Conventions and strategies

Ecosystems, habitats and species are often spread across national borders. The destruction of natural assets or the overuse of certain species in one nation has a negative impact on the status of these species in neighbouring countries or even, in some cases, on a global scale.

International conventions for nature conservation help countries to reach agreements on joint actions. Like many other international treaties they are commonly known by the city where they were signed.

Global conventions
Convention on Biological Diversity 

Convention on Wetlands of Global Importance 

World Heritage Convention 

The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals 

Convention on International Trade with Endangered Species — CITES 


Regional level conventions
Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats 

The Emerald Network  


European initiatives
Pan-European Biological and Landscape Diversity Strategy 

Parks for Life 


International designations for protected areas that are not legally binding:

Biosphere reserves <www.unesco.org/mab/> (coordinated by UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme)

Biogenetic reserves <www.nature.coe.int/english/cadres/
biodiv.htm> (a long-standing programme of the Council of Europe)

These solid initiatives have inevitably lost ground to the legal designations, as managers of protected areas struggle to keep up with the plethora of instruments and programmes to which they can commit their sites.

Education and awareness
Environmental education is a relatively new discipline, but it is growing in importance as people realise the seriousness of biodiversity loss. The imperative of education is stressed in all major international conservation strategies, including the Convention on Biological Diversity and Agenda 21.

There is a clear call for environmental education to train and promote environmentally responsible citizens. People need to understand ecological systems in order to decide how to best use natural resources.

In an increasingly interdependent world, international cooperation has become more and more complex on both governmental and non-governmental levels. A process of integration is needed to harmonise disparate policy instruments that have similar goals and to bring organisations together as partners that have common objectives.