International Environmental Agreement Signed by

Pakistan
STATUS REPORT: To meet the challenges of environment and development in Pakistan, the
Government has decided to support and establish a viable and working new global partnership
in the social, economic and environmental dimensions. Pakistan had begun paying priority
attention to the protection of the environment soon after the Conference on Human
Environment in Stockholm in 1972. Pakistan, as Chairman of G-77, played a leading role at the
UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio in 1992. Pakistan is one of
a handful of developing countries to prepare a comprehensive National Conservation Strategy
(NCS) in 1992 in Cooperation with national and international organizations.

To achieve the goal of environmental protection, Pakistan has signed international agreements,
i.e., the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), 1994; Montreal Protocol
on Ozone Depleting Substances; Basel Convention on Biological Diversity, 1994; International
Convention to Combat Desertification, 1994.

In the regional context, Pakistan is working in close cooperation with regional organizations
such as the South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), South Asia
Cooperative Environment Programmes (SACEP), Economic Cooperation Organization (ECC),
United National Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and
the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). A number of joint activities have been
initiated and are being implemented successfully. To protect the marine environment from
Land Based activities, a regional Seas Programme of UNEP/SACEP is underway. Pakistan
participated in the environmental Management Seminar organized by SACEP in Sri Lanka.

In pursuance of the Uruguay Agreement, the World Trade Organization (WTO) has come into
existence . The first Ministerial Conference of the WTP was held recently. Pakistan actively
participated in the meeting.
UNCBD
The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD) is a United Nations treaty that
is responsible for the conservation of Biological Diversity around the world. The UNCBD is one
of the important parts of international environment conventions and protocols particularly
covering the environment, ecology and biodiversity.
What is the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD)?
The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, informally known as the Biodiversity
Convention, is a multilateral treaty opened for signature at the Earth Summit in Rio De Janeiro
in 1992. It is a key document regarding sustainable development. It comes under the United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

 196 countries are a party to the CBD.

 Pakistan is also a party to the Convention. Pakistan ratified it in 1994.

 The convention is legally binding on its signatories.

 The Conference of Parties (COP) is the governing body of the convention. It consists of the
governments that have ratified the treaty.
 Its Secretariat is in Montreal, Canada.
 Only two member states of the United Nations are not Parties to the CBD, namely: the USA
and the Vatican.
 In the 1992 Earth Summit, two landmark binding agreements were signed, one of them
being the UNCBD. The other one was the Convention on Climate Change.
 More than 150 countries signed the document at the Summit, and since then, over 175
nations have ratified the agreement.
Goals of the Convention on Biological Diversity
The goals of the Convention are listed below:

 Conservation of Biological Diversity

 Sustainable use of the components of the Biodiversity
 Fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the genetic resources
The idea of CBD is to develop national strategies for the conservation and sustainable use of
biological diversity. In order to implement that, the convention does the following:
All genetic resources, species and ecosystems are covered in the agreement. Traditional
conservation efforts are linked to the economic goal of using biological resources sustainably. A
set of principles are laid out for equitable and fair sharing of the benefits that arise out of the
use of genetic resources, specifically those destined for commercial use.
It also covers the rapidly expanding field of biotechnology through its Cartagena Protocol on
Biosafety, addressing technology development and transfer, benefit-sharing and biosafety
issues.
UNCBD and Pakistan
Under the obligation of CBD, a Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) has also been prepared and
approved by the Government of Pakistan in 1999. The plan deals with the conservation and
sustainable use of biodiversity in all ecological regions of Pakistan including arid and semi-arid
regions.
What are Wetlands?
Wetlands function as natural sponges that trap and slowly release surface water, rain, snowmelt,
groundwater and flood waters.

Wetlands are the most productive habitats on the planet as they contain high number of plant and
animal species including mammals, bird, fish and invertebrates.

Different Types of Wetlands

There are a number of different types of wetlands that occur all over the globe. They are
usually split into four distinct categories with further distinctions depending on location
and other factors.

