Canada`s multilateral environmental agreements include air, biodiversity and ecosystems, chemicals and waste, climate change, environmental cooperation, seas and oceans, and meteorology. [17] Canada took an initiative because of the diversity of the country`s natural resources, climate and populated regions, all of which can contribute to environmental stress. Global environmental issues that MEAs should address include: biodiversity loss, adverse effects of climate change, ozone depletion, hazardous waste, organic pollutants, marine pollution, trade in endangered species, destruction of wetlands, etc. MEAs are international agreements signed by many (more than two) States Parties. This contrasts with bilateral agreements (only between two states), which generally do not fall under the term MEA. Appendix II of CMS contains species with unfavourable conservation status that would benefit significantly from the international cooperation that could be achieved through international agreements on their conservation and management. Currently, there are also twelve individual agreements under CMS, which explicitly target marine taxonomic groups such as turtles, whales, dolphins, sharks, dugongs, albatrosses and petrels. Multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) are agreements between three or more states that help solve specific environmental problems at the national, regional and global levels. Examples include pollution of rivers and seas that are part of several countries (e.g. B, the Mediterranean or the Great Lakes in the United States and Canada), and air pollution distributed by one or more countries in several other countries (for example. B, sulphur dioxide and dust from power stations in Europe). With little or no administrative power, the protocols are successful in increasing government concerns, improving the contracting environment, and increasing capacity through asset transfer. But as long as sovereignty is intact, environmental protocols will not affect changes in the face of state or public apathy, guarantee national action, or happen overnight.

Progress in international environmental law, as Wiener suggests, could be slow but steady, like the turtle. [11] The main instruments of international law for cooperation between countries on a wide range of global environmental challenges are international conventions and treaties on the environment and natural resources, also known as multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs). In 2002, the EAC Summit of Heads of State and Government decided that the EAC should negotiate regional and multilateral issues as a whole. The draft framework for joint participation and implementation of regional and multilateral environmental agreements (MAAs) has been finalized. The objective of this framework is to guide EAC Partner States in the implementation of various multilateral environmental agreements to which Partner States have acceded. As a United Nations environmental treaty, CMS provides a global platform for the conservation and sustainable use of migratory animals and their habitats. This treaty of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) aims to facilitate close cooperation in the conservation of migratory species between countries crossed by these animals during their annual voyages. Among the species that do so and are listed in the appendices to the Convention are many marine mammals, sea turtles, fish and seabirds. CMS actively participates in many species-specific global and regional activities, but also in a variety of broader environmental issues in the ocean, such as. B unsustainable fisheries, including by-catch, ship strikes, marine noise and marine pollution, including marine litter. MEAs are agreements between states that can take the form of ”soft law,” which establishes non-legally binding principles to which parties are bound when taking action to address a particular environmental problem, or a ”strict law,” which establishes legally binding measures to achieve an environmental objective. The World Trade Organization participated in the EMA negotiations because of the trade implications of the agreements.

The organization has trade and environmental policies that promote the protection and preservation of the environment. The aim is to reduce trade barriers and coordinate trade-related measures with environmental policy. [13] By protecting and preserving the environment, multilateral environmental organizations can help ease trade restrictions. [14] WTO principles are based on non-discrimination, free trade by removing barriers to trade and fair competition, and multilateral environmental agreements have been rejected because they are not consistent with WTO principles. The WTO cooperates with and implements more than 350 multilateral development protection agreements. [Citation needed] Most agreements involve five key countries committed to improving the environment and free trade. [15] WTO members are legally obliged to comply with the negotiated elimination of trade barriers. [15] However, trade restrictions have led to conflicts. [15] The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) hosts the secretariats of many important multilateral environmental agreements and research institutions that bring together nations and the environmental community to address the greatest challenges of our time. Click here to learn more about MEAs. Many internationally traded marine species are highly migratory, meaning they swim long distances and often cross national borders.

Their preservation can only be achieved if nations work together. This is where CITES comes in. The agreement provides a legal framework to regulate international trade in species, ensure their sustainability and promote cooperation among CITES members, also known as CITES Parties. .