Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
of companies have also established partnerships with conservation groups, and these are
beginning to deliver real 'on-the-ground' conservation outcomes.
Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)
Years in negotiation, the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea ( www.
un.org/Depts/los/IYO/UNCLOS ) is a comprehensive framework for regulating our use,
development, and preservation of the vast marine areas, including mining and other
mineral development in the ocean. The treaty establishes two different mining regimes.
Mineral resources generally within 200 miles of shore are under the exclusive sovereignty
of the coastal States. In these areas (about one-third of all oceans) national laws control
mining access, environmental protection, and other requirements. Environmental protec-
tion provisions require States to adopt laws and regulations to control all forms of pollu-
tion within their areas of national jurisdiction, as well as monitoring and environmental
assessment.
The other two-thirds of the ocean (termed the 'International Seabed Area') are beyond
this national jurisdiction and are governed by this treaty under a unique 'global commons'
regime, the benefits of mining and other development to be shared among all nations. To
accomplish this, the Convention established the 'International Sea Bed Authority' (ISA)
( www.isa.org.jm ) with the power to permit and control all mining exploration and activ-
ity in the International Seabed Area. While ratified by 100 countries as of 1996, an almost
equal number (including the United States and other developed nations) have so far not
become parties, chiefly because of the Convention's deep seabed mining provisions.
The Convention on Climate Change
The 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( www.unfccc.de )
and the 1997 Kyoto Protocol provide a comprehensive approach for controlling green-
house gases (GHG), those chemicals, chiefly carbon dioxide and methane, which form
a heat-trapping layer in the upper atmosphere and are commonly believed to contribute
to global warming. In force since 2005, the GHG reduction rules will have a pro-
found effect on the mining industry to the extent that its processes release CO 2 , methane,
and other GHGs.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)
The 1961 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and
Flora (CITES), in force since 1975, is one of the earlier international environmental agree-
ments. Under this trade agreement, each country is supposed to establish its own system
to control movement of wildlife exports and imports. Species are separated into three
classes: Class I are species threatened with extinction, in which commercial trade is banned
and non-commercial trade regulated; Class II are species that become threatened if trade
is not held to levels consistent with biological processes; and Class III are species that are
not currently threatened but for which international cooperation is appropriate, and for
which trade requires permits. Beside CITES, the International Union for Conservation of
Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) lists a total of more than 15,000 endangered and
threatened species, including nearly one-quarter of all known bird varieties. While the min-
ing industry is not involved in wildlife trade, a CITES or IUCN listing of an endangered
or threatened species present at a proposed mine site, would provide significant leverage to
stakeholders opposing the mine proposal. It is also widely recognized that improved access
 
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