1. Marshes
Marshes are wetlands that are always inundated, rather than being submerged under
water just during the summer or a couple of months over the year, for instance. Marshes
can be freshwater or saltwater and amount of water in the marsh can change with the
seasons. They boast a great variety of vegetation that has adapted especially to live in
saturated soil. There are a number of sub-categories of marsh, including freshwater,
saltwater, inland and coastal. Each of these have their own distinct ecosystems and can
be found all over the world. Marshes wildlife include beavers, alligators, newts, shrimp
and turtles.
 2. Swamps
Swamps differ from marshes in that, typically, they are dominated by woody plants
(rather than soft-stemmed plants). Some of these trees are often harvested by people
from all over the world to make timber and to build their homes, which can affect the
ecosystem drastically if too many are taken without being replaced with new saplings.
Swamps are typically the home to various birds and fish as well as smaller creatures.
Swamps like Everglades in Florida are found in low-lying areas near rivers or coastal
areas. There are two main types of swamps: forested swamps and shrub swamps.
Swamps are home to variety of animals like snakes, bobcat, alligators, beaver, large
diversity of birds.

3. Bogs
Bogs are characterized by more acidic waters and spongy peat deposits as well as a
covering of sphagnum moss. Unlike marshes and swamps, bogs tend to get their
wetness from precipitation rather than waterways such as streams or runoffs from rivers.
These wetlands are fantastic for preventing downstream flooding since they absorb
precipitation as it falls and prevents the swelling of rivers and other waterways. There
are two sorts of bogs: northern bogs and pocosins.

4. Fens
Fens are, like bogs, peat-forming wetlands, although they usually get their wetness from
ground water rather than precipitation, which means that they are slightly less acidic.
This means that they tend to support a greater array of wildlife, from plants to fish to
birds and everything in between. Like bogs, fens are beneficial because they can help
prevent the flooding of land elsewhere, since they soak up water from the ground and
prevent it from seeping anywhere else.

Importance of Wetlands
Since there are a number of different types of wetlands, there are a number of benefits
that each one offers. Not all of them offer the same benefits to animal life, plant life and
even humans as others, but all of them are essential and it is very important to protect
both them and the life that they support, some of which cannot be found anywhere else
in the world.

1. Prevent Flooding
Most importantly, wetlands are best known to prevent flooding. Because the plant life
and the soil in all different sorts of wetlands is used to being saturated with water, it can
hold onto the water better than other areas (for instance, of forest or farmland). Water
that falls as precipitation or that flows down from mountains in streams or that is
present in the ground is caught and held in wetlands, which prevents other areas,
perhaps further downhill, from flooding. This can have a positive impact not only on the
environment as a whole, but is very useful for people who have build their settlements
next to rivers or other waterways that might otherwise have been prone to flooding.

2. Release Vegetative Matter

Wetlands release water back into waterways and surrounding areas – although they do
so slowly, which is why they are so good at preventing flooding. This water, after having
been in areas that are so rich in various different sorts of plant life, is filled with
vegetative matter that then finds its way into rivers and streams. This vegetative matter
is absolutely essential for sustaining the fish that live in these waterways.

3. Rejuvenating Ecosystems
The releasing of vegetative matter also provides an essential in the amount of nutrients,
seeds and other matter going into streams and rivers, not to mention other creatures.
This can help to stabilize, rejuvenate or enrich ecosystems in areas around wetlands.

4. A Home for Animals

Many animals have wetlands as their homes. Birds such as herons, fish and amphibians
all make their homes in these sorts of places. They offer the perfect place for animals to
be safe and hidden from predators – perhaps from the air – as well as providing a great
deal of diverse foodstuffs such as grasses, mosses and other plant life. Amphibians may
hunt and scavenge away from the wetlands, but they always return to find a good place
to mate and breed, because wetlands offer a lot more safety than other places.

