International environmental law

 International environmental law covers many different environmental issues concerning the global environment including climate change, biodiversity and water. The emergence of international environmental law is an acknowledgement of the fact that reducing human impacts on the environment requires extensive international cooperation, as many of the problems affecting the environment are global in nature.  

 The application of international environmental law usually takes the form of legally-binding international agreements, treaties and protocols. An agreement only comes into force once is has been developed through extensive consultation and negotiation, signed (optional and only indicates an intention to ratify), ratified (final approval and adoption) and then finally implemented through the domestic law of each country. The degree of enforcement relies on the capacity and commitment of each country, especially when considering the limited authority of international courts and tribunals.    

Climate Change

 In recent years, global warming has become the most debated environmental issue at the international level. This is due to the potentially devastating consequences of global warming and fears of the economic implications associated with facing up to the problem. While the scientific community and governments around the world now agree that greenhouse gas emissions produced by human activities are contributing to global warming, there are still several impediments to the development of a solid, binding legal agreement to reduce harmful emissions. Firstly, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has not yet provided the basis for the implementation of effective strategies applied by all countries. Secondly, developing countries also require additional considerations to developed countries due to the host of other environmental problems they have to deal with which affect the livelihoods of their people. The fact that developing countries also produce significantly less harmful emissions per capita than the developed world also needs to be factored in to any legally binding agreement. 

 In 1992, most countries joined an international treaty, The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), to begin to consider what can be done to reduce global warming and to cope with whatever temperature increases are inevitable. This treaty eventually led to the Kyoto Protocol which is the first and only binding international agreement that sets targets to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change. The Protocol was originally adopted in Kyoto, Japan in 1997 but only came into force in 2005. So while the Convention encouraged industrialised countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, the Protocol commits them to do so.   

 The Protocol places a heavier burden on developed nations under the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities”. This is recognition of the fact that developed countries are principally responsible for the current high levels of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere as a result of more than 150 years of industrial activity.

 Under the agreement, industrialised countries agree to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 5% against 1990 levels over the five-year period 2008-2012. Each country that signed the Protocol agreed to its own specific target and some countries with low emissions were permitted to increase them. 

 Until recently, several countries including the Unites States, Russia and Australia had not ratified the protocol. In 2005, Russia ratified the protocol and in 2007 after a change of government, Australia did so also. That left the United States as one of the only industrialised countries not in support of the protocol, which is particularly significant given that the US is responsible for approximately ¼ of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.

 With a newly elected government now in office in the United States, the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December 2009 and with the Kyoto Protocol ending in 2012, it is likely that the global community including the United States will now be looking to begin establishing the framework for a new international and legally binding treaty for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Only time will tell what happens next on this very important issue.

 Biodiversity

The conservation of biodiversity is of increasing importance at the international level. A number of legal instruments deal with the various facets of biodiversity. The central treaty is the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity (produced at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) which provides an overall legal framework for addressing biodiversity management. A number of other treaties address some aspects of global biodiversity management including:

• The 1946 International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling
• The 1973 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)
• The 2006 Tropical Timber Agreement

CITES is of particular relevance to Tibet, given the high number of species which have suffered severely as a result of illegal poaching in recent decades. Combined with other factors such as habitat loss, the illegal trade in endangered species is capable of heavily depleting populations and bringing some species to the brink of extinction. Many species now have small and fragmented populations with a limited number of individuals and these are the most susceptible to the effects of illegal poaching.

The trade is diverse, ranging form live animals and plants to a vast array of wildlife products derived from them, including food products, medicines, skins and pelts. The existence of an international agreement to control the exploitation of endangered species is crucial in order to safe guard these resources for the future. CITES works by subjecting international trade in specimens of selected species to certain controls. Any importation or exportation of CITES listed species has to be authorised through a licensing system.

The international trade in animals and animal parts has grown alarmingly in recent decades, particularly in India, China and Tibet. The Chiru (Tibetan antelope) has seen a dramatic decline in numbers as a result of illegal poaching. Estimates suggest that the population was 1 million or more at the beginning of the 1900’s, but by the mid 90’s, Chiru numbers had been reduced to less than 75,000, due principally to poaching. The Chiru’s wool, considered the finest in the world is used for ‘shahtoosh’ shawls which are sold on the black market, including European and US markets. Although the antelope is protected under both Chinese law and international law (CITES), wildlife officials are outnumbered by poachers and often unable to prevent the slaughter of large numbers of Chiru at a time, with bloody carcasses left scattered throughout the Tibetan grasslands. 

CITES and domestic law enforcement in Tibet can not be relied on alone to save the Chiru from extinction. The solution also requires strict legislation and law enforcement within countries where demand for the wool fuels the killing of this species. A promising development occurred in 2006 in the United States when the US Fish and Wildlife Service listed the Tibetan antelope as an endangered species under the authority of the Endangered Species Act. Although CITES prohibits the importation of Chiru into the US for commercial purposes, a strong black market in shahtoosh shawls persists. The addition of the Chiru to the endangered species list strengthens protective measures by prohibiting the import, export and interstate and foreign commerce of the Chiru and its products.

In addition to CITES and strictly enforced domestic laws in all countries, ongoing efforts need to be made to in the area of education and awareness campaigns to save this species and other endangered Tibetan animal species from extinction.   

 Water

There has been increasing concern at the global level in relation to fresh water resources which are becoming increasingly scarce. The world’s population tripled in the 20^th century and is expected to increase by 40-50% over the next 50 years. This population growth, coupled with industrialisation and urbanisation will result in ever increasing demand for fresh water and will have serious consequences on the environment.   

It is currently estimated that over a billion people in the developing world do not have access to safe drinking water and approximately 4,000 children die everyday from water borne diseases.

According to a March 2007 report from the global environmental organisation World Wildlife Fund (WWF), four of the world’s most endangered rivers are Tibetan. Downstream, these rivers become some of the world’s best known and include the Yangtze and Mekong. Threats to these rivers systems include dams, pollution, over use of surface water and ground water resources, proposed water diversion projects, over fishing and climate change.   

If water resources are over-exploited or polluted in countries in the upstream regions of a river system, then countries down stream will obviously suffer the consequences. This can lead to arguments and conflict in regards to the responsibilities of upstream nations. Given that almost half the world’s population relies on rivers which originate in Tibet, it is of critical importance that Tibet’s water resources are protected.

The United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s) is a global partnership adopted in 2000, which aims to achieve 8 measurable goals in areas including poverty, education, health, environment and sustainable access to clean and potable water. Almost 200 Countries, including China, agreed to achieve goals in these areas by 2015. Access to safe drinking water is a universal right, one of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s), and in order to make real progress in this area, it is essential that the rich water resources in Tibet, which almost half the world’s population rely on, are protected from pollution and exploitation. Safe drinking water for people and the protection of the world’s river systems go hand in hand. If we are to ensure that not only Tibetans, but the billions of people living throughout east, south and south-east Asia have access to safe drinking water, then it is essential that Tibet’s great river systems are managed sustainably, both now and into the future.