The history of international environmental law - Introduction to International Environmental Law - page 34

The 1990s witnessed the adoption of the environmental conventions of
the UN Economic Commission for Europe (with the exception of LRTAP,
which relates to long-range transboundary air pollution). The Espoo
Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary
Context 31 was adopted in 1991, and two Helsinki Conventions in 1992: the
Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and
International Lakes 32 and the Convention on the Transboundary Effects of
Industrial Accidents. 33 The Aarhus Convention 34 was signed in 1998, which
grants rights to information, to public participation and the right to appeal
against environmental decisions. The experience of the UNECE on envi-
ronmental agreements has been important for other areas of the world as
well; its membership includes a wide spectrum of states from North
America and Western Europe to Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and central
Asia. A vital protocol on environmental protection 35 was accepted in the
Antarctic Treaty in 1991, inter alia , prohibiting mining in the continent for
50 years. New global environmental agreements included the Stockholm
Convention, tackling the problem of persistent organic pollutants 36 (POPs)
in 2001, and the Rotterdam 1998 Convention on the Prior Informed
Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in
International Trade. 37
The Rio ten-year follow-up in Johannesburg - the so-called World Summit
on Sustainable Development (WSSD) - illustrated the current direction of
international environmental regulation. No agreements were adopted in
Johannesburg but it was confi rmed that the Rio Principles and Agenda 21
would continue to guide the international community toward sustainable
development. The Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable Development
and the Plan of Implemention were adopted in the WSSD. Another major
achievement was the so-called partnership agreement, which helped such
diverse international actors as businesses, indigenous peoples and states
promote sustainable development in practical ways.
It should be remembered that the processes for sustainable development
began before the WSSD. The WTO initiated the Doha Development Agenda
(DDA) in 2001 and it is still ongoing, as its progress has been challenged by
many complex issues, such as those related to free trade in agricultural products
(and to the subsidies that industrial countries grant their agricultural enter-
prises). The International Conference on Financing for Development
(Monterrey Conference) discussed the fi nancing for sustainable development,
together with the WTO, the IMF and the World Bank.
As we saw above, in comparison with the Rio Conference, Johannesburg
was a disappointment to many. The only accomplishments were a general
declaration and an agenda. Johannesburg, though, saw the beginning of
progression from words to deeds. It was vital to connect the start of the Doha
Development Agenda with a discussion about the future of environmental
protection; Monterrey actually considered improving the fi nancing for
sustainable development; and Johannesburg started to construct a new multiple