Environmental protocols: what they are and examples

The environmental protocols establish agreements and initiatives aimed at regulation of different environmental problems that affect both the health of people and the survival of other living beings and their habitats. These protocols can be designed as national and international agreementswith the aim of improving the environmental living conditions of a specific region or, on the contrary, at a global level.

Each and every one of the different environmental protocols that human beings have drafted throughout history have legal support, that is, they are based on the application of different laws and regulations that guarantee the correct fulfillment of the objectives detailed in each protocol.

Thus, various international government organizations, such as the United Nations (UN) and the World Trade Organization (WTO), are responsible for managing and reviewing the legal and mandatory compliance with environmental protocolsby all the countries that have participated and have committed to the objectives of said environmental protocols.

Let’s see below some examples of the most important and outstanding environmental protocols, many of them being essential in the final objective of protecting the environment, living beings and planet Earth as a whole.

Numerous and various environmental protocols have been established until today, with the purpose of protecting life on Earth and ensure survival of future generations of the different species that inhabit the planet. These environmental protocols include:

• Madrid Protocol (Spain, 1991) on the protection of the Environment of the Antarctic Treaty. In this other Evidence Network article we talk about the Antarctic Treaty: what it is and what it establishes.
• Cartagena Protocol (Colombia, 1999) on Biotechnological Safety. Here you can learn more about it: Cartagena Protocol: what is its objective and signatory countries.
• Gothenburg Protocol (Germany, 1999) on the reduction of acidification, eutrophication and ozone in the troposphere.
• Aarhus Protocol (Denmark, 1998) regarding heavy metals.
• Helsinki Protocol (Finland, 1985) to reduce sulfur emissions.
• Montreal Protocol (Canada, 1989) relating to substances that deplete the ozone layer. If you want more information about this, you can enter this other post about the Montreal Protocol: what it is, participating countries and objectives.
• Kyoto Protocol (Japan, 1997) on climate change and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

The famous and world-known Kyoto Protocol It is an environmental protocol that was drafted by the UNFCCC or United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. It is an agreement made between several countries or nations, that is, it is international. Specifically, 187 countries from around the world committed to reduce emissions of 6 of the main GHGs or greenhouse gases that cause the great acceleration of global warming: methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), carbon dioxide (CO2) and three fluorinated industrial gases, which are hydrofluorocarbons (HFC), perfluorocarbons (PFC) and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). The Kyoto Protocol was drafted in the city of the same name (Kyoto, Japan) in 1990, although it did not come into force until 2005.

To learn more about this, we recommend reading this other article in which we explain in more detail what the Kyoto protocol consists of.

The international initiative carried out by the Gothenburg Protocol (Germany) in 1999, had as its objective the reduction of acidification and eutrophicationas well as the ozone present in the troposphere.

It came into force in 2005, becoming one of the most prominent environmental protocols focused on the control and reduction of emissions of gases such as sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), volatile organic compounds (VOC) and ammonia (NH3); caused by different anthropogenic activities, which entail dangerous harmful effects on health, natural ecosystems, and crops.

Within the environmental protocols focused on the protection and conservation of a single specific region of the planet, the Madrid Protocol. This is a complementary protocol to the previously signed one. Antarctic Treatywhich focuses on expanding the environmental protection of the continent of Antarcticawith special interest in the ecosystems associated with the white continent.

The Madrid Protocol was signed in the Spanish capital in 1991, coming into force in 1998 and pending review until 2048. Its main objectives include the prohibition of all exploitation of the mineral resources of Antarctica (except for scientific research), as well as the evaluation and monitoring of each and every one of the different activities carried out on the continent, including tourism.

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