economic development, contribute to climate
change and degrade the environment upon which our
very livelihoods depend.

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The Convention provides a platform to discuss these
interconnections and takes actions to prevent negative
impacts.
List of International Environment
Conventions Protocols
The list of important International Environmental
Conventions and environmental Protocols is listed in
the table below.

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5
What is Ramsar Convention?
▪ Ramsar Convention on Wetlands is
an intergovernmental treaty adopted in 1971 in
the Iranian city of Ramsar, on the southern shore
of the Caspian Sea.

▪ It came into force for India in 1982. Those

wetlands which are of international importance
are declared as Ramsar sites.

▪ The Convention’s mission is the conservation

and wise use of all wetlands through local and
national actions and international cooperation,
as a contribution toward achieving sustainable
development throughout the world.

▪ The Montreux Record is a register of wetland

sites on the List of Wetlands of International
Importance where changes in ecological
character have occurred, are occurring, or are
likely to occur as a result of technological
developments, pollution, or other human
interference. It is maintained as part of the
Ramsar List.

▪ As of 2022, there are 54 designated

wetlands present in India.

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 o Karikili Bird Sanctuary, Pallikaranai Marsh
Reserve Forest and Pichavaram
Mangrove in Tamil Nadu, the Sakhya
Sagar in Madhya Pradesh and Pala
Wetland in Mizoram.

▪ At present, two wetlands of India are in

Montreux Record:
o Keoladeo National Park (Rajasthan)
o Loktak Lake (Manipur).

▪ On the occasion of World Wetlands Day 2022,

celebrated on the 2nd of February every year two
new Ramsar sites (Wetlands of International
Importance), Khijadia Wildlife Sanctuary in
Gujarat and Bakhira Wildlife Sanctuary in
UP were also announced.

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8
What is Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species of Wild
Fauna and Flora?
▪ CITES is an international agreement to which
States and regional economic integration
organizations adhere voluntarily.

▪ It was drafted as a result of a resolution

adopted in 1963 at a meeting of members of
the International Union for Conservation of
Nature (IUCN).

▪ CITES entered into force in July 1975. Currently,

there are 184 Parties (including countries or
regional economic integration organizations).

▪ It aims to ensure that international trade in

specimens of wild animals and plants does not
threaten their survival.

▪ The CITES Secretariat is administered by UNEP

(The United Nations Environment
Programme) and is located at Geneva,
Switzerland.
o It plays a coordinating, advisory and
servicing role in the working of the
Convention.

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 ▪ The Conference of the Parties (COP) to CITES is
the supreme decision-making body of the
Convention and comprises all its Parties.

▪ Although CITES is legally binding on the

Parties, it does not take the place of national
laws.
o Rather, it provides a framework to be
respected by each Party, which has to
adopt its own domestic legislation to
ensure that CITES is implemented at the
national level.
What is Bonn Convention?
▪ It is also known as the Convention of Migratory
Species of Wild Animals (CMS). It is the only
convention that deals with taking or harvesting
species from the wild. It currently protects 173
migratory species from across the globe.

o India hosted the 13th COP of the

CMS from 17th to 22nd February 2020
at Gandhinagar in Gujarat.

▪ The Convention came into force in 1983. The

Secretariat that administers the Convention was
established in 1984.

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 ▪ As of 1st November 2019, there were 133
Parties to the Convention.

▪ The Convention has two Appendices:

o Appendix I: Lists migratory species that
are endangered or threatened with
extinction.

o Appendix II: Lists migratory species

which have unfavourable conservation
status and which require international
agreements for their conservation and
management.

▪ CMS specifies the duty of States to protect the

species living within or passing through their
national boundaries/ jurisdiction.

What is International Union for

Conservation of Nature?
▪ IUCN is a membership Union
uniquely composed of both government and
civil society organisations.

▪ Created in 1948, it is the global authority on the

status of the natural world and the measures
needed to safeguard it.
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▪ It is headquartered in Switzerland.

