Yearbook of International Cooperation on Environment and Development 2001-02

Olav Schram Stokke, Oystein B. Thommessen

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781134071494
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: International Relations
• Index: Politics & International Relations

'This Yearbook clearly fills many gaps and provides reliable and well-researched information'
Klaus Töpfer, Executive Director, UN Environment Programme (UNEP)

'The key updates on conventions and organizations are complemented by a series of proactive essays by leading environmentalists on the cutting-edge issues. This edition is an important source book in advance of the World Summit for Sustainable Development 2002'
Nigel Cross, Executive Director, International Institute for Environment and Development (UNEP)

The essential reference to all the rapidly multiplying international agreements on environment and development issues. This ninth annual edition of the Yearbook demonstrates the international community's position on specific environment and development problems, the main obstacles to effective international solutions, and how to overcome them. It assesses both the achievements and shortcomings of co-operation, distinguishing between the rhetoric and the reality of environment world politics.

Contents
* Current Issues and Key Themes
* Agreements on Environment and Development
Systematically listed key data and illustrations concerning the most important international agreements presented on the basis of information from the organizations in question and other sources, covering such matters as:
objectives? scope? time and place of establishment? status of participation? affiliated instruments and organizations? major activities? secretariat? finance? rules and standards? monitoring and implementation? decision-making bodies? key publications? Internet sources.
This edition includes the new Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants and the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity.
* Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs), including UN specialized agencies
objectives? type of organization? membership? date of establishment? secretariat? activities? decision-making bodies? finance? key publications? Internet sources.
* International Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs)
* objectives? type of organization? membership? date of establishment? secretariat? activities? budget? key publications? Internet sources.
* Country Profiles
Summaries of the performance and main commitments of all OECD countries in addition to Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, the Russian Federation, South Africa, and Thailand.

Originally published in 2001

AGREEMENTS ON ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT

Note to this section regarding adoption and status of participation of agreements

The terms used in this section, denoting various stages in the status of participation related to international agreements, are legal-technical ones, based on the Law of Treaties as contained in the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties and in the 1986 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties between States and International Organizations or between International Organizations, as well as in customary international law. To provide easier reference for readers who are not lawyers, some basic explanations of terms used in the treaty-making process are here provided.

Upon the negotiation of a treaty, there are often several stages required before it enters into force:

• Adoption is the formal act by which the form and content of a proposed treaty text are established. As a general rule, the adoption of the text of a treaty takes place through the expression of the consent of the states participating in the treaty-making process. As a rule, however, adoption does not yet mean a consent of a state to be bound by a treaty.

• Signature may sometimes be definitive, meaning that it establishes the consent of the state to be bound by the treaty. This is usual in most bilateral treaties. For multilateral treaties, however, the signature is as a rule not definitive, meaning that the treaty is subject to ratification, acceptance, or approval in order to enter into force. Although in those cases the signature does not establish the consent to be bound, it is a means of authentication and expresses the willingness of the signatory state to continue the treaty-making process (i.e. to proceed to ratification, acceptance, or approval). It also creates an obligation to refrain, in good faith, from acts that would defeat the object and the purpose of the treaty.

• Ratification defines an international act whereby a state indicates its consent to be bound to a treaty if the parties intended to show their consent by such an act. In the case of multilateral treaties the usual procedure is for the state to notify the depositary of its ratification; the depositary keeps all parties informed of the situation regarding ratifications. The institution of ratification grants states the necessary time-frame to seek the required approval for the treaty on the domestic level and to enact the necessary legislation to give domestic effect to that treaty.

• Acceptance or approval have the same legal effect as ratification and consequently express the consent of a state to be bound by a treaty. In the practice of certain states, acceptance and approval have been used instead of ratification when, at a national level, constitutional law does not require the treaty to be ratified by the head of state.

• Act of formal confirmation is used as an equivalent for the term ‘ratification’ when an international organization expresses its consent to be bound to a treaty.

• Entry into force of an international treaty does not necessarily coincide with its ratification (acceptance, approval) by individual states. It is common for multilateral treaties to provide for a fixed number of states to express their consent for entry into force. Some treaties provide for additional conditions to be satisfied, e.g. by specifying that a certain category of states must be among the consenters. The treaty may also provide for an additional time period to elapse after the required number of countries have expressed their consent or the conditions have been satisfied. A treaty enters into force for those states which gave the required consent. A treaty may also provide that, upon certain conditions having been met, it shall come into force provisionally.

• Accession is the act whereby a state accepts the offer or the opportunity to become a party to a treaty already negotiated and signed by other states. It has the same legal effect as ratification. Accession usually occurs after the treaty has entered into force. The conditions under which accession may occur and the procedure involved depend on the provisions of the treaty; a treaty might provide for the accession of all other states or for a limited and defined number of states.

Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Århus Convention)

Objectives

To guarantee the rights of access to information, public participation in decision making, and access to justice in environmental matters in order to contribute to the protection of the right of every person of present and future generations to live in an environment adequate to his or her health and well-being.

Scope

Legal scope

Open to member countries of the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), regional economic integration organizations constituted by sovereign States members of the UNECE (e.g. the European Union), other states having consultative status with the UNECE, and any other States members of the UN.

Geographic scope

Regional. UNECE region (Europe and North America). Potentially global.

Time and place of adoption

25 June 1998, Århus.

Entry into force

Not yet in force. Enters into force on the ninetieth day after the date of deposit of the sixteenth instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval, or accession. Expected to enter into force in the latter half of 2001.

Status of participation

13 ratifications, approvals, acceptances, or accessions by 29 June 2001. 31 Signatories, including the European Community, without ratification, acceptance, or approval.

