U.S. Participation in International Fora, Treaties, and Conventions Promoting Biodiversity Conservation
The United States is a signatory of several multilateral environmental agreements. These include:
The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD)
This international convention addresses the problems of land degradation in the world’s drylands, caused primarily by human activities and climatic variations. The U.S. ratified the convention in 2000.
More information about the CCD is available at http://www.unccd.int.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)
The goal of this international agreement is to ensure that the survival of wild animals and plants is not threatened by international trade. The convention has been in force for almost 30 years. Today the convention accords varying degrees of protection to more than 30,000 species of flora and fauna. The U.S. ratified CITES in 1974.
More information on CITES is available at http://www.cites.org.
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
Adopted in 1992 at the Rio Summit, UNFCC is the centerpiece of global efforts to combat global warming. The convention aims to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. The U.S. ratified the convention in 1992.
More information on the UNFCC is available at http://unfccc.int/.
Ramsar Convention
The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971, is an intergovernmental treaty that provides a framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. There are presently 138 Contracting Parties to the convention. The U.S. ratified the convention in 1986.
More information on the Ramsar Convention is available at http://www.ramsar.org.
The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
Launched in 1992 at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (the Rio Summit), the three main goals of the CBD include: the conservation of biodiversity, sustainable use of the components of biodiversity, and sharing the benefits arising from the commercial and other utilization of genetic resources in a fair and equitable way.
The convention is legally binding, and countries that join it are obliged to implement its provisions, such as reporting on what has been done to implement the accord and effectiveness of these activities. The U.S. signed the treaty in 1993, but has not yet ratified.
More information about the CBD is available at http://www.biodiv.org.
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