Database of Selected Environmental Treaties

A table of detailed country membership to selected environmental treaties in the Asia-Pacific Region can be found here.

Air Pollution:

Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution
Open for signature: 13 November 1979
Entered into force: 16 March 1983 
http://www.opcw.org/html/db/cwc/more/long_range_air1979.html

• Protocol on the Reduction of Sulphur Emissions:
  The 1985 Helsinki Protocol on the Reduction of Sulphur Emissions or their Transboundary Fluxes by at least 30 per cent - Helsinki
  Open for signature: 14 June 1994
  Entered into force: 5 August 1998
  http://www.unece.org/env/lrtap/sulf_h1.htm
  
• Protocol on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs):
  The 1998 Aarhus Protocol on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) - Aarhus
  Open for signature: 24 June 1998
  Entered into force: 23 October 2003
  http://www.unece.org/env/lrtap/pops_h1.htm
  
• Protocol concerning the Control of Emissions of Nitrogen Oxides: The 1988 Sofia Protocol concerning the Control of Emissions of Nitrogen Oxides or their Transboundary Fluxes- Sofia
  Open for signature: 31 October 1988
  Entered into force: 14 February 1991
  http://www.unece.org/env/lrtap/nitr_h1.htm
  

Antarctic:

The Antarctic Treaty - Washington D.C.
Open for signature: 1 December 1959
Entered into force: 23 June 1961
http://www.nsf.gov/od/opp/antarct/anttrty.jsp

• Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty - Washington D.C.
  Open for signature: 4 October 1991
  Entered into force: 14 January 1998
  http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/About_Antarctica/Treaty/protocol.html  
• Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR)
  Open for signature: 5 May 1980
  Entered into force: 7 April 1982
  http://www.ccamlr.org/pu/e/e_pubs/bd/toc.htm  
• Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals - London
  Open for signature: 1 June 1972
  Entered into force: 11 March 1978
  http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/About_Antarctica/Treaty/Seals.html   

Biodiversity/Biosafety:

Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) - Rio de Janeiro
Open for signature: 5 June 1992  
Entered into force: 29 December 1993
http://www.biodiv.org/convention/articles.asp

• Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety - Montreal
  Open for signature: 15 May 2000
  Entered into force: 11 September 2003
  http://www.biodiv.org/biosafety/protocol.asp
  

Climate Change: 

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
Open for signature: 9 May 1992
Entered into force: 21 March 1994
http://unfccc.int/essential_background/convention/background/items/2853.php

• Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol - Kyoto
  Open for signature: 16 March 1998
  Entered into force: 23 February 2005
  http://unfccc.int/essential_background/kyoto_protocol/background/items/1351.php
  

Desertification (Regional Implementation Annex for Asia):

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) - Paris
Open for signature: 14 October 1994
Entered into force: 26 December 1996
http://www.unccd.int/convention/text/convention.php?annexNo=2

Endangered Species:

Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) - Washington
Open for signature: 3 March 1973
Entered into force: 1 July 1975
http://www.cites.org/eng/disc/text.shtml

Environmental Modification:

Convention on the Prohibition of Military or Any Other Hostile Use of Environmental Modification Techniques (ENMOD) - Geneva
Open for signature: 10 December 1976
Entered into force: 5 October 1978
http://www.opcw.org/html/db/cwc/more/enmod.html

Hazardous Wastes:

Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal (UNEP Basel Convention)- Basel
Open for signature: 22 March 1989
Entered into force: 5 May 1992
http://www.basel.int/text/con-e.htm

Law of the Sea:

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOS) - Montego Bay
Open for signature: 10 December 1982
Entered into force: 16 November 1994
http://www.un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/texts/unclos/closindx.htm

Marine Dumping:

Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping Wastes and Other Matter (London Convention) - London
Open for signature: 29 December 1972
Entered into force: 30 August 1975
http://www.londonconvention.org/documents/lc72/lc1972.doc

Marine Life Conservation:

Convention on Fishing and Conservation of Living Resources of the High Seas - Geneva
Open for signature: 29 April 1958
Entered into force: 20 March 1966
http://www.un.org/law/ilc/texts/fish.htm

Ozone Layer Protection:

The Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer - Montreal
Open for signature: 16 September 1987
Entered into force: 1 January 1989
http://www.unep.org/ozone/Treaties_and_Ratification/2B_montreal_protocol.asp

Prior Informed Consent:

The Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade, 2004 -Rotterdam
Open for signature: 11 September 1998
Entered into force: 24 February 2004
http://www.pic.int/en/ViewPage.asp?id=104

Ship Pollution:

Protocol of 1978 Relating to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973 (MARPOL) 
Open for signature: 17 February 1978
Entered into force: 2 October 1983
http://www.imo.org/Conventions/contents.asp?doc_id=678&topic_id=258

Sustainable development:

Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future
Annex to UN General Assembly Resolution 42/187
Adopted on 11 December 1987
http://www.un-documents.net/wced-ocf.htm

Rio Declaration on Environment and Development
UN General Assembly Resolution A/CONF.151/26 (Vol.1)
Adopted on 12 August 1992
http://www.un.org/documents/ga/conf151/aconf15126-1annex1.htm 

Tropical Timber:

International Tropical Timber Agreement, 1983 - Geneva
Open for signature: 18 November 1983
Entered into force: 1 April 1985
http://sedac.ciesin.org/entri/texts/tropical.timber.1983.html

International Tropical Timber Agreement, 1994 - Geneva
Open for signature: 26 January 1994
Entered into force: 1 January 1997
http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/entri/texts/ITTA.1994.txt.html  

Wetlands:

Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat - Ramsar
Open for signature: 2 February 1971
Entered into force: 21 December 1975
http://www.ramsar.org/key_conv_e.htm

Whaling:

International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICW) - Washington D.C.
Open for signature: 2 December 1946
Entered into force: 10 November 1948
http://www.iwcoffice.org/commission/convention.htm#convention