▪ The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is the

world's most comprehensive inventory of the
global conservation status of plant and animal
species.

o It uses a set of quantitative criteria to

evaluate the extinction risk of species.
These criteria are relevant to most
species and all regions of the world.

o The IUCN Red List Categories define the

extinction risk of species assessed. Nine
categories extend from Not
Evaluated (NE) to Extinct (EX). Critically
Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN)
and Vulnerable (VU) species are
considered to be threatened with
extinction.

o It is recognized as the most

authoritative guide to the status of
biological diversity.

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 o It is also a key indicator for
the Sustainable Developmental Goals
(SDGs) and Aichi (Biodiversity) Targets.
What is Global Tiger Forum?
▪ The GTF is the only intergovernmental
international body established with members
from willing countries to embark on a global
campaign to protect the Tiger.

▪ It was formed in 1993 on recommendations

from an international symposium on Tiger
Conservation at New Delhi, India.

▪ It is located in New Delhi, India.

What is United Nations Convention to
Combat Desertification?
▪ UNCCD was established in 1994 to protect and
restore our land and ensure a safer, just, and
more sustainable future.
o It is the only legally binding
framework set up to address
desertification and the effects of
drought.
o Recently, the Union Minister for
Environment, Forest and Climate Change
of India addressed the COP15 of the
UNCCD in Cote d'Ivoire (Western Africa).

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 o There are 197 Parties to the Convention,
including 196 country Parties and
the European Union (EU).

o The Convention is based on the

principles of participation, partnership
and decentralisation – is a multilateral
commitment to mitigate the impact of
land degradation, and protect the land
so that the convention can provide food,
water, shelter and economic opportunity
to all people.

o The Convention unites governments,

scientists, policymakers, the private
sector and communities around a
shared vision to restore and manage the
world’s land.

Vienna Convention
The Vienna Convention is one of the Environmental
Conventions, adopted in 1985 and entered into force in
1988.
It acts as a framework for international efforts to protect
the ozone layer but does not include legally binding
reduction goals for using CFCs.

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The Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone
Layer and its Montreal Protocol on Substances that
Deplete the Ozone Layer is dedicated to protecting the
earth’s ozone layer.
India became a Party to the Vienna Convention for the
Protection of Ozone Layer on 19 June 1991.

Montreal Protocol
The treaty was opened for signature on September 16,
1987, and entered into force on January 1, 1989,
followed by the first meeting in Helsinki in May 1989.
Since then, it has undergone seven revisions in 1990
(London), 1991 (Nairobi), 1992 (Copenhagen), 1993
(Bangkok), 1995 (Vienna), 1997 (Montreal), and 1999
(Beijing).
The Montreal Protocol is one of the Environmental
Conventions on Substances that Deplete the Ozone
Layer. It was designed to reduce the production and
consumption of ozone-depleting substances to reduce
their abundance in the atmosphere, thereby protecting
the earth’s fragile ozone Layer.

Basel Convention

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In response to a public outcry following the discovery of
toxic waste imports in the 1980s in Africa and other
developing regions of the world, the Basel Convention
on the Control of Transboundary Movements of
Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal was adopted on
March 22, 1989, by the Conference of Plenipotentiaries
in Basel, Switzerland.
Basel Convention is one of the Environmental
Conventions that came into force in 1992.
The objective of the Basel Convention is to protect
human health and the environment against the adverse
effects of hazardous wastes.
Its scope of application covers a wide range of wastes
defined as “hazardous wastes” based on their origin
and/or composition and their characteristics, as well as
two types of wastes defined as “other wastes” –
household waste and incinerator ash.

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Convention on Biological Diversity
(CBD)
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is one of
the Environmental Conventions that entered into force
on December 29 1993. It is a legal instrument which is
signed by 196 countries.
It has 3 main objectives:

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• The conservation of biological diversity
• The sustainable use of the components of
biological diversity
• The fair and equitable sharing of the benefits
arising out of the utilisation of genetic resources
• The only UN member state that has not ratified the
Convention is the United States. The Nagoya
Protocol and the Cartagena Protocol are two
supplementary agreements.

