Environmental IGOs

Geography: Edexcel A Level, topic 11.4.5

IGOs have been created to tackle lots of different environmental issues around the world. The issues that IGOs have tried to address are:

The Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the Ozone Layer banned the use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).
CFCs were often found in fridges and freezers before the Montreal Protocol.
Climate change conferences have also tried to reduce the human impact on global warming. The UN's IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) has tried to work towards collective agreements on things like carbon dioxide emissions under the Kyoto Protocol and at the COP21 Agreement in Paris.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is an agreement between different national governments to try to control the trade of animals and plants.
The Arabian Oryx is the national animal of the UAE and Qatar. CITES' interventions have helped improve the species' chances of survival.
However, CITES has been fairly uninfluential in the illegal trade in ivory and rhino horn. Poachers and underground deals are endangering the Rhino species.

The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) seeks to manage navigational rights (shipping routes), offshore waters, seabed resources and ocean areas.
The UNCLOS also manages the rights of the 42 land-locked states in the world.
It encourages 'rights of transit' for landlocked states to 'gain access to the sea'. This affects landlocked nations like Liechtenstein, Hungary and Bolivia.

The UN Convention on the Protection and Use of Trans-boundary Watercourses and International Lakes (The Water Convention) seeks to protect and ensure the quantity, quality and sustainable use of trans-boundary water by cooperation.

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) attempts to assess the role ecosystems play in supporting human development e.g. providing food, regulating global climate and water resources and providing cultural value.

The Governance of Antarctica

Antarctica was claimed and is now shared by 7 different nations - the UK, Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand and Norway.

The ATS banned all military activity on Antarctica and made it a zone free of nuclear tests. The disposal of radioactive waste on Antarctica is forbidden.
The ATS also promoted international scientific research on Antarctica, guaranteeing every state the right to establish research stations.
Ice cores from Antarctica have been vital in supporting the case for human-caused climate change.
The ATS set aside any disputes over the land on the continent of Antarctica.

The Madrid Protocol was an extension of the ATS.
The Madrid Protocol also banned mining activities on Antarctica, except if mining was done for scientific research purposes.

The International Whaling Commission (IWC) and the Moratorium (IWM) manage whaling and whale stocks in Antarctica.