Lecture
At present, the depletion of natural resources, environmental pollution, and disruption of ecological balance have acquired a global scale. Nature knows no state borders — it is universal and unified. All the main ecological problems of humanity, such as the greenhouse effect, destruction of the ozone shield, deforestation, soil degradation, decline of the biosphere's biological diversity, radioactive and other forms of pollution, exhaustion of mineral resources, and so on, are global in nature. Preventing the global ecological crisis from turning into a catastrophe is possible only through the joint efforts of all humanity.
Objects of environmental protection are divided into national and international ones.
National (domestic) objects of environmental i protection — land, waters, subsoil, biota, and other elements of the natural environment within the territory of a state. They are owned and administered by the state to which they belong. The state uses, protects, and manages them on the basis of its own laws in the interests of its peoples.
International (worldwide) objects of environmental protection. — natural objects that lie outside the jurisdiction of individual national states. They are divided into several groups:
1. objects used by all states (atmospheric air, the World Ocean, Antarctica, outer space);
2. objects used by two or several states (for example, boundary waters, the Baltic or Black Sea, the Danube River); 0 objects that move across the territory of various countries (migratory animal species). These objects are developed and protected on the basis of various treaties, conventions, and protocols reflecting the joint efforts of the international community.
3. In addition, there is another category of international environmental objects that is protected and managed by states but has been placed under international registration. It includes:
natural objects of unique value placed under international control (nature reserves, national parks, reservations, natural monuments);
rare and endangered species of animals and plants listed in the international Red Book;
shared natural resources that are used, permanently or for a significant part of the year, by two or more states (the Danube River, the Baltic Sea, etc.).
Outer space. The international Treaties on the use of outer space proclaim the inadmissibility of national appropriation of parts of outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, the inadmissibility of harmful effects on outer space and its pollution, and also set out conditions for the rescue of astronauts. The Treaty on the Limitation of Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems and the Soviet-American agreements on the limitation of strategic offensive arms (SALT) were of great importance in limiting the military use of outer space.
The World Ocean (the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Arctic Oceans and their associated seas) contains an enormous quantity of mineral resources, biological resources, and energy. Its transport significance is great. Development of the World Ocean must be carried out in the interests of all humanity. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (1973) recognizes the sovereign right of coastal states to biological resources within 200-mile coastal zones. The inviolability of the principle of free navigation has been confirmed (with the exception of territorial waters, whose outer boundary is set at a distance of 12 miles from the shore).
Antarctica is rightly called the continent of peace and international cooperation. The Antarctic Treaty (1959) proclaims freedom of scientific research, the use of this continent solely for peaceful purposes, and defines the international legal regime of Antarctica. New, stricter measures for protecting flora and fauna, waste removal, and pollution prevention are reflected in the Protocol signed in October 1991 in Madrid following the results of international cooperation in Antarctica.
Atmospheric air. The efforts of the international community are aimed mainly at preventing and eliminating the transboundary transport of atmospheric pollutants and protecting the ozone layer from destruction. International relations on these matters are regulated by the 1979 Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution, the Montreal (1987) and Vienna (1985) agreements on the ozone layer, the Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents (1992), and other agreed documents.
The forms of international cooperation in the field of environmental protection are varied:
international organizations for nature protection;
international (bilateral or multilateral) treaties, agreements, conventions;
state initiatives for international cooperation.
International organizations for nature protection. At present, more than 100 different international organizations dealing with environmental issues operate in the world.
The most authoritative of them — the United Nations (UN). One of the most important areas of its activity is cooperation in the field of nature protection. The UN considers important questions at the General Assembly, adopts resolutions and declarations, and holds international meetings and conferences. The UN has developed and adopted special principles for the protection of the human environment, in particular in the Declaration of the UN Stockholm Conference (1972) and in the World Charter for Nature (1982).
Specialized international organizations for environmental protection operate under the UN.
The Special UN Body for the Environment (UNEP) carries out a long-term environmental protection program, for the financing of which the UN General Assembly established the Environment Fund.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) carries out the «Nuclear Safety and Environmental Protection» program.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) organizes research into the environment and its resources; it has approved the «Man and the Biosphere» and «Man and His Environment» programs.
