The Regional Seas Conventions and Action Plans provide unique platforms for the regional and synergistic implementation of programmes and activities related to Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) dealing with marine issues. The Strategic Directions of the Regional Seas Programme call for an increase in the role of Regional Seas to serve as platforms for developing common regional objectives, promoting synergies and coordinating the regional implementation of relevant MEAs, as a contribution to the sustainable development of coastal and marine areas.
The Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions are part of the international action being taken to promote the sound management of chemicals throughout their life cycle and waste in ways that lead to the prevention and minimization of significant adverse effects on human health and the environment, including oceans and marine biodiversity. The Conventions contribute to making consumption and production patterns and waste management more sustainable and hence reduce direct discharge or land runoff of hazardous pollutants or wastes into the marine and costal environments.
BRS is one of the UNEP administered Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs).
- Basel Convention is concerned with the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal. Its objective is to protect human health and the environment against the adverse effects of hazardous wastes. It does so by supporting minimization of generation of waste, promoting environmentally sound management and providing conditions and procedures for controlling transboundary movements. The Basel Convention was adopted on 22 March 1989 by the UN Conference of Plenipotentiaries in Basel, Switzerland, in response to a public outcry following the discovery, in the 1980s, of deposits of toxic wastes imported from abroad. The Convention entered into force in 1992.
- The Rotterdam Convention deals with prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade such as DDT. Part of the Rotterdam Convention is administered by FAO in Rome. The Rotterdam Convention was adopted on 10 September 1998 by the UN Conference of Plenipotentiaries in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, as response to the potential risks posed by hazardous chemicals and pesticides. The Convention entered into force on 24 February 2004.
- The Stockholm Convention -The objective of the Stockholm Convention is to protect human health and the environment from persistent organic pollutants. The Stockholm Convention was adopted on 23 May 2001 by the UN Conference of Plenipotentiaries, in Stockholm, Sweden, as response to the increasing threats that persistent organic pollutants pose to human health and the environment. The convention entered into force on 17 May 2004.
Regional Seas and BRS
Ongoing Regional Seas Programme collaborations with Basel Convention include
- Supporting the regional seas conventions in the development of protocols on transboundary movement of hazardous wastes
- Barcelona Convention collaborating with the BRS Conventions to amplify the voice on marine plastic pollution in the Mediterranean. The two conventions share a Regional Activity Centre.
- Partnering with MAP in the implementation of the Barcelona Convention Hazardous Wastes Protocol and assistance in the management of hazardous wastes in Mediterranean countries.
- Cartagena Convention has a shared focal point with Basel Convention and a Regional Activity Centre in Trinidad and Tobago. The BRS has contributed to the State of the Coast Report of the Wider Caribbean Region.
- HELCOM is an observer to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions’ bodies and has joined the Plastic Waste Partnership working group which aims at mobilising business, government, academic and civil society resources, interests and expertise to improve and pro - mote the environmentally sound management of plastic waste at the global, regional and national levels and to prevent and minimize its generation
- The Caribbean Environment Programme (CEP) has partnered with Basel Convention and other organizations to enhance coordination on issues relating to waste and chemicals management
Other regional seas Conventions which have established close working relations and collaboration with BRS include Nairobi Convention.
Please visit their website: http://www.brsmeas.org/
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is the international legal instrument for "the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources" that has been ratified by 196 nations.
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) entered into force on 29 December 1993. It has 3 main objectives:
- 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 utilization of genetic resources
The CBD’s governing body is the Conference of the Parties (COP). This ultimate authority of all governments (or Parties) that have ratified the treaty meets every two years to review progress, set priorities and commit to work plans. The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD) is based in Montreal, Canada. Its main function is to assist governments in the implementation of the CBD and its programmes of work, to organize meetings, draft documents, and coordinate with other international organizations and collect and spread information. The Executive Secretary is the head of the Secretariat.
CBD and Regional Seas
The Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Regional Seas Conventions and Action Plans share common concern for the conservation and sustainable use of marine and coastal biodiversity. The CBD Secretariat and the Coordinating Units of the Regional Seas Conventions and Action Plans agreed on the need for a multi-year plan of action for implementing the CBD programme of work on marine and coastal biodiversity.
- CBD is currently supporting the development of the Regional Seas Core Indicators set.
- The CBD already enjoys close cooperation with the Cartagena Convention in the Caribbean and the Permanent Commission for the South Pacific (CPPS) in the South-East Pacific and is pursuing cooperation with several other Regional Seas programmes.
