Resultados experimentales

a) Basel Convention

The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal is the most comprehensive global environmental agreement on hazardous and other wastes. The Convention has 172 Parties and aims to protect human health and the environment against the adverse effects resulting from the generation, management, transboundary movements and disposal of hazardous and other wastes. The Basel Convention came into force in 1992.

In the late 1980s, a tightening of environmental regulations in industrialized countries led to a dramatic rise in the cost of hazardous waste disposal. Searching for cheaper ways to get rid of the wastes, 'toxic traders' began shipping hazardous waste to developing countries and to Eastern Europe. When this activity was revealed, international outrage led to the drafting and adoption of the Basel Convention.

A central goal of the Basel Convention is 'environmentally sound management' (ESM), the aim of which is to protect human health and the environment by minimizing hazardous waste production whenever possible. ESM means addressing the issue through an integrated life- cycle approach, which involves strong controls from the generation of a hazardous waste to its storage, transport, treatment, reuse, recycling, recovery and final disposal. Many companies have already demonstrated that cleaner production methods, which eliminate or reduce hazardous outputs, can be both economically and environmentally efficient.

Hazardous wastes comprise solid, liquid, or gas wastes that can cause death, illness or injury to people or destruction of the environment if improperly treated, stored, transported, or discarded.

The Strategic Plan for the implementation of the Basel Convention is the blueprint adopted by Parties in 2002 to give effect to the 1999 Basel Declaration on Environmentally Sound Management. It established priorities in terms of policy and programmes, selected priority waste streams and projects.

b) Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants

Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants is an international environmental

treaty that aims to eliminate or restrict the production and use of persistent organic pollutants (POPs).

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are organic chemical substances. They possess a particular combination of physical and chemical properties such that, once released into the environment, they:

remain intact for exceptionally long periods of time (many years);

become widely distributed throughout the environment as a result of natural processes involving soil, water and, most notably, air;

accumulate in the fatty tissue of living organisms, including humans, and are found at higher concentrations at higher levels in the food chain; and are toxic to both humans and wildlife. POPs concentrate in living organisms through process of bioaccumulation. Though not soluble in water, POPs are readily absorbed in fatty tissue, where concentrations can become magnified up to 70,000 times the background levels. Fish, predatory birds, mammals, and humans are high up the food chain and so absorb the greatest concentrations. Specific effects of POPs can include cancer, allergies and hypersensitivity, damage to the central and peripheral nervous systems, reproductive disorders, and disruption of the immune system. Some POPs are also considered to be endocrine disrupters, which, by altering the hormonal system, can damage the reproductive and immune systems of exposed individuals as well as their offspring; they can also have developmental and carcinogenic effects.

The Stockholm Convention, which was adopted in 2001 and entered into force on 2004, requires Parties to take measures to eliminate or reduce the release of POPs into the environment. The Convention is administered by the United Nations Environment Programme and based in Geneva, Switzerland.

c) The Ramsar Convention

The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, called the Ramsar Convention, is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. The treaty was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971 and came into force in 1975.

The Convention's mission is being:

the conservation and wise use of all wetlands through local and national actions and international cooperation, as a contribution towards achieving sustainable development throughout the world.

uses a broad definition of the types of wetlands covered in its mission, including lakes and rivers, swamps and marshes, wet grasslands and peatlands, oases, estuaries, deltas and tidal flats, near-shore marine areas, mangroves and coral reefs, and human-made sites such as fish ponds, rice paddies, reservoirs, and salt pans.

The Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance now includes 1,869 sites (known as Ramsar Sites) covering around 1,836,000 km², up from 1,021 sites in 2000. The nation with the highest number of sites is the United Kingdom at 168; the nation with the greatest area of listed wetlands is Canada, with over 130,000 km², including the Queen Maud Gulf Migratory Bird

Sanctuary at 62,800 km².

What are wetlands?

Wetlands are areas where the water table is at or near the surface of the land, or where the land is covered by water. The Ramsar Convention takes a broad approach in determining the wetlands which come under its aegis.

Five major wetland types are generally recognized:

Marine (coastal wetlands including coastal lagoons, rocky shores, and coral reefs);

Estuarine (including deltas, tidal marshes, and mangrove swamps);

Lacustrine (wetlands associated with lakes); Riverine (wetlands along rivers and streams); and Palustrine (meaning "marshy" - marshes, swamps and bogs).

Why to conserve wetlands?