The World Health Organization (WHO) deals with problems of environmental hygiene and the fight against atmospheric air pollution.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) deals with issues of food security for individual countries and the world as a whole.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) promotes cooperation between governments, national and international organizations, and individuals on matters of nature protection and conservation of natural resources. The IUCN has prepared the International Red Data Book (10 volumes).
International treaties, agreements, and conventions — are an important instrument of cooperation. A distinction is made between general and special treaties, multilateral and bilateral, global and
regional ones. They are prepared and considered on the initiative of an individual country (countries) or an international organization.
General international legal treaties may also touch upon matters of the natural environment. For example, treaties on the regime of the state border typically contain articles devoted to the regime of border water bodies and the protection of vegetation and wildlife.
Special environmental international treaties contain articles solely on environmental protection.
Global treaties include the Convention on the Prohibition of Military or Any Other Hostile Use of Environmental Modification Techniques (1977), the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (1979), and the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (1979).
Among the regional treaties one can name the treaties on the use and protection of the Danube and the Black Sea; the treaties of European countries (EEC); the African Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (1968); the Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea Against Pollution (1976); the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (1980); the Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears (1974); the Convention on Fishing in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean (1959); the Convention on Fishing and Conservation of the Living Resources in the Baltic Sea and the Belts (1973); the Agreement for Cooperation in Dealing with Pollution of the North Sea by Oil (1969).
Of particular importance are international treaties on limiting, reducing, and banning tests of nuclear, bacteriological, and chemical weapons in various environments and regions. In 1996 the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty was solemnly signed at the UN.
State initiatives for international cooperation in the field of environmental protection are also of important international significance. Our country has put forward a number of constructive proposals for international cooperation for the purposes of environmental security, for example, on the protection of the Baltic marine environment (Murmansk, 1987),
on environmental cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region (Krasnoyarsk, 1988), and on the coordination of efforts in the field of ecology under the auspices of the UN (43rd session of the UN General Assembly, 1988). International cooperation in the field of environmental protection influences national legislation. Here the principle of the priority of international legal norms over norms of national law applies.
International cooperation in the field of environmental protection is regulated by international environmental law. It is based on principles and norms universally recognized by the world community. In the history of the formation of the basic ecological principles of international cooperation, the following key stages can be identified.
1. The UN Conference on the Human Environment (Stockholm, 1972). Based on the results of the conference's work, a Declaration was adopted defining the strategic goals and directions of action of the world community in the field of environmental protection. The Declaration contained 26 basic principles of protection of the human environment.
In addition, June 5 was proclaimed World Environment Day. A permanent UN body for the environment (UNEP) was established, with headquarters in Nairobi (Kenya).
2. The World Charter for Nature (WCN), approved by the UN General Assembly (1982). It reaffirmed and further developed the most important principles of international cooperation in the field of environmental protection. There became 27 such principles. The World Charter for Nature defined the priority directions of the international community's environmental activity for that period.
3. The UN Conference on Environment and Development (Rio de Janeiro, 1992). It was attended by 114 heads of state and representatives of 1,600 non-governmental organizations. This is the largest environmental forum in human history. For the first time, the heads of state and government of various countries agreed on ways to solve the most important global
ecological problems, including fundamental changes in the economy and social sphere. For the first time, the priority of humanity's ecological interests over economic ones was universally recognized.
Five basic documents were approved at the conference: the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development; Agenda 21; the Statement of Principles on the Management, Conservation, and Sustainable Development of All Types of Forests; the Framework Convention on Climate Change; and the Convention on Biological Diversity.
One of the most important outcomes of the Conference was the adoption of the concept (strategy) of sustainable development. Sustainable development is understood as the simultaneous solution of economic and ecological problems. The purpose of the strategy is not to replace national environmental protection programs, but to provide basic guidelines.
4. The World Summit on Sustainable Development, «Rio+10» (Johannesburg (South Africa), 2002). The summit summed up the results of the first decade of the world community's movement along the path of sustainable development. According to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, many of the decisions on environmental protection adopted in Brazil went unfulfilled, globalization did not benefit most of humanity despite overall economic growth, and aid to developing countries decreased. One of the final documents adopted at the summit was the «Plan to Combat Poverty and Preserve the Environment».
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