Environment and climate change statistics for Latin America and the Caribbean

Adopted at the third United Nations World Conference held in Sendai, Japan, on March 18, 2015. This is the result of a series of stakeholder consultations that began in March 2012 and intergovernmental negotiations that took place between July 2014 and March 2015, with the support of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, at the request of the United Nations General Assembly. The Sendai Framework is the successor instrument to the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015: Enhancing the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters. The Hyogo Framework for Action was designed to give further impetus to global work on the International Framework for Action of the 1989 International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction and the Yokohama Strategy for a Safer World: Guidelines for prevention of natural disasters, preparation for disasters and mitigation of their effects, adopted in 1994, as well as its Plan of Action, and the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction of 1999.

The Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) was held from September 1-4, 2014 in Apia, Samoa. The Conference resulted in the adoption of the Small Island Developing States Accelerated Modalities of Action, or SAMOA Pathway, and the announcement of 300 multi-stakeholder partnerships in support of SIDS. It also established a unique Intergovernmental Partnership Framework for SIDS, designed to monitor the progress of existing ones and stimulate the launch of new, genuine and lasting partnerships for the sustainable development of SIDS.

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was adopted at the Earth Summit in 1992 and has been ratified by all 33 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. The CBD's goal is to conserve biological diversity through the sustainable use of its components and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources. The Convention recognizes the critical role of women in the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity and affirms the need for full participation of women, at all levels, in the formulation and implementation of biodiversity conservation policies

The Cartagena Protocol, in force since September 2003, was adopted as a complementary agreement to the Convention on Biological Diversity. The Protocol seeks to protect biological diversity by managing the movements of Live Modified Organisms resulting from the application of modern technology (LMOs) between countries. It establishes a procedure for prior informed agreement to ensure countries have the necessary information to make decisions about the importing of LMOs into their territory.

The Convention on Wetlands is the intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. The Convention was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971 and came into force in 1975. Since then, almost 90% of UN member states, from all the world’s geographic regions, have acceded to become “Contracting Parties”.

The convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), in force since 1983, is the only global convention focussed on the conservation of migratory species, their habitats and their migration routes. CMS establishes obligations for all States Members of the Convention and promotes concerted action among the Range States of many endangered migratory species and encourages those States to create further global or regional agreements. The CMS thus acts as a framework convention.

In October 2000, the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC), in its Resolution 2000/35 established the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF), a subsidiary body with the main objective to promote “… the management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests and to strengthen long-term political commitment to this end…” based on the Rio Declaration, the Forest Principles, Chapter 11 of Agenda 21 and the outcome of the IPF/IFF Processes and other key milestones of international forest policy.
The Forum has universal membership, and is composed of all Member States of the United Nations and specialized agencies.

Several countries of the American Continent agreed on a series of actions to protect and conserve turtles throughout the region. These agreements are the basis of the Inter-American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles (CIT). After years of negotiation sessions facilitated by exhaustive work and by providing suggestions for moving forward, from the Executive Directorate of OLDEPESCA, which were held in Lima, Caracas, Mazatlán and Bahía, it was possible to sign in 2001 in the city of Salvador , Brazil, the Inter-American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles. Source: Carlos Mazal, Executive Director OLDEPESCA 1993-2002.

The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal was adopted in response to strong public protest in the 1980s, following the discovery of toxic waste deposits in developing countries from abroad. The agreement, in force since May 1992, seeks to protect the health of people and the environment from the harmful effects of hazardous wastes. The provisions of the Convention revolve around the reduction of hazardous waste generation and the promotion of the environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes, the restriction of transboundary movements of hazardous wastes, and the application of a regulatory system for permissible movements of hazardous waste.

The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants came into force in 2004. It aims to protect human health and the environment from Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). The Convention requires Parties to take steps to eliminate or reduce the production, use, import, export and emissions into the environment of POPs and includes provisions on access to information, public awareness, training and participation in the development of implementation plans. El texto del Convenio de Estocolmo fue adoptado por la Conferencia de Plenipotenciarios (Estocolmo, 22 de mayo de 2001) y entró en vigor el 17 de mayo de 2004. El texto fue posteriormente enmendado por la Conferencia de las Partes en su cuarta reunión (Ginebra, 4 - 8 de mayo de 2009), quinta reunión (Ginebra, 25 - 29 de abril de 2011), sexta reunión (Ginebra, 28 de abril - 10 de mayo de 2013), séptima reunión (Ginebra, 4 - 15 de mayo de 2015) y en su octava reunión (Ginebra, 24 Abril - 5 de mayo de 2017).

The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer of the Vienna Convention has been ratified by all 33 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. Since its entry into force in 1989 and in response to technological advances, the Protocol has been adjusted six times and modified four. Both the Convention and the Protocol (including the four amendments) have universal participation. The Protocol’s objective is to establish limits in the production and consumption of the principal chemicals that destroy the ozone layer that protects the Earth. The Protocol also contributes to global efforts to combat climate change given that most ozone-depleting substances eliminated though the Protocol are also significant greenhouse gases.

The Rotterdam Convention entered into force in 2004. It aims to promote shared responsibility and cooperation among Parties in addressing the international trade of certain hazardous chemicals, in order to protect human health and the environment from potential harm. The agreement establishes a prior informed consent (ICC) procedure for the import of hazardous chemicals.

The Minamata Convention, in force since August 2017, was adopted at the 2013 Plenipotentiary Conference in Kumamoto, Japan. The aim of this global treaty is to protect human health and the environment from anthropogenic and other releases of mercury and mercury compounds. It includes provisions on public information, environmental education, promotion of participation and capacity building.

The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) was established in 1994 to protect and restore our land and ensure a safer, just, and more sustainable future.
The UNCCD is the only legally binding framework set up to address desertification and the effects of drought. There are 197 Parties to the Convention, including 196 country Parties and the European Union. The Convention – based on the principles of participation, partnership and decentralization – is a multilateral commitment to mitigate the impact of land degradation, and protect our land so we can provide food, water, shelter and economic opportunity to all people.

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea was adopted in 1982. It lays down a comprehensive regime of law and order in the world's oceans and seas establishing rules governing all uses of the oceans and their resources. It embodies in one instrument traditional rules for the uses of the oceans and at the same time introduces new legal concepts and regimes and addresses new concerns. The Convention also provides the framework for further development of specific areas of the law of the sea.

The main purpose of the Agreement is to create a framework for regional cooperation to promote and facilitate the sustainable management of marine and coastal resources in the countries of the Northeast Pacific, for the benefit of present and future generations in the region. Republic of Guatemala, February 2002.

The World Program of Action aims to prevent the degradation of the marine environment derived from activities carried out on land, facilitating the fulfillment of the obligation that States have to reserve and protect it. It is designed to assist States in adopting individually or jointly, in accordance with their policies, priorities and resources, measures to prevent, reduce, control and/or eliminate the degradation of the marine environment, as well as to ensure that recover from the effects of activities carried out on land. The achievement of the objectives of the Program of Action will contribute to maintaining and, where appropriate, restoring the productive capacity and biological diversity of the marine environment, as well as ensuring the protection of human health and promoting the conservation and sustainable use of marine resources. living seamen. UNEP(OCA)/LBA/IG.2/7.

The overall goal is wise use, development and management of the coastal and marine environment so as to obtain the utmost long-term benefits for the human populations of the region, while protecting human health, ecological integrity and the region’s sustainability for future generations.