Wetlands are among the world's most productive environments. They are cradles of biological diversity, providing the water and primary productivity upon which countless species of plants and animals depend for survival. They support high concentrations of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrate species. Wetlands are also important storehouses of plant genetic material. Wetlands provide tremendous economic benefits, for example: water supply (quantity and quality); fisheries (over two thirds of the world's fish harvest is linked to the health of coastal and inland wetland areas); agriculture, through the maintenance of water tables and nutrient retention in floodplains; timber production; energy resources, such as peat and plant matter; wildlife resources; transport; and recreation and tourism opportunities.

d) Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES)

CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement between governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.

A specimen of a CITES-listed species may be imported into or exported (or re-exported) from a State party to the Convention only if the appropriate document has been obtained and presented for clearance at the port of entry or exit. There is some variation of the requirements from one country to another and it is always necessary to check on the national laws that may be stricter. Roughly 5,000 species of animals and 28,000 species of plants are protected by CITES against over-exploitation through international trade. They include some whole groups, such as primates, cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises), sea turtles, parrots, corals, cacti and orchids.

e) Vienna Convention (adopted in 1985, entered into force in 1988)

The Vienna Conference was the first international conference on ozone layer depletion. It aims at:

1. Protect human health and the environment against adverse effects resulting from human activities: The ultimate objective of the Convention is to protect human health and the environment against adverse effects resulting from human activities which modify or are likely to modify the ozone layer and urges the Parties to take appropriate measures in accordance with the provisions in the Convention and its Protocols which are in force for that Party.

2. Cooperate for better understanding: To achieve the aforementioned objectives, the Parties, within their capabilities, are expected to: cooperate to better understand and assess the effects of human activities on the ozone layer and the effects of the modification of the ozone layer; adopt appropriate measures and cooperate in harmonizing appropriate policies to control the activities that are causing the modification of the ozone layer; cooperate in the formulation of agreed measures for the implementation of this Convention; and cooperate with competent international bodies to implement effectively this Convention and protocols to which they are party.

What is Ozone?

Ozone is a form of oxygen. Oxygen occurs in three different forms in the atmosphere; as oxygen atoms (O), as oxygen molecules (O₂) and as zone (O₃). Ozone's unique physical properties allow the ozone layer to act as our planet's sunscreen, providing an invisible filter to help protect all life forms from the sun's damaging UV (ultraviolet)rays. Most incoming UV radiation is absorbed by ozone and prevented from reaching the Earth's surface. Without the protective effect of ozone, life on Earth would not have evolved the way it has.

What is Ozone Depletion?

Ozone depletion occurs when the natural balance between the production and destruction of stratospheric ozone is tipped in favour of destruction.Although natural phenomenon can cause temporary ozone loss,

chlorine and bromine released from synthetic compounds is now accepted as the main cause of a net loss of stratospheric ozone in many parts of the world since 1980.There is strong evidence that global ozone depletion is occuring. The evidence is in the observations of the Antratic ozone "hole"and atmospheric records indicating seasonal declines in global ozone levels.

f) The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete Ozone Layer (adopted, 1987; entered into force, 1989)

The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete Ozone Layer is a protocol under the Vienna Convention. The Montreal Protocol stipulates that the production and consumption of compounds that deplete ozone in the stratosphere--chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), halons, carbon tetrachloride, and methyl chloroform--are to be phased out.

Further the 'Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol' provides funds to help developing countries to phase out the use of ozone-depleting substances. Funds are used, for example, to finance the conversion of existing manufacturing processes, train personnel, pay royalties and patent rights on new technologies, and establish national ozone offices.

g) Convention On Biological Diversity

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is an international legally-binding treaty with three main goals: conservation of

biodiversity; sustainable use of biodiversity; fair and equitable sharing of the benefits

arising from the use of genetic resources. Its overall objective is to encourage actions which will lead to sustainable future. The conservation of biodiversity is a common concern of humankind. The Convention on Biological Diversity Covers biodiversity at all levels:

ecosystems, species and genetic resources. It consists of two main protocols:

The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity is an international treaty governing the movements of living modified organisms (LMOs) resulting from modern biotechnology from one country to another. It was adopted on 29 January 2000 as a supplementary agreement to the

Convention on Biological Diversity and entered into force on 11 September 2003.

The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity is an international agreement which aims at sharing the benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources in a fair and equitable way, including by appropriate access to genetic resources and

by appropriate transfer of relevant technologies, taking into account all rights over those resources and to technologies, and by appropriate funding, thereby contributing to the conservation of biological diversity and the sustainable use of its components. It was adopted by the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity at its tenth meeting on 29 October 2010 in Nagoya, Japan.