Global Organisations & the Environment (Edexcel A Level Geography)

Global Environmental Issues

• Global environmental issues affect everyone and agreements need to support from all nations

• The UN has/is trying to manage many of the world's environmental issues, but has seen varying success

• Over time, numerous other agencies, IGOs and agreements have come into being that deal with particular issues and environmental governance

Atmosphere

Montreal Protocol (1987)

• The Earth's atmosphere and biosphere are shared resources, (a global commons), that everyone relies on

• The ozone layer, is a thin, protective blanket of gas in the Earth's atmosphere, which absorbs the sun’s ultraviolet radiation

• In 1974, a group of scientists suggested that chemicals used in products such as aerosols, packaging and fridges, could deplete the ozone layer and increase harm to humans and wildlife on earth

• By 1985, the ozone depletion theory was proven, when a 'hole in the ozone layer' was discovered over Antarctica

• International concern over the ozone's thinning, led to previously unseen multilateral action to ban chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)

• An agreement was signed two years later and entered into force in 1989

  • Six amendments and adjustments have been made since then

• The agreement regulates the production and consumption of nearly 100 ozone depleting substances (ODS), such as CFCs, halons, HCFCs, methyl bromide and HFCs

• The agreement has been successful in reducing the global emissions of ODS and restoring the ozone layer, as well as contributing to climate change mitigation

• The Montreal Protocol was ratified (agreed) by all 197 member countries of the UN and was a first in international co-operation

• It is expected that the ozone layer will be fully recovered by 2070

• Most ODSs are also greenhouse gases, therefore, the Montreal Protocol has prevented 135 billion tonnes of CO2 greenhouse gas emissions, which makes the agreement an important contributor against global warming

Kyoto Protocol and COP21

• As an issue, climate change was first raised at the UN Earth Summit Conference of 1992

• Debates followed as to which nations should be held responsible for the majority of emissions, or if there was any evidence at all to climate change or global warming

• Eventually the Kyoto Protocol was agreed as an international treaty which committed industrialised countries, and economies in transition, to limit and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions

• Adopted 1997 and entered into force in 2005 it finally recognised that developed countries are largely responsible for the current high levels of GHG emissions in the atmosphere

• COP 21 stands for 21st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 

• Held in Paris in 2015 and resulted in a legally binding international treaty on climate change

• The Paris Agreement aims to hold the global average temperature increase to 'well below 2°C' above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit it to '1.5°C'

• The Agreement requires countries to submit their national climate action plans, known as 'nationally determined contributions (NDCs)', and update them every five years

• Overall, international co-operation on climate change has been very slow and many see it as a failure of international governance

• Critics of the Paris Agreement argue that pledges to reduce carbon emissions are not enough and cannot be enforced

Biosphere

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)

• CITES is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of international trade and organised by IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature)

• Legal trade in wild animals and plants (alive or dead) is worth an estimated US$220 billion each year

• The illegal wildlife trade is worth around US$23 billion a year and is the fourth largest illegal activity worldwide, behind only arms, drugs and human trafficking 

• It took 12 years of negotiation and was signed in 1973 by 80 countries and now has 183 countries as of 2021 

• It lists 40,000 species of animals and plants, whether traded as live specimens, fur coats or dried herbs

• It regulates trade through a system of permits and certificates issued by national authorities

• It works with other international organisations and conventions to promote conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity  

• CITES is considered a success in recording the trade in wild plants and animals and managing species that can be traded legally to protect endangered species

• However, protection of species from illegal trade is difficult to manage as goods typically cross borders between countries which requires international cooperation and is expensive to monitor

  • China still trades in illegal ivory and rhino horn for traditional medicines

  • Pangolins are believed to be the world's most trafficked mammal, accounting for as much as 20% of all illegal wildlife trade

  • Traded for their scales for use in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), but also as a luxury food in Vietnam and China

Global Environmental Laws

• IGOs have been involved in developing laws for managing oceans and international rivers, as well as monitoring the state of the environment

UN Convention on the Law of the Sea

• It is an international agreement that establishes a legal framework for all marine and maritime activities

• It was opened for signature on 10 December 1982 in Montego Bay, Jamaica, after more than 14 years of work involving participation by more than 150 countries

• It lays down a comprehensive regime of law and order in the world's oceans and seas, addressing issues such as territorial sea, exclusive economic zone, continental shelf, high seas, marine environment, marine scientific research, and dispute settlement

• It also manages the rights of 42 land-locked states

• It entered into force on 16 November 1994 and as of June 2016, 167 countries and the European Union are parties to it

• It is considered a critical part of the rules-based international system and the United Kingdom is fully committed to upholding its rules and securing the implementation of its rights and obligations

Helsinki Water Convention rules

• An international guideline regulating how rivers and their connected groundwaters that cross national boundaries may be used, adopted by the International Law Association (ILA) in Helsinki, Finland in August 1966

• Applies to all drainage basins that cross national boundaries, except where other agreement between bordering nations exists

• It covers various aspects of water management, such as allocation, pollution, navigation, fishing, hydroelectric power, etc.

