Manual on Compliance with and Enforcement of Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs)
After decades of developing environmental treaties, protocols and other Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs), the international community is turning its attention to ensuring that these instruments are complied with and effectively enforced. The need for this new focus is clear: many countries are struggling to implement their environmental commitments under the numerous agreements to which they are party.
To assist countries in addressing the many challenges facing them, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has produced a comprehensive “Manual on Compliance with and Enforcement of Multilateral Environmental Agreements”. This Manual was launched in Geneva on the occasion of festivities to commemorate the World Environment Day 2006 in early June.
The Manual is intended to be used by a wide audience: treaty negotiators, political officials, lawyers, police, customs officers, researchers, and legal drafters in governmental, non-governmental, academic, and professional institutions.
Considering the breadth of topics and audiences entailed, the Manual is a reference tool. It is structured as an annotated commentary to the UNEP Guidelines on Compliance with and Enforcement of MEAs and uses clear, simple language. It provides explanatory text, case studies, checklists, references to additional resources, and annexes with supplementary information.
The Manual also highlights experiences from around the world in negotiating, implementing, and enforcing MEAs at the national, regional, and global levels. In many instances, the case studies included represent innovative approaches toward compliance and enforcement. In some instances, though, the case studies are illustrative of a particular approach, and are not necessarily unique to that particular country or region. Moreover, the Manual reflects the premise of the Guidelines that each MEA is unique and that the implementation situation of each Party is different.
Annexes appended to the Manual include different types of information to supplement the Manual, including on the development of the Guidelines, different sources on particular MEAs, relevant contacts, including contacts for obtaining more information on specific experiences and approaches highlighted in the Manual, selected publications and Internet references, and negotiating blocs.
Upcoming: The Manual On-line
The online version of UNEP‘s Manual on Compliance with and Enforcement of MEAs will enhance the availability, ease-of-use, and functionality of the Manual by allowing users to access various parts of the Manual in a nonlinear fashion, search through its various components using any term that matches their interests, and navigate the document in a manner more closely suited to their actual needs and circumstances. The Manual website will engage new users, underscore linkages among related sections of the Manual, and facilitate access to the case studies and other resources. Furthermore, the online version of the Manual will be a unique Internet resource, providing professionals, experts, and researchers with a quickly accessible “ready reference” on information related to compliance with and enforcement of MEAs.
Upcoming: The Manual on CD-ROM
Similarly to the online version, the CD-ROM of UNEP‘s Manual on Compliance with and Enforcement of MEAs will provide users with dynamic methods of interacting with the Manual and for accessing the content most relevant to each user‘s unique interests. The CD-ROM version of the Manual has a variety of beneficial applications, including serving as a convenient and low-cost method of distributing the Manual at meetings and providing interactive access to the Manual for users who do not have regular access to the Internet.