5. Water Purification
As a direct result of having wetlands, the water in the surrounding areas will be a lot
cleaner and purer than in other areas. This is because the water is filtered through the
wetlands. Fish and other animals may eat vegetation, plants may strain out rubbish that
may be in the water because of humans or things like twigs that have fallen from nearby
trees, meaning that these things do not make it into streams or rivers further down the
line. Wetlands decompose vegetative matter (for the most part – some of it makes its
way into streams and rivers to provide food for fish) and even convert various chemicals
to make the water even cleaner for the creatures that live both in the wetland and in
other water systems. This makes them one of the most productive and critical natural
filtering systems in the world.

6. Erosion Control
Sediment is a natural problem that usually originates in rivers. As the water flows past
drier earth, it will sometimes sweep sediment away. This sediment will eventually end up
in the sea, which is not hugely problematic, but erosion can be an issue. With earth
disappearing, animals may find they have less space to hunt, mate or live. Wetlands act
as a sort of erosion control. Emergents – plants that are firmly rooted in the ground but
that have stalks that rise up out of the water into the air – grow almost exclusively in
wetlands, and it is this that slows the flow of water. This means that the strength of the
water is lessened and erosion occurs less powerfully in these sorts of areas, as well as in
lakes and rivers where the water is slower.

The ‘ecosystem services’ – the benefits people obtain from ecosystems –

provided by wetlands include:

 Flood control
 Groundwater replenishment
 Shoreline stabilization & storm protection
 Sediment & nutrient retention and export
 Water purification
 Reservoirs of biodiversity
 Wetland products
 Cultural values
 Recreation & tourism
 Climate change mitigation and adaptation
Wetlands and Pakistan
There are 225 sites of wetlands covering an area of about 9.7% of Pakistan

These wetlands Kalar Kahar Lake (Salt Range), Rawal Lake, Mangla Lake, Simbly Lake and Khanpur Lake
are suffering from contaminants caused by human beings.

There are currently over 2,300 Ramsar sites around the world, covering over 2.1 square kilometres.
There are three estuaries in Pakistan, the largest is the Indus estuary on the Sindh coast, while the other
two small estuaries are Hingol and Dasht, both located in Balochistan.

Causes of wetland degradation in Pakistan:

Pakistan has different types of wetlands and various factors are causing serious stress and
potentially altering the natural valuable resource. Wetlands in sub-tropical and tropical regions
have been damaged progressively or lost due to conversion into agricultural land use. People do
not know the importance of these wetlands and through their home waste and pollutants in water.
 These wetlands Kalar Kahar Lake (Salt Range), Rawal Lake, Mangla Lake, Simbly Lake and
Khanpur Lake are suffering from contaminants caused by human beings. Many people have
developed their business, homes, number of small hotels and shops of edible items near to
wetlands to attract the tourists and this hard infrastructure is increasing day by day.

Climate change and global warming has become a hot issue of the world. Global warming
increases the temperature and drought that leads to loss of species and bleaching of coral reefs.
An off-site activity causes physical and chemical changes in wetlands. Addition of polluted
water draining into wetlands from upstream agricultural, industrial or other activities is a major
cause. Changes occurring in water flow system due to rapid expansion of population. Lack of
effective policies and inadequate management is major problem in our country.
Management of wetlands:
Currently, Pakistan’s wetland program working on restoration projects and promotes globally
significant biodiversity of the country. Primarily, it has two main objectives;

1. To create and maintain enabling environment for sustainable and effective conservation of natural
wetlands at local level.
2. To implement sustainable wetland conservation strategy at four representative sites that will serve as
model for subsequent wetland conservation.
The program is working in 4 areas namely, Lakes of the alpine region, Lakes of the Salt Range,
Coastal wetland, and Riverine wetlands. Preserve and protect the aquatic resources (flora and
fauna). More local plants should be planted and illegal activities should be reported. Restore
natural integrity and natural structure. Work within the water shed, pick all the litter and waste
and dispose it in proper way.

Almost all kinds of wetlands providing support for earning livelihood. Wetland centre at
Sandspit, located in west of Karachi has established for the conservation and restoration of
wetlands of Pakistan. WWF Pakistan wetland projects objectives are to conserve the wetland of
Pakistan, identify the wetland complexes, enhance biodiversity, create awareness among the
people, and prepare and implement national wetland conservation strategies for sustainable
development of wetlands.

