Oxford LibGuides: Environmental Law: Treaties & related bodies

Treaties & internationally agreed policy statements

Access information on Multilateral Environmental Agreements (InforMEA)
Open Access. InforMEA is the United Nations Information Portal on Multilateral Environmental Agreements. It is a one-stop portal for information on Multilateral Environmental Agreements – or MEAs - searchable by key terms across treaty texts, COP decisions, national plans and reports, laws, court decisions and more.
UNECE : Environmental Treaties (MEAs)
Official website UNECE has negotiated five environmental conventions, also known as multilateral environmental agreements or MEAs, all of which are now in force. See more
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Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution
Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context
Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes
Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents
Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters
Status of Multi-lateral treaties relating to Envirnonmental law
Part of UN Treaties official website: MTDSG. Drill down by name of treaty/convention to see details of EIF, signatories, ratifications details etc.
International Environmental Agreements (IEA) Database Project
Maintained by the University of Oregon.
(c) Ronald B. Mitchell and the IEA Database Project, 2002-2016.
ENTRI: Environmental treaties and resource indicators
Free resource, from Columbia University: "a fast, convenient, comprehensive online service for accessing multilateral environmental treaty data. Find status data for environmental treaties, treaty text and other related information easily. Construct custom tables by selecting countries and treaties of interest to you."
UNEP: Environmental Rights and Governanec
Law Division section of official website
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Law Division is the lead Division charged with carrying out the functions of UNEP in the field of environmental law, governance and related policy issues. The Division’s work focuses on: leading the international community in the progressive development of environmental law; supporting States in the development and implementation of legal, institutional and policy measures in response to major environmental challenges; facilitating cooperation and coordination among multilateral environmental agreements and between UNEP and those agreements; working with MEA secretariats to support Parties to the respective MEAs in implementing their treaty obligations; and facilitating policy dialogue among States on issues relating to international environmental law and governance.
Council of Europe (Treaty Office)
Find Conventions on environmental issues by using the subject search facility provided by the Council of Europe Treaty Office http://conventions.coe.int/
EcoLex
Open access "ECOLEX is an information service on environmental law, operated jointly by FAO, IUCN and UNEP.
Its purpose is to build capacity worldwide by providing the most comprehensive possible global source of information on environmental law .
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This unique resource, which combines the environmental law information holdings of FAO, IUCN and UNEP, seeks to put this information at the disposal of users world-wide, in an easily accessible service, employing modern technology.

The ECOLEX database includes information on treaties, international soft-law and other non-binding policy and technical guidance documents, national legislation, judicial decisions, and law and policy literature. Users have direct access to the abstracts and indexing information about each document, as well as to the full text of most of the information provided."

UNFCCC: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
Official website
Kyoto Protocol (EIF 2009)
Official website with full text and links to related materials
The Paris Agreement (EIF 4 November 2016.) and The Paris Rulebook
Official website
Katowice climate package
Matters relating to Article 4 of the Paris Agreement and paragraphs 22–35 of decision 1/CP.21
Conference of the Parties (COP)
The COP is the supreme decision-making body of the Convention. All States that are Parties to the Convention are represented at the COP, at which they review the implementation of the Convention and any other legal instruments that the COP adopts and take decisions necessary to promote the effective implementation of the Convention, including institutional and administrative arrangements.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Official website of the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change.
Committee on Climate Change (UK)
Official website of the Committee on Climate Change (the CCC) an independent, statutory body established under the UK Climate Change Act 2008 "to advise the UK Government and Devolved Administrations on emissions targets and report to Parliament on progress made in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and preparing for climate change."

UNCLOS Part XII Protection and Preservation of the Marine Environment

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 (UNCLOS)
Link through to official UN Treaty website where full text in official languages can be downloaded free. (1833 UNTS 3) Scroll down the page to see country participants EIF 16 November 1994
List of IMO Conventions
IMO maintained portal to texts of treaties and related protocols, and status details.

International law of the sea (ILOS)
by Elizabeth Wells Last Updated Mar 25, 2025 300 views this year

Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat
Open access. Aka Ramsar Convention. 2.2.1971
as amended by the Protocol of 3.12.1982
and the Amendments of 28.5.1987
Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (1992)
aka Water Convention. The UNECE-WHO/Europe Protocol on Water and Health aims to protect human health by better water management and by reducing water-related diseases. The Protocol provides a framework to translate into practice the human rights to water and sanitation and to implement SDG 6.

Initially negotiated as a regional instrument, it has been amended to become universally available. As of March 2016, all Member States can accede to the Convention.
Protocol on Water & Health to the 1992 Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (1999)
Articles on the Law of Transboundary Aquifers
were adopted by the International Law Commission at its sixtieth session, in 2008. The General Assembly took note of the Draft Articles at its sixty-third session, in the same year.

MEAs = multilateral environmental agreements
IEAs =international environmental agreements

Elgar encyclopedia of environmental law by Series editor: Michael Faure
Call Number: Holders of an Oxford SSO can read this online via title link
ISBN: 9781786436986
Publication Date: 12 volumes, published between 2016-2023
Holders of an Oxford SSO can read this online via title link
ISBN: 9781786436986
Publication Date: 12 volumes, published between 2016-2023
Volume V: Multilateral Environmental Treaties
The Aarhus Convention : towards environmental solidarisation by Emily Barrit
Call Number: Holders of an Oxford SSO can read this online via title link
ISBN: 9781509915293
Publication Date: 2020
Authority and Legitimacy of Environmental Post-Treaty Rules by Tim Staal
Call Number: Holders of an Oxford SSO can read this online via title link.
ISBN: 9781509925568
Publication Date: 2019
The Paris Agreement on Climate Change by Daniel Klein (Editor); María Pía Carazo (Editor); Meinhard Doelle (Editor); Jane Bulmer (Editor); Andrew Higham (Editor)
Call Number: Holders of an Oxford SSO can read this online via title link.
ISBN: 0198789335
Publication Date: 2017
Print copy is at Internat 610 K63.9a
Science-Based Lawmaking : how to effectively integrate science in international environmental law by Dionysia-Theodora Avgerinopoulou
Call Number: Holders of an Oxford SSO can read this online via title link.
ISBN: 9783030214197
Publication Date: 2020

Open Access available to anyone with access to the internet

Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB)
The Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) is a balanced, timely and independent reporting service on United Nations environment and development negotiations. It is the flagship publication of the International Institute for Sustainable Development – Reporting Services Division (IISD-RS). IISD is a non-profit organization based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

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