United Nations Framework Convention

on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
• UNFCCC, United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change, is one of the Environmental
Conventions.
• The UN organisation tasked with supporting the
global response to the problem of climate change is
the UNFCCC secretariat (UN Climate Change).
• United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change is referred to as UNFCCC.
• The Convention, with 198 Parties and nearly
universal membership, is the governing document
of the 2015 Paris Accord (COP 21).
• The main objective of the Paris Agreement is to
keep the average global temperature rise this
century to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial
levels.

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• A deal that came out of the UNFCCC is the Kyoto
Protocol, which was signed in 1997.
• The three UNFCCC agreements have as their
ultimate aim the prevention of harmful human
interference with the climate system and the
stabilisation of greenhouse gas concentrations in
the atmosphere at a level that would allow for
sustainable development.
• The UNFCCC secretariat was established in Geneva
in 1992 after ratification by states. Since 1996, the
Secretariat has been headquartered in Bonn,
Germany.
• The United Nations Climate Change Conference,
often known as COP 26, occurred in Glasgow,
Scotland, from October 31 to November 12, 2021.
Italy and the United Kingdom organised it.
• The 27th Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC
(COP 27) is scheduled to be held from 6 November
2022 to 18 November 2022 in Egypt Sharm El-
Sheikh.

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20
Rio Summit
Rio Summit is one of the Environmental Conventions,
also known as the United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development (UNCED) or ‘Earth
Summit.
It was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 3-14 June
1992.
A massive effort was made to focus on the effects of
human socio-economic activities on the environment at
this international conference, commemorating the 20th
anniversary of the first Human Environment Conference
in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1972.
Political leaders, diplomats, scientists, media
representatives, and non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) from 179 countries attended.
At the same time, an unprecedented number of NGO
representatives gathered in Rio de Janeiro for a “Global
Forum” of NGOs, where they shared their predictions for
the planet's future regarding the environment and socio-
economic development.

United Nations Convention to Combat

Desertification (UNCCD)
The United Nations Convention to Combat
Desertification (UNCCD), one of the Environmental
Conventions, was adopted in 1994.
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The first internationally binding agreement connects
sustainable land management to development and the
environment.
The Convention focuses primarily on the drylands,
composed of arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid regions
and is home to some of the most vulnerable
ecosystems and populations.
To advance the objectives of the Convention and make
progress in its implementation, Parties to the
Convention meet in Conferences of the Parties (COPs)
every two years as well as in technical meetings
throughout the year.
The Conference of Parties (COP 14) to the United
Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)
held its fourteenth session from September 2 to
September 13 in New Delhi, India.

Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol, one of the Environmental
Conventions, was adopted on 11 December 1997 and
entered into force on 16 February 2005. Currently, there
are 192 Parties to the Kyoto Protocol.
The Kyoto Protocol operationalises the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change by
committing industrialized countries and economies in
transition to limit and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions by agreed individual targets.
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The Convention simply requests that these nations
develop policies and measures for mitigation and
submit periodic reports.

Rotterdam Convention
The Rotterdam Convention is one of the environmental
conventions.
It was ratified on 24 February 2004 and was adopted on
10 September 1998 at a Conference of Plenipotentiaries
in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
The Convention's goals are: to encourage shared
responsibility and cooperative efforts among Parties in
the international trade of certain hazardous chemicals
to protect human health and the environment from
potential harm.
To contribute to the environmentally sound use of those
hazardous chemicals by facilitating information
exchange about their characteristics.
To provide for a national decision-making process on
their import and export; and by disseminating
information about the Convention's goals worldwide.

Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety

Cartagena Protocol is one of the Environmental
Conventions on Biosafety. It was adopted on January

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29th, 2000, and went into effect on September 11th,
2003.
It is an international agreement which aims to ensure
the safe handling, transportation, and use of living-
modified organisms (LMOs) resulting from
contemporary biotechnology that may have adverse
effects on biological diversity while also taking risks to
human health into account.

