Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer
Examining the background of this Convention, one must first take a closer look at the need for it on the international scale that requires multilateral efforts and the institutionalization of the measures proposed in the Convention to be made a part of the domestic law of the party nations and protocols to be established to ensure regular updates of the Convention in light of the dynamic scientific progress. The depletion of the ozone layer is predominantly caused by the presence of CFC in the atmosphere. These harmful gases are produced in huge amounts by industries and households, which causes the depletion of the ozone layer to the extent that a hole in the layer has directly posed a threat to Antarctica. The impact of the depletion of the ozone layer not only threatens the human life, but is also harmful to the environment and to all living species. Cancer rates are expected to rise drastically due to this, the same as the rates of malaria and other infectious diseases that constitute the major threat to the human health and life. Secondly, the environment as a whole can be considerably damaged. The food chain of plants would be affected and this would lead to their life cycles being changed. Oceans will be hit hard as well. Other ecosystems, such as forests and deserts, will also be harmed. The affect on animals is particularly vexing, since it is difficult to predict. The planets climate could also be affected by changing wind patterns in many adverse ways. (26026, 1999)
Since this is a global phenomenon and the one that no country would be able to deal with alone, it would be futile for nation states to act individually, thus in 1985 the international community came together to draft a potential solution to the problem at hand. It outlines the need for nations of the world to take appropriate measures in working toward the Conventions ultimate goal of protecting the human life and the environment against the adverse effects of modifications of the ozone layer that occur as a result of human activities. Provisions of the Convention and its protocols are to be taken up by the member states to ensure the execution of these appropriate measures. The Convention places the most considerable emphasis on the need for cooperation and communication between party states and lays out an entire framework that would facilitate the smooth interaction of relevant information and scientific research and development. This framework that has been set up aims to harmonize appropriate policies to control activities that threaten to modify the ozone layer in an unfavorable manner to assist cooperation in the formulation of agreed measures for the implementation of this Convention and to increase cooperation with competent international bodies to implement effectively this Convention and protocols to which they are party. (UNESCAP, 2003)
In 1974, scientists published their first scientific hypotheses that chemicals people produced could harm the stratospheric ozone layer. The ozone layer protects the Earth against the excessive ultraviolet radiation, which could cause damage and mutations in the human, plant, and animal cells. The scientists found that the chlorofluorocarbon gases (CFC), which were widely used and viewed as posing no harm, could migrate to the stratosphere, remain intact for decades to centuries, and by releasing chlorine, break down the ozone layer.
In 1977, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) concluded the World Plan of Action on the Ozone Layer, which called for the intensive international research and monitoring of the ozone layer, and in 1981, UNEPs Governing Council authorized UNEP to draft a global framework convention on stratospheric ozone protection. The Vienna Convention, concluded in 1985, is a framework agreement in which States agree to cooperate in relevant research and scientific assessments of the ozone problem, to exchange information, and to adopt appropriate measures to prevent activities that harm the ozone layer. The obligations are general and contain no specific limits on chemicals that deplete the ozone layer.
During the Vienna Convention negotiations, countries discussed a possible protocol that would provide specific targets for certain chemicals, but no consensus was reached. The UNEP regional seas agreements had provided a precedent in which States negotiated a framework convention and at least one protocol, which countries were required to ratify at the time they joined the convention. The Vienna Convention went forward on its own, however, and was opened for signature in March, 1985. A working group under UNEP began negotiations on a protocol, and the Montreal Protocol was concluded in September, 1987, only nine months after the formal diplomatic negotiations opened in December, 1986. It went into effect on January 1, 1989. A State must be party to the Vienna Convention in order to become a party to the Montreal Protocol. The Vienna Convention and the Montreal Protocol established the precedent in UNEP for completing a framework agreement, followed later by one or more Protocols. This precedent has been used frequently since then, as in the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on the Biological Diversity. (Codification Division, Office of Legal Affairs - UN, 2008)
The ozone agreements are remarkable, in that they are the first acts to address the long-term problem, in which the cause of the damage occurs today, but the effects are not evident for decades hence. Decisions were taken on the basis of probabilities, since damage had not yet occurred. Since scientific understanding of the problem would change, the agreements needed to be flexible and capable of being adapted to accommodate new scientific assessments. No single country or group of countries could address the problem of the ozone layer depletion alone, so maximum international cooperation was needed.
To further substantiate the effectiveness of this treaty we should now examine The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete Ozone Layer which is a protocol under the Vienna Convention. The Protocol controls the production and consumption of the most commercially and environmentally significant ozone-depleting substances - those listed in the Annexes to the Protocol. One feature of the Montreal Protocol which makes it unique is Article 6 that requires the control measures to be revised at least every four years (starting 1990), based on the review and assessment of latest available-information on scientific, environmental, technical and economic aspects of the depletion of ozone layer. Based on reports of assessment panels appointed by the Parties and taking into consideration the needs and situation of the developing countries, the Protocol has already been adjusted and amended twice.
Conclusion
Having set a precedent for the future long term initiatives towards the betterment of the environment, this was a particularly iportant study that displayed the necessity of the combined multilateral efforts with an intelligent ability for developing frameworks to solve global crises.
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