The delegates of the World Heritage Committee at the meeting in Bonn, Germany in 2014. The Chairperson of the Committee and the UNESCO secretariat are at the top left side below the big screen.
Relevance of international conventions for MPA management
Some of the representatives of the 21 State Parties that collectively comprise the World Heritage Committee at the meeting in St Petersburg, Russia in 2012.
Australia is a signatory to a wide range of international conventions/frameworks relevant to MPAs; the main ones are listed in Resources below and include global and regional conventions and treaties as well as bilateral agreements.
The fundamental basis for international law and conventions is mutual respect and recognition of the laws and executive Acts of other state parties.
• Note the term ‘state party’ is used in many international conventions instead of ‘nation’ or ‘country’ – but don’t confuse the term with federal states or territories.
Some of the obligations arising from these international conventions have been incorporated into Australian domestic law (e.g. some provisions of key international Conventions addressing significant matters such as World Heritage, are incorporated into Australia’s national environmental legislation, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999).
How much international conventions impact on various countries will vary according to the regulatory, legal and political context of the country in question, whether that country is a party to the relevant conventions or agreements, and whether these have been implemented at the national level.
• The range of international instruments, in conjunction with domestic (national) legislation and to a lesser extent, Queensland (State) legislation, collectively give the GBR very strong legal protection.
• International law may be relevant to interpreting domestic (national) legislation and may assist if there is an ambiguity in domestic law.
• Once a country has signed and ratified an international convention, there are international obligations with which that country must comply; however, enforcement of non-compliant nations by the global community is not easy.
• The level and detail of reporting on international obligations varies; some examples are shown in ‘Resources’ below.
• The ‘precautionary approach’ has become widely accepted as a fundamental principle of international environmental law and is now widely reflected in Australian environmental law and policy.
• