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"Accession" is the act whereby a state accepts the offer or the opportunity to become a party to a treaty already negotiated and signed by other states. It has the same legal effect as ratification. Accession usually occurs after the treaty has entered into force. The Secretary-General of the United Nations, in his function as depositary, has also accepted accessions to ...

The instruments of "acceptance" or "approval" of a treaty have the same legal effect as ratification and consequently express the consent of a state to be bound by a treaty. In the practice of certain states acceptance and approval have been used instead of ratification when, at a national level, constitutional law does not require the treaty to be ratified by the head of ...

A generic term for treaties, conventions, protocols, and other binding instruments. This term is usually applied to instruments of a geographic scope between two states. Source(s): United Nations Information Portal on Multilateral Environmental Agreements

A binding rule or body of rules prescribed by the government of a sovereign state that holds force throughout the regions and territories within the government's dominion. In the context of international law a State party to an international treaty must ensure that its own domestic law and practice are consistent with what is required by the treaty. Source(s): United ...

Following are universities that include specialized study of World Heritage issues. You can consult the Education section of this website to learn how to contact the universities directly for more information. Africa Cameroon: Ecole de faune de Garoua/Garoua Wildlife School United Republic of Tanzania: Mweka College of African Wildlife Management Asia and the ...

The Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage is an international agreement that was adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO in 1972. It is based on the premise that certain places on Earth are of outstanding universal value and should therefore form part of the common heritage of humankind. The countries who ratify the Convention ...

The Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals, also known as the Bonn Convention, was adopted on 23 June 1979. As of 1 December 2017 the Convention on Migratory Species had 126 Parties. The CMS is a framework convention and encompasses a range of agreements, memoranda of understanding, and special species initiatives.  As an environmental treaty under the aegis of ...

A human rights-based approach is a conceptual framework for the process of human development that is normatively based on international human rights standards and operationally directed to promoting and protecting human rights. It seeks to analyse inequalities which lie at the heart of development problems and redress discriminatory practices and unjust distributions of ...

"The term ‘Indigenous peoples’ is to be understood in the context of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention (No. 169) concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries as: 1. tribal peoples in independent countries whose social, cultural and economic conditions distinguish them from other sections of the national community, and whose status ...

The United Nations Information Portal on Multilateral Environmental Agreements defines Biodiversity as: 1) Genetic diversity: the variation between individuals and between populations within a species; species diversity: the different types of plants, animals and other life forms within a region; community or ecosystem diversity: the variety of habitats found within an ...

Adaptation to climate change refers to adjustment in natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli or their effects, which moderates harm or exploits beneficial opportunities. In 1992 the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (the Earth Summit) was held in Rio de Janeiro and resulted in the establishment of the UN Framework ...

‘Climate change’ means a change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods. Source: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Article 1

Instruments for implementing a convention at the national level; includes action plans such as NBSAPs (for CBD), NAP and NAMA (for UNFCCC and UNCCD), national conservation strategies (for RAMSAR), and national implementation plans (Stockholm). Source(s): United Nations Information Portal on Multilateral Environmental Agreements

Protected areas that are strictly set aside to protect biodiversity and also possibly geological/geomorphological features, where human visitation, use and impacts are strictly controlled and limited to ensure protection of the conservation values. Such protected areas can serve as indispensable reference areas for scientific research and monitoring. Source(s): United ...

Quality of life is the notion of human welfare (well-being) measured by social indicators (such as the possibility to vote, demonstrate, or participate in political parties) rather than by “quantitative” measures of income and production (Glossary of Environment Statistics, Studies in Methods, Series F, No. 67, United Nations, New York, 1997). Source(s): World Heritage ...

The International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) is a 1951 multilateral treaty deposited with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) that aims to secure coordinated, effective action to prevent and to control the introduction and spread of pests of plants and plant products. The Convention extends beyond the protection of cultivated plants to ...

The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture was adopted by the Thirty-First Session of the Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations on 3 November 2001. The Treaty aims at: recognizing the enormous contribution of farmers to the diversity of crops that feed the world; - establishing a global system to ...

Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status. Human rights include the right to life and liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of opinion and expression, the right to work and education, and many more.  Everyone is entitled to these rights, without ...

Tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities." (United Nations World Tourism Organization) Source(s):  The World Tourism Organization’s defines sustainable tourism as: Tourism which makes optimal use of environmental resources ...

UNESCO is the only UN Agency to have a global network of national cooperating bodies known as National Commissions for UNESCO. Acting as agencies of consultation, liaison and information, and mobilizing and coordinating partnerships with national partners, including the civil society, the National Commissions make also substantial contributions in the advancement of ...