Stockholm Convention
The Stockholm Convention, one of the Environmental
Conventions, was adopted by the Conference of the
Plenipotentiaries (Stockholm, 22 May 2001) and entered
into force on 17 May 2004.
The Stockholm Convention is a global treaty to
safeguard the environment and human health from
persistent organic pollutants (POPs).
POPs are compounds that build up in living creatures’
fatty tissue, persist in the environment unaltered for long
periods, and are harmful to people and wildlife.

UN-REDD
The United Nations Collaborative Programme on
Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest
Degradation in Developing Countries (UN-REDD) is one
of the Environmental Conventions. It is the UN
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knowledge and advisory platform on forest solutions to
the climate crisis.
UN-REDD was launched in 2008 and leverages the
technical expertise of food and convening power of the
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP),
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
(FAO).

REDD+
A strategy for reducing global warming called REDD+
was created by parties to the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Beyond just addressing deforestation and forest
degradation, REDD+ also addresses forest conservation,
sustainable forest management, and the improvement
of forest carbon stores.
The framework, also known as the Warsaw Framework
for REDD+ (WFR), was officially endorsed at COP 19 in
Warsaw in December 2013 and offered comprehensive
methodological and financial advice for implementing
REDD+ initiatives. REDD+ is also recognized in Article 5
of the Paris Agreement.

Nagoya Protocol

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The Nagoya Protocol, one of the Environmental
Conventions on ABS, was adopted on October 29, 2010,
in Nagoya, Japan. It occurred on October 12, 2014, 90
days later, when the fifty-first instrument of ratification
was deposited.
The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources
and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising
from their Utilization (ABS) to the Convention on
Biological Diversity is a supplementary agreement to the
Convention on Biological Diversity.
It offers a clear legal framework for the efficient
realization of one of the three goals of the CBD: the fair
and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the
utilization of genetic resources.

Minamata Convention
The Minamata Convention is one of the Environmental
Conventions, was adopted in 2013 and came into force
in 2017.
The Minamata Convention on Mercury is an
international agreement to safeguard the environment
and human health from the harmful effects of mercury.
This convention includes a ban on new mercury mines,
the phase-out of existing ones, the elimination or
reduction of mercury use in various goods and
procedures, control measures for air emissions and

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releases to land and water, and regulation of the
unofficial artisanal and small-scale gold mining industry.
The Convention addresses mercury’s short-term
storage, ultimate waste disposal, mercury-contaminated
areas, and health concerns.

Kigali Amendment
The 28th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal
Protocol, held in Kigali, Rwanda, in October 2016, saw
the adoption of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal
Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer,
which calls for the phase-down of hydrofluorocarbons
(HFCs).
The Kigali Amendment is one of the Environmental
Conventions requiring parties to the Montreal Protocol
to gradually reduce their consumption and production of
hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs.
Although HFCs do not destroy the ozone layer in the
stratosphere, they have a high global warming potential
of between 12 and 14,000, which harms the climate.
From 2032 onward, India will finish phasing down HFCs
in 4 stages, with a cumulative reduction of 10% in 2032,
20% in 2037, 30% in 2042, and 85% in 2047.
After the necessary consultation with all industry
stakeholders, a national strategy for the phase-down of

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hydrofluorocarbons by the phase-down timetable
appropriate for India will be prepared by 2023.
By the middle of 2024, the Ozone Depleting Substances
(Regulation and Control) Rules will have changed to
enable the proper regulation of hydrofluorocarbon
production and consumption to achieve Kigali
Amendment compliance.

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 Conclusion

Environment conventions and protocols are significant

because they address various environmental issues,
including wetlands, deserts, human health, and
hazardous substances. The Indian government is
making sure to attend the conference, and India is
taking significant actions to meet the requirements of
these treaties, many of which India has also ratified.
However, there are certain loopholes on which
focussing is the need of the hour.

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 BIBLOGRAPHY

• https://testbook.com/ias-
preparation/environment-
conventions-protocols

• https://blogmedia.testbook.com/blog/
wp-content/uploads/2022/10/paris-
climate-agreement-6bf7f449.png

• CHATGPT

• YOUTUBE

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