Document Type

Article

Disciplines

International Law

Abstract

Environmental issues are handled continuously by two principal means at an international level; individual nation states can enter into treaties and conventions with one another or they can collaborate in the activities of international organizations. The United Nations' conference on the human environment held in Stockholm in 1972 established the United Nations Environment Programme [UNEP] as the principal international organization working in the environmental field. A number of other international organizations also began adopting environmental programmes at about the same time. These included the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe [UNECE], and the Council of Europe and the World Health Organization [WHO]. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development [OECD]' is the principal organization linking countries of the Western world, and the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance and Development [CMEA] links countries of the Eastern bloc. In order for these organizations to go beyond the mere exchange of information and to place obligations on nation states, it is necessary for the nation states to enter into a treaty or convention. Treaties formally are entered into between the "sovereigns" of the nation states and fall within the realm of foreign policy. The number of multilateral conventions concerned with the environment recently has grown rapidly and 118 conventions now are listed by UNEP.

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