- The regional programmes also have much to contribute to the CBD work programme as it relates to guidelines on integrated marine and coastal area management, criteria for protected marine and coastal area establishment and management and guidelines for ecosystem evaluation, including indicators.
- Other regional seas Conventions which have established close working relations and collaboration with CBD include SACEP, OSPAR, Nairobi Convention, Abidjan Convention, etc
Please visit their website: https://www.cbd.int/
Concerned about the overexploitation of many vulnerable species as a result of unregulated international trade, governments adopted the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 1973. The treaty entered into force in 1975 and now has 183 Parties. The Convention places a joint responsibility on producer and consumer Parties for managing wildlife trade sustainably and preventing illegal trade. CITES regulates international trade in over 36,000 species of plants and animals, including their products and derivatives, ensuring their survival in the wild with benefits for the livelihoods of local people and the global environment.
CITES is an international agreement to which States and regional economic integration organizations adhere voluntarily. States that have agreed to be bound by the Convention ('joined' CITES) are known as Parties. Although CITES is legally binding on the Parties – in other words they have to implement the Convention – it does not take the place of national laws. 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.
Over 38,700 species – including roughly 5,950 species of animals and 32,800 species of plants – are protected by CITES against over-exploitation through international trade. They are listed in the three CITES Appendices. The species are grouped in the Appendices according to how threatened they are by international trade. They include some whole groups, such as primates, cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises), sea turtles, parrots, corals, cacti and orchids.
Many marine species that are traded internationally are highly migratory meaning they swim long distances, often crossing national boundaries. Their conservation can only be achieved if nations work collaboratively. That’s where CITES comes in. The agreement provides a legal framework to regulate the international trade of species, ensuring their sustainability and promoting cooperation among CITES members, also known as CITES Parties.
Regional Seas and CITES
CITES recognized that international cooperation is essential for the protection of certain species of wild fauna and flora against over-exploitation through international trade and has established a strengthened relationship with the Regional Seas Conventions and Action plans that include.
- At the twelfth Conference of the Parties to the Abidjan Convention (ABC COP12) in March 2017, Parties established the Abidjan Aquatic Wildlife Partnership (AAWP) (decision 12/14) – a multi-stakeholder partnership including CITES lead by the Abidjan Convention Secretariat
- The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) regarding the trade in toothfish.
- In 1997, following the dramatic fall in catch levels in the Caspian Sea, CITES placed all species of sturgeon on Appendix II of the Convention. In 2001 UNEP convened an inter-agency meeting to assist the Caspian States to protect sturgeon resources and meet their obligations under CITES. This was followed by a high-level meeting later that year between UNEP, CITES, the Caspian Environment Programme (CEP), the European Union and the Caspian littoral States. The meeting agreed on a one-year action plan which included halting sturgeon fishing in the Caspian Sea for a limited period; called on CITES and Interpol to take specific measures to address the illegal trade in caviar; and asked the Caspian Sea States to agree on a joint management plan for sturgeon fishing.
Other regional seas Conventions which have established close working relations and collaboration with CITES include SACEP.
Please visit their website: https://cites.org/eng
As an environmental treaty of the United Nations, CMS provides a global platform for the conservation and sustainable use of migratory animals and their habitats. This treaty of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) aims to facilitate close cooperation on the conservation of migratory species between the countries through which these animals travel on their annual journeys. Among the species that do so and that are listed on the Convention’s Appendices are many marine mammals, marine turtles, fish and seabirds. CMS is actively engaged in many global and regional species-specific activities, but also a large range of broader environmental ocean matters such as unsustainable fishing, including bycatch, vessel collisions, ocean noise and marine pollution, including marine debris.
CMS was signed in 1979 and in force since 1983. It currently has 130 Parties. CMS operational bodies include the Conference of the Parties (COP), the Standing Committee, the Scientific Council and a Secretariat provided by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The COP is the decision-making body of the Convention. It meets every two to three years to review the conservation status of migratory species and the implementation of the Convention and provide guidance and make recommendations to the parties.
CMS encourages the Range States to comply with global or regional Agreements. The Agreements may range from legally binding treaties to less formal instruments, such as Memoranda of Understanding, and can be adapted to the requirements of a particular region. The development of models tailored according to the conservation needs throughout the migratory range is a unique capacity of CMS. All Agreements are based on concrete management and conservation plans.