Ramsar Convention on Wetlands

Ramsar Convention is a convention on wetlands that was signed in 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar.
The negotiations for the convention started in the 1960s by the different countries and NGOs for the
protection of wetlands and their resources. Finally, it came into force in 1975.

Convention of Ramsar Convention

The Ramsar Convention came into force in 1975 with a mission to conserve and use wisely all wetlands
through local and national actions and international cooperation, as a contribution towards achieving
sustainable development throughout the world. The evolution of this convention on wetlands is
depicted below:
What is the purpose of the Ramsar Convention?
The convention works on three pillars that define the purpose of the Ramsar Convention:

1. Wise Use – To work towards the wise use of all wetlands

2. List of Wetlands of International Importance – Designate suitable wetlands under the
Ramsar List to effectively manage those
3. International Cooperation – To bring cooperation internationally over the transboundary
wetlands, shared wetland systems and shared species.

How many countries are there in the Ramsar Convention?

As of October 2020, there are 171 contracting parties to the Ramsar Convention.

Important Facts about the Ramsar Convention

1. It is the only international treaty that addresses a specific ecosystem (wetland.)
2. Originally, the treaty focussed on the conservation of the habitats for waterbirds.
3. The official name of the treaty is The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance,
especially as Waterfowl Habitat.
4. As of June 2021, there are 2422 wetlands in the list of wetlands of international importance.
5. Ramsar Convention is not a regulatory regime.
6. Ramsar Convention was modified by the Paris Protocol in 1982 and by the Regina
Amendments in 1987.
7. World Wetlands Day – It was first celebrated in 1997. It is celebrated each year on 2nd
February to mark the anniversary of the Ramsar Convention and promote its mission.
8. A conference of the contracting parties (COP) to the convention meets every three years.
9. The Ramsar Convention has six international organization partners:
1. Birdlife International
2. IUCN
3. Wetlands International
4. WWF
5. International Water Management Institute
6. Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust
10. The convention comes with a six-year strategic plan. The latest one is the 4th Ramsar
Convention Strategic Plan 2016-2024 which was approved at COP12 of the convention.
11. Ramsar Convention’s Standing Committee has 18 members that are elected at COP till the
next COP elects new members.
12. The Convention works in three languages – English, Spanish and French.
The Convention on Migratory Species (CMS)
The Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), also known as the Bonn Convention, is an environmental
treaty of the United Nations that provides a global platform for the conservation and sustainable use of
terrestrial, aquatic and avian migratory animals and their habitats.

Bonn Convention is a name of the international treaty on the conservation of migratory species of wild
animals, that was adopted in Bonn, Germany in 1979. It came into force in 1983. The convention is
simply known as Bonn Convention or CMS (Convention on Conservation of Migratory Species) which is
an important part of international environment conventions and protocols.

What is the aim of the Bonn Convention?

The aim of the Bonn Convention is to protect the migratory species of wild animals and their
habitats. It is the only global treaty concerning the migratory species and works under the aegis of
the United Nations Environment Programme. The convention has legally binding agreements and
non-legally binding Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) which are tailored according to
conservation needs.

Important Facts about the Bonn Convention for UPSC

1. Bonn Convention is another name to the Convention on Conservation of Migratory
Species of Wild Animals (CMS.)
2. The states and the range states from where the migratory species pass are brought
together under CMS to enable measures for their conservation and protection.
3. There are two appendices under the Bonn Convention:

 Appendix I (Endangered Species)- It comprises the list of those migratory species

that are assessed as being in danger of extinction throughout their range or in some
significant portion of their range. It also defines endangered species as those with a
high risk of extinction in the wild in near future, as also defined by IUCN.
 Appendix II – It comprises those migratory species that need conservation through
international agreements and will significantly benefit from such conservational
efforts.
4. The highest numbers of members in the Bonn Convention are from African regions followed
by Europe.
Members of the Bonn Convention
There are 131 parties under the Bonn Convention. The latest country to ratify CMS is the Central
African Republic which has ratified the Bonn Convention on 1st September 2020.