Because of the uniquely global nature of most environmental problems addressed by MEAs, these agreements’ effectiveness is greatly enhanced by increases in the number of States who become Parties. In the same vein, MEAs benefit from having those states that attend meetings as non-Party observers to be fully informed and educated on the agreement’s rights, benefits, and obligations.
Cooperative international efforts to increase awareness of a how an MEA functions and the advantages to be derived from its implementation are thus highly desirable. Parties can work together to inform and educate non-Parties in this regard. Moreover, international organisations such as convention secretariats and UNEP can assist in such efforts, particularly when instructed to do so by their governing bodies.
The precise relationship between Parties and non-Parties depends on the particular agreement. For example, CITES allows Parties to trade with non-Parties to the Convention, provided those non-Parties have competent authorities and use comparable documentation.
In addition to the examples below, see the case studies on “Approaches for Financial and Technical Assistance…” (following Guideline 33
) (particularly the discussion of the Finnish Trust Fund); “Transboundary EIA Guidelines around the Caspian Sea” (following Guideline 49(b)); “Assistance to New Parties to the Ramsar Convention” (following Guideline 33) (which highlights engagement of non-Parties in ongoing Ramsar activities); “Involving Non-Parties in CMS Subsidiary Agreements and MOUs” (following Guideline 11(d)).