International Law of Environmental Protection
Task. Answer the questions to the text given above
When was the first international legal document in the field of wildlife protection signed and what was it devoted to?
What declaration does the modern system of international environmental protection begin with?
What is the goal of the concept of sustainable development and in what document was it formulated for the first time?
When and where were the basic principles of environmental law formulated?
What is the document named “The Future We Want” about? When was it adopted?
What are the main spheres of international environmental concern?
Were any international treaties concerning international environmental protection adopted in the Soviet Union?
When did internationally regulated actions to protect the ozone layer of the Earth begin?
What document can we name as the first international one regarding the protection of flora and fauna?
What questions are under control of international environmental law relating the control of dangerous substances?
World Charter for Nature
World Charter for Nature was adopted by United Nations member nation-states on October 28, 1982. It proclaims five “principles of conservation by which all humans conduct affecting nature is to be guided and judged”.
1. Nature shall be respected and its essential processes shall not be impaired.
2. The genetic viability on the earth shall not be compromised; the population levels of all life forms, wild and domesticated, must be at least sufficient for their survival, and to this end necessary habitats shall be safeguarded.
3. All areas of the earth, both land and sea, shall be subject to these principles of conservation; special protection shall be given to unique areas, to representative samples of all the different types of ecosystems and to the habitats of rare or endangered species.
4. Ecosystems and organisms, as well as the land, marine and atmospheric resources that are utilized by man, shall be managed to achieve and maintain optimum sustainable productivity, but not in such a way as to endanger the integrity of those other ecosystems or species with which they coexist.
5. Nature shall be secured against degradation caused by warfare or other hostile activities.
The vote was 111 for, one against (United States), 18 abstentions.
The Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, or Stockholm Declaration, was adopted June 16, 1972 by the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment at the 21st plenary meeting as the first document in international environmental law to recognize the right to a healthy environment. In the declaration, the nations agreed to accept responsibility for any environmental effects caused by their actions. Within the document, seven proclamations cover the global nature of environmental problems and state that they will require extensive cooperation among nations to resolve. These proclamations conclude that efforts for environmental preservation and improvement will benefit all people and their posterity. The declaration then states twenty-six principles to guide the nations through their responsibilities. The action plan is split into three categories including an environmental assessment called Earthwatch, environmental management, and 109 supporting measures.
Participation of Ukraine in international cooperation
Дональд Трамп вызвал бурю
International Law of Environmental Protection
The first international legal document in the field of wildlife protection is the Paris Convention of 1902, devoted to the protection of birds useful for agriculture. This Convention was subsequently revised and supplemented by the International Convention for the Protection of Birds, signed in 1950.
The modern system of international environmental protection begins with the UN Conference held in Stockholm in 1972, although some international environmental agreements, in particular those on the protection of the marine environment, were signed before this conference. However, it was after the Stockholm Conference that norm-setting activities on environmental protection at the national and international levels became more active. The Stockholm Conference adopted the Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, or Stockholm Declaration.
The Stockholm Conference led to the creation of UNEP (United Nations Environment Program). Currently, this organization performs administrative functions on seven major conventions, as well as on a number of regional agreements.
The UN General Assembly in 1984 established the International Commission on Environment and Development, which, for the first time in its 1987 report “Our Common Future”, formulated the concept of sustainable development, the goal of which is to improve the humans’ living conditions and that can be achieved only in harmony with nature.
In 1991, under the supervision of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe in Espoo (Finland), the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context was signed.
In 1992, the UN Conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, adopted the Declaration on Environment and Development, which formulated the basic principles of environmental law and the Long-term Program for Further Action on a Global Scale (Agenda 21 («Повестка дня на XXI век »)).
Twenty years later, in Rio de Janeiro in 2012, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development Rio + 20 was held. The conference worked out the concept of how to reduce poverty, promote social justice and ensure appropriate measures for the protection of the environment. The final document of the conference is “The Future We Want” («Будущее, которого мы хотим»).
Protection of the air, ozone layer and climate:
- The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapon Tests in the Atmosphere, Outer Space and Under Water, concluded in Moscow (the USSR) in 1963, spoke about appropriate restrictions on the nuclear weapons test regime and excluded an important type of pollution of the atmosphere and waters of the World Ocean.
- Since the mid-1980s, measures have been taken to protect the ozone layer of the Earth. In 1985, the Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer was adopted in Vienna (Austria). In 1987, the Convention was supplemented by the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. It provides for restrictions on the production of substances that deplete the ozone layer.
- In 1992, under the supervision of the United Nations, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was adopted at a conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to which over 180 states are parties, and in 1997 in Kyoto (Japan) the Protocol to the Convention (Kyoto Protocol) was adopted, which obliges developed countries and countries with economies in transition to reduce or stabilize greenhouse gas emissions.
- The 1979 European Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution was signed in Geneva (Switzerland) and entered into force in 1983. Additional protocols were adopted to the Convention.
Protection of flora, fauna and ecosystems:
- The Convention for the Protection of Plants, signed in Rome (Italy) in 1951.
- At the First UN Conference on the Law of the Sea in Geneva (Switzerland) in 1958, the Convention on Fishing and the Conservation of the Living Resources of the High Sea was concluded, the provisions of which were subsequently supplemented by the norms of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, on the protection of living resources.
- The Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage of 1972 provided for the cooperation of States, in particular in the field of protection of especially important natural complexes and habitats of endangered species of animals and plants.
- The Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, 1973, provides for different levels of protection for more than 33,000 species of animals and plants.
- The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, 1979.
- The 1979 Convention on the Conservation of Wild Fauna and Flora and Natural Habitats provides for measures to protect wild fauna and flora and natural habitats in Europe.
- The Convention on Biological Diversity of 1992 aims at conserving biological diversity and cooperation in the use of its components.
- In addition, there are a number of conventions and agreements on the conservation of certain species in their habitats.
Protecting spaces beyond national jurisdiction:
- The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty, signed in 1991 in Madrid (Spain), provided for the declaration of Antarctica as a “natural reserve, intended for peace and science”. It also focused on the principle of strict state control over the activities of the Antarctic expeditions of different states.
Control of dangerous substances:
This area of international environmental law contains provisions relating to the control of hazardous substances and wastes, their transboundary movement, prevention of illegal international traffic and environmentally sound disposal.
These tasks, in particular, are devoted to the following international conventions and agreements:
- European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road, concluded in Geneva (Switzerland) in 1957;
- International Code of Conduct on the Distribution and Use of Pesticides, signed in Rome (Italy) in 1985;
- The Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes, concluded at Basel (Switzerland) in 1989;
- The Convention on the Prohibition of Import into Africa and the Control of Transboundary Movements and Management of Hazardous Wastes in Africa, concluded in Bamako, Mali, in 1991;
- Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade, signed in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, in 1998;
- European Agreement on the Transport of Dangerous Goods by Inland Waterway, signed in Geneva (Switzerland) in 2000;
- Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, signed in Stockholm (Sweden) in 2001.