CMS Appendix I contains migratory species that are endangered throughout all or a significant portion of their range. Parties that are Range States for Appendix I species endeavour to conserve and restore habitats; to prevent, remove, compensate for or minimise, as appropriate, the adverse effects of activities or obstacles, which prevent or impede migration; and to prevent, reduce or control factors that endanger the species. Taking of specimens of Appendix I species is generally prohibited and Parties allowing exceptions must inform the Secretariat.
CMS Appendix II contains species with an unfavourable conservation status that would significantly benefit from the international co-operation that could be achieved through international agreements for their conservation and management. Currently there are also twelve individual agreements under CMS, which are explicitly aimed at marine taxonomic groups, such as turtles, whales, dolphins, sharks, dugongs, albatrosses and petrels.
Regional Seas and CMS
CMS works closely with the Regional Seas Conventions, both collectively, and through individual partnerships as below:
- The Caribbean and South Pacific Regional Seas Conventions have signed partnership agreements with CMS
- In 2004, the RSP and CMS developed a joint publication, Review of Small Cetaceans: Distribution, Behaviour, Migration and Threats, which summarizes the available knowledge on the distribution, behaviour and migration of toothed whales, as well as threats to which they are exposed.
- Under CMS, two regional agreements focus on the conservation of cetaceans within the Baltic, North-East Atlantic, Black Sea and Mediterranean Regional Seas programmes. The Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic and North Seas (ASCOBANS), entered into force in 1994 and the Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Contiguous Atlantic Area (ACCOBAMS), entered into force in 2001. A third regional agreement (in the form of a non-binding MoU) for Pacific Island Cetaceans, developed jointly by CMS and SPREP, was opened for signature on 15 September 2006.
- CMS has signed an agreement with the Abidjan Convention, for the development of a comprehensive strategy covering the current status, threats and conservation options for small cetaceans and the West African manatee, a species included in Appendix II of CMS.
- Other regional seas Conventions which have established close working relations and collaboration with CMS include
The Convention on Wetlands is an intergovernmental treaty adopted on 2 February 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar. The name of the Convention is usually written “Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, Iran, 1971)”, but it has become known popularly as the Ramsar Convention. Ramsar is the first of the modern global intergovernmental treaties on the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.
The official name of the treaty, The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat, reflects the original emphasis upon the conservation and wise use of wetlands primarily as habitat for waterbirds. Over the years the Convention has broadened its scope of implementation to cover all aspects of wetland conservation and wise use, recognizing wetlands as ecosystems that are extremely important for biodiversity conservation and for the well-being of human communities.
The Convention’s mission is “the conservation and wise use of all wetlands through local and national actions and international cooperation, as a contribution towards achieving sustainable development throughout the world”.
Wetlands are among the most diverse and productive ecosystems. They provide essential services and supply all our fresh water. However, they continue to be degraded and converted to other uses.
The Convention uses a broad definition of wetlands. It includes all lakes and rivers, underground aquifers, swamps and marshes, wet grasslands, peatlands, oases, estuaries, deltas and tidal flats, mangroves and other coastal areas, coral reefs, and all human-made sites such as fish ponds, rice paddies, reservoirs and salt pans.
Under the “three pillars” of the Convention, the Contracting Parties commit to:
- work towards the wise use of all their wetlands;
- designate suitable wetlands for the list of Wetlands of International Importance (the “Ramsar List”) and ensure their effective management;
- cooperate internationally on transboundary wetlands, shared wetland systems and shared species.
The Ramsar Convention encourages the designation of sites containing representative, rare or unique wetlands, or wetlands that are important for conserving biological diversity. Once designated, these sites are added to the Convention's List of Wetlands of International Importance and become known as Ramsar sites. In designating a wetland as a Ramsar site, countries agree to establish and oversee a management framework aimed at conserving the wetland and ensuring its wise use. Wise use under the Convention is broadly defined as maintaining the ecological character of a wetland. Wetlands can be included on the List of Wetlands of International Importance because of their ecological, botanical, zoological, limnological or hydrological importance.
Regional seas and Ramsar
Regional seas Conventions which have established close working relations and collaboration with Ramsar convention include Cartagena Convention among other RSCAPs.
6. UNEP and MEAs
UN Environment Programme (UNEP) hosts the secretariats for many critical multilateral environmental agreements and research bodies, bringing together nations and the environmental community to tackle the greatest challenges of our time. Click here to read more about the MEAs.