The Secretary-General of the UN acts as depositary.

Affiliated instruments and organizations

The Convention also contains two annexes which form an integral part of the Convention.

Co-ordination with related instruments

No formal co-ordination yet, but mechanisms for co-ordination are expected to be developed with other UNECE environmental conventions having provisions on public participation, in particular the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context, the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes, and the Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents (see this section).

Secretariat

UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE),

Environment and Human Settlements Division (ENHS),

Bureau 332,

Palais des Nations,

CH-1211 Geneva 10,

Switzerland

Telephone: [phone]

Telefax: [phone]/9170634

E-mail: [email protected]

Secretary to the Convention

Mr Jeremy Wates.

Finance

To be decided by the first Meeting of the Parties.

Rules and standards

The Convention requires Parties to ensure that the public has access to environmental information, can participate in environmental decision-making, and have access to a review procedure before a court of law or an independent and impartial body in environmental matters.

The general provisions of the Convention cover aspects important for the implementation of the Convention, such as compatibility among its elements, guidance to the public in taking advantage of it, environmental education and awareness-building, and support to groups promoting environmental protection. The general provisions make it clear that the Convention is a floor, not a ceiling. Parties may introduce measures for broader access to information, more extensive public participation in decision-making, and wider access to justice in environmental matters than required by the Convention. The Convention also makes it clear that existing rights and protection beyond those of the Convention may be preserved. Finally, the general provisions call for the promotion of the Århus principles in international decision-making processes and organizations.

The Convention stands on three ‘pillars’: access to information, public participation, and access to justice. Access to information stands as the first pillar. The first part of the pillar concerns the right of the public to seek information from public authorities and the obligation of public authorities to provide information in response to a request. The second part of the information pillar concerns the right of the public to receive information and the obligation of authorities to collect and disseminate information of public interest without the need for a specific request.

The second pillar of the Convention is the public-participation pillar. It relies upon the other two pillars for its effectiveness—the information pillar to ensure that the public can participate in an informed fashion, and the access-to-justice pillar to ensure that participation happens in reality and not just on paper. The public-participation pillar is divided into three parts. The first part lays down quite detailed rules concerning the participation by the public that may be affected by or is otherwise interested in decision-making on a specific activity; the activities are listed in Annex I to the Convention. The second and third parts concern in less detail the participation of the public in the development of plans, programmes, and policies relating to the environment and of laws, rules, and legally binding norms.

The third pillar of the Convention is the access-to-justice pillar. It enforces both the information and the participation pillars in domestic legal systems, and strengthens enforcement of domestic environmental law. Specific provisions enforce the provisions of the Convention that convey rights onto member of the public. The access-to-justice pillar also provides a mechanism for the public to enforce environmental law directly.

Monitoring/implementation

Review procedure

The Parties to the Convention shall keep under continuous review the implementation of the Convention and, with this purpose in mind:

• review the policies for and legal and methodological approaches to access to information, public participation in decision making, and access to justice in environmental matters, with a view to further improving them;

• exchange information regarding experience gained in concluding and implementing bilateral and multilateral agreements or other arrangements having relevance to the purposes of the Convention and to which one or more of the Parties are a party;

• seek, where appropriate, the services of competent international bodies and scientific committees in methodological and technical aspects.

The Meeting of the Parties shall establish, on a consensus basis, optional arrangements of a non-confrontational, non-judicial, and consultative nature for reviewing compliance with the provisions of the Convention. These arrangements shall allow for appropriate public involvement and may include the option of considering communications from members of the public on matters related to the Convention. The first meeting of the Parties is expected to adopt a decision by which a compliance mechanism will be established.

Dispute-settlement mechanisms

If a dispute arises between two or more Parties about the interpretation or application of the Convention, they shall seek a solution by negotiation or by any other method of dispute settlement acceptable to the parties to the dispute.

Decision-making bodies

Political

Pending the entry into force, the Meeting of the Signatories operating under the UNECE Committee on Environmental Policy is the body to discuss and make recommendations concerning the future of the Convention. Two meetings of Signatories have been held in 1999 and 2000.

After the Convention enters into force, the Meeting of the Parties will become the supreme authority. The first meeting of the Parties shall be convened no later than one year after the entry into force of the Convention. A meeting has been scheduled to take place in Geneva from 28 to 30 November 2001 to prepare for the first meeting of the Parties which is expected to take place in autumn 2002. Thereafter, ordinary meetings of the Parties shall be held at least once every two years.

The Meeting of the Parties shall by consensus agree upon and adopt at its first meeting rules of procedure. It may consider, as necessary, establishing on a consensus basis financial arrangements.

The Meeting of the Parties shall keep under continuous review the implementation of the Convention (see Monitoring/ implementation, above), harmonize policies with other ECE bodies and other competent international bodies, establish subsidiary bodies, prepare protocols and amendments to the Convention, and undertake additional actions.

National and international agencies and qualified NGOs may attend the Meetings of the Parties as observers and contribute to its work.

Scientific/technical

The second meeting of the Signatories established three intergovernmental working groups dealing with compliance and rules of procedure, pollutant release and transfer registers (PRTR), and genetically modified organisms respectively, as well as task forces on access to justice and electronic tools.

Publications

Up-to-date information is available from the Secretariat.

Sources on the Internet

<http://www.unece.org/env/pp>

Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context (Espoo Convention)

Objectives

•...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Halftitle
• Title
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Contributors to this Yearbook
• Introduction
• CURRENT ISSUES AND KEY THEMES
• AGREEMENTS ON ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT
• INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS (IGOS)
• NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS (NGOS)
• COUNTRY PROFILES
• Index
• List of Articles in 1992-2001/02 Volumes