Info Nuggets

Ramsar Convention

The Ramsar Convention (The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, especially as Waterfowl Habitat) is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands, i.e., to stem the progressive encroachment on and loss of wetlands now and in the future, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural, scientific, and recreational value. It is named after the town of Ramsar in Iran.

The convention was developed and adopted by participating nations at a meeting in Ramsar, Mazandaran, Iran on February 2, 1971, hosted by the Iranian Department of Environment, and came into force on December, 21 1975.

The Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance now includes 1,950 sites (known as Ramsar Sites) covering around 1,900,000 km2 (730,000 sq mi), up from 1,021 sites in 2000. The nation with the highest number of sites is the United Kingdom at 168; the nation with the greatest area of listed wetlands is Canada, with over 130,000 km2 (50,000 sq mi), including the Queen Maud Gulf Migratory Bird Sanctuary at 62,800 km2 (24,200 sq mi).

Presently there are 161 contracting parties, up from 119 in 1999 and from 21 initial signatory nations in 1971. Signatories meet every three years as the Conference of the Contracting Parties (COP), the first held in Cagliari, Italy in 1981. Amendments to the original convention have been agreed to in Paris (in 1982) and Regina (in 1987).

There is a standing committee, a scientific review panel, and a secretariat. The headquarters is located in Gland, Switzerland, shared with the IUCN.

Earth Summit

The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the Rio Summit, Rio Conference, Earth Summit (Portuguese: Eco ‘92) was a major United Nations conference held in Rio de Janeiro from 3 June to 14 June 1992. In 2012, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development was also held in Rio, and is also commonly called Rio 20 or Rio Earth Summit 2012. was held June 20-22^nd.

Kyoto Protocol

The Kyoto Protocol is a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC or FCCC) that set binding obligations on the industrialised countries to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases. The UNFCCC is an international environmental treaty with the goal of achieving the “stabilisation of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.”

The Protocol was initially adopted on 11 December 1997 in Kyoto, Japan, and entered into force on 16 February 2005. As of Sept 2011, 191 states have signed and ratified the protocol. The only remaining signatory not to have ratified the protocol is the US. Other United Nations member states which did not ratify the protocol are Afghanistan, Andorra and South Sudan. In Dec 2011, Canada withdrew from the Protocol.

Under the Kyoto Protocol, 37 industrialized countries and the European Community (the European Union-15, made up of 15 states at the time of the Kyoto negotiations) commit themselves to limit or reduce their emissions of four greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulphur hexafluoride) and two groups of gases (hydrofluoro carbons & perfluorocarbons). All member countries give general commitments.