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Environmental threats do not respect national borders. Governments have realized that to avert this danger they must notify and consult each other on all major projects under consideration that might have adverse environmental impact across borders. The Espoo Convention is a key step to bringing together all stakeholders to prevent environmental damage before it occurs. The Convention entered into force in 1997 (http://www.unece.org/). Among the Arctic states, Iceland, the Russian Federation, and the US have signed but not ratified it.
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Convention No.169 is a legally binding international instrument open to ratification, which deals specifically with the rights of indigenous and tribal peoples. Today, it has been ratified by 20 countries. Once it ratifies the Convention, a country has one year to align legislation, policies and programs to the Convention before it becomes legally binding. Countries that have ratified the Convention are subject to supervision with regard to its implementation (www.ilo.org). Among the Arctic States, only Denmark and Norway have ratified it.
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As the Arctic region consists of a large Ocean surrounded by land, the Law of the Sea becomes particularly relevant in this context. UNCLOS, the United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea, is an international agreement that outlines a comprehensive regime of laws clarifying the rights and responsibilities of States in regard of the use of seas and oceans, and their resources. The treaty therefore regulates issues such as navigational rights, territorial sea limits, economic jurisdiction, legal status of resources on the seabed beyond the limits of national jurisdiction, passage of ships through narrow straits, conservation and management of living marine resources, protection of the marine environment, a marine research regime and, a more unique feature, a binding procedure for settlement of disputes between States. The US has not ratified the Convention.
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The North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) is the Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (RFMO) for the North East Atlantic, one of the most abundant fishing areas in the world. The area covered by the NEAFC Convention (i.e., Convention on Future Multilateral Cooperation in North-East Atlantic Fisheries) stretches from the southern tip of Greenland, east to the Barents Sea, and south to Portugal (see this on a map). The Convention was adopted on 18 November 1980 and entered into force in 1982. It replaced the earlier 1959 North-East Atlantic Fisheries Convention.
NEAFC’s objective is to ensure the long-term conservation and optimum utilization of the fishery resources in the Convention Area, providing sustainable economic, environmental, and social benefits. To this end, NEAFC adopts management measures for various fish stocks and control measures to ensure that they are properly implemented. NEAFC also adopts measures to protect other parts of the marine ecosystem from potential negative impacts of fisheries.
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The Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution was the first international legally binding instrument to deal with problems of air pollution on a broad regional basis. It was signed in 1979 and entered into force in 1983. It has since been extended by eight specific protocols. The Convention is one of the central means for protecting our environment. It has, over the years, served as a bridge between different political systems and as a factor of stability in years of political change. It has substantially contributed to the development of international environmental law and has created the essential framework for controlling and reducing the damage to human health and the environment caused by transboundary air pollution. It is a successful example of what can be achieved through intergovernmental cooperation (http://www.unece.org/).
- Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears, Oslo (NO), 15 November 1973
- Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES or Washington Convention), Washington, US, 1973
- International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), 16 December 1966
- UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), 16 December 1966