ARIES EfS Portal

Global Agreements to Sustainability

There are many other Conventions not listed here that pertain to sustainable development such as the Convention on Human Rights, Convention on the Rights of the Child, Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, Convention on Migratory Species, Convention on Trade in Endangered Species, The Law of the Sea and so forth. All of these Conventions and Agreements make up international law, though implementation depends on the political will of national governments.

The Aarhus Convention

The Aarhus Convention was adopted in 1998 at the Fourth Ministerial Conference in the 'Environment for Europe' Process. This Convention emphasises access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters. It links environmental and human rights, government accountability and environmental protection and focuses on the interactions between the public and public authorities. The details of the Convention are at the UN Economic Commission for Europe.

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Agenda 21

Is the agreement on the programme to balance development and environment at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development UNCED in Rio, Brazil 1992. The programme includes work to accelerate international cooperation for sustainable development in developing countries, combat poverty, change consumption patterns, promote health and address demographic dynamics, integrate environment into decision making, protect the atmosphere, integrated planning and management of land resources, combating deforestation, managing fragile ecosystems to combat desertification and sustainable mountain development, conservation of biodiversity, sound management of biotechnology, protect the oceans, manage toxic chemicals, hazardous wastes, solid wastes and sewage, radioactive waste. As well Agenda 21 included mechanisms to achieve the programme, such as strengthening the role of major groups, such as strengthening the role of women in sustainable development, children and youth, indigenous peoples, NGOs as partners, local authorities, workers and trade unions, business and industry, science and technological community, strengthen farmers, financial resources and mechanisms, transfer technology and capacity, science for SD, education and public awareness, cooperation for capacity building, legal instruments and international institutional arrangements.

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Convention on Biological Diversity

Signed by 150 government leaders at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, the Convention on Biological Diversity has since then had more than 175 countries ratify the agreement. The Parties to the Convention meet every 2 years at the "Conference of the Parties" or COPs and a Subsidiary Body meets in between to clarify scientific and technical aspects (SBSTTA).

The Convention is dedicated to promoting sustainable development. Conceived as a practical tool for translating the principles of Agenda 21 into reality, the Convention recognizes that biological diversity is about more than the conservation of plants, animals and micro organisms and their ecosystems – it is about people and our need for food security, medicines, fresh air and water, shelter, and a clean and healthy environment in which to live. This means that biodiversity needs to be sustainably used and the benefits arising from the commercial and other utilization of genetic resources shared in a fair and equitable way.

The Convention has a work programme based on communication, education and public awareness – Article 6 of the Convention.

A Secretariat for the Convention on Biological Diversity in Montreal Canada, supports the intergovernmental negotiations and implementation is under UNEP.

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Millennium Development Goals

The UN Millennium Development Goals are a series of eight goals prioritized to achieve sustainable development. All 191 UN Member States have pledged to meet these goals by the year 2015.

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Ramsar Convention - Wetlands

The Convention on Wetlands, signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971, is an intergovernmental treaty which provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. The Ramsar Secretariat is based at Gland Switzerland.

The Convention has a CEPA Work Programme on communication, education and public awareness.

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United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has the goal of preventing "dangerous" human interference with the climate system. Governments, the Parties, consider what can be done to reduce global warming and how to adapt to the impacts of the inevitable temperature increases. A Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) provides advice. The Convention also benefits from the advice of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) established by the World Meteorological Organisation WMO and the United Nations Environment Programme UNEP. The Panel assesses scientific, technical and socio- economic information relevant for the understanding of climate change, its potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation. It is open to all Members of the UN and of WMO.

This international treaty was signed at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, which was held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and now has 189 countries signed on. However, when they adopted the Convention, governments knew that its commitments would not be sufficient to seriously tackle climate change.

In 1997 governments agreed to the Kyoto Protocol, which significantly strengthens the Convention by committing Annex I Parties (Developed countries) to individual, legally-binding targets to limit or reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Only Parties to the Convention that have also become Parties to the Protocol (i.e by ratifying, accepting, approving, or acceding to it) will be bound by the Protocol's commitments. The Protocol entered into force on February 16, 2005, and since then the Marrakesh Accords, setting out detailed rules for the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol were approved and finalized Montreal, 30 November 2005 at the United Nations Climate Change Conference.

Parties may offset their emissions by increasing the amount of greenhouse gases removed from the atmosphere by so-called carbon "sinks" in the land use, land-use change and forestry sector.

Under the Convention workshops were held to develop a work programme on education, awareness and training and participation in action against climate change. The work programme was adopted in New Delhi by the Conference of the Parties.

IN 2004 there was a further call for the Parties to enhance and undertake actions for the New Delhi work programme and for capacity of Parties to be supported.

The UNFCCC secretariat supports all institutions involved in the climate change process, particularly the COP, the subsidiary bodies and their Bureau and is based in Bonn Germany.

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United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification

The United Nations Conference on Desertification adopted a Plan of Action to Combat Desertification in 1977. However at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, which was held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 a new, integrated approach to desertification was supported to deal with the problem of land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas. This led to the development of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification which was adopted in Paris on 17 June 1994.

The Convention to Combat Desertification enshrines a "bottom-up approach" in international law based on principles of full participation, and specially underlines "the important role played by women" and NGOs. The Convention creates an enabling environment to enhance action at the local level, a cooperation framework built upon partnership agreements and promotes activities integrated in a coherent development strategy.

This approach emphasizes community participation to develop practical steps to combat desertification in particular ecosystems. National Action Programmes (NAP) are one of the key instruments in the implementation of the Convention. Article 19 of the Convention deals with education and public awareness.

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WSSD Johannesburg Plan of Implementation

The World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg South Africa from August 26 to September 4, 2002 was a UN Conference which agreed to a Plan of Implementation, affirming Agenda 21, the work programmes under the Conventions and the Commission on Sustainable Development.

The Summit reviewed the progress made towards sustainability in the ten years since the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio and identified further measures required to implement the Rio agreements. The Summit agenda was largely influenced by the 'UN Millennium Declaration' and Goals emphasizing poverty alleviation, health, sanitation, and access to education.

The WSSD achieved a number of accomplishments, including:

reaffirming sustainable development as a central element of the international agenda;
focusing attention on the links between poverty, the environment and natural resource use through shared dialogue;
negotiating concrete agreements from many participating governments to numerous commitments to implement sustainable development objectives;
according civil society views a prominent role; and
boosting partnerships between governments, business and civil society.

Education was a cross cutting theme at the WSSD. The 'Johannesburg Plan of Implementation' points to the social actions required to achieve sustainable development and to the role of education, capacity building and communication in achieving this goal. It recommended the adoption of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development to further opportunities to action sustainable development.

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