• Asserts the rights of all bordering nations to an equitable share in the water resources, with reasonable consideration of past customary usage along with balancing needs and demands of bordering nations

• Provides protection against water pollution and sets recommendations for resolving disputes over usage 

• The Berlin Rules on Water Resources in 2004, updated and expanded the Helsinki Rules to reflect the developments in international water law

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA)

• The MEA assess the role ecosystems play in supporting human development through its role in providing:

  • Food

  • Cultural value

  • Water

  • Regulating climate etc.

• The MEA found that humans have altered ecosystems more rapidly and extensively in the past 50 years than in any other period, resulting in both benefits and costs for people and nature

• It also identified the main drivers of ecosystem change, the scenarios for the future, the policy responses and the knowledge gaps that need to be addressed

• It aimed to provide a scientific basis for action to conserve and sustainably use ecosystems and their services

• It identified 'ecosystem services' as a financial value, which strengthened the notion for preservation and fits into the capitalist western view of a global economic system, thereby, helping to promote its globally as worth conserving

Antarctica

• Antarctica is the highest, driest, windiest and coldest continent in the world and is the 5th largest continent and is known as the 'continent of peace and science', 

• IGO management is through the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS)

• The ATS is a set of agreements that regulate the international relations and activities in Antarctica, the only continent without a native human population 
  

• Established in 1959 by 12 countries that were active in Antarctic research during the International Geophysical Year of 1957-58

• Some of these countries had territorial claims or interests in Antarctica, but they agreed to set aside their differences for the sake of scientific cooperation and peace

• The main principles of the ATS are: 
  

  • Antarctica shall be used for peaceful purposes only, and no military activities or weapons testing are allowed

  • Antarctica shall be a natural reserve devoted to science and environmental protection, and no mineral exploitation or commercial activities are permitted (although this is due for review in 2041)

  • Scientific investigation and exchange of information shall be encouraged and facilitated in Antarctica, and all scientific observations and results shall be made available to the international community

  • The legal status of Antarctica and the respective rights and claims of the parties shall not be affected by the Treaty, and no new claims shall be asserted while the Treaty is in force

• The ATS consists of the Antarctic Treaty itself and several related agreements, such as the Protocol on Environmental Protection, the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, and the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals

• The ATS also includes various decision-making bodies, such as the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting, the Committee for Environmental Protection, and the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research

• These bodies meet regularly to discuss and adopt measures for the effective implementation of the Treaty and its objectives

• Successes of the ATS:

  • Number of countries that have signed the Treaty now stands at 56 

  • There have been no territorial disputes

  • No military activities have happened

  • Scientific research has been key in recognising atmospheric problems

International Whaling Commission (IWC) and Moratorium (IWM)

• The IWC is the global IGO charged with the conservation of and management of whaling

• It adopted the Florianópolis Declaration in 2018, which reaffirmed its commitment to the conservation of whales

• In response to the severe depletion of whale populations due to commercial whaling a moratorium came into force in 1986

• It applies to all whale species and populations, except for those hunted by Norway, Iceland and Japan, who have lodged objections or reservations to the moratorium

• It is still in place today, but its effectiveness and future are under debate

Whale sanctuary and Japan

• All forms of commercial whaling are banned in an area of 50 million km² that surrounds Antarctica, called the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary 

• There area is abundant in marine wildlife, including krill that attract migrating whales who stay in these waters to feed during the spring

• Despite a ban on all whaling in the Sanctuary, Japan’s Whale Research Program continues to hunt Minke whales

• In 2008, the Federal Court of Australia deemed Japan’s whaling illegal, yet Japan still continued whaling without any prosecution from the Australian Government

• In 2014, the Governments of Australia and New Zealand took the Government of Japan to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Netherlands where their Southern Ocean whale hunt was deemed illegal

• Despite this, the Japanese continue to whale each summer, with a 'scientific' program and self-imposed quota to kill 333 protected Minke whales each year in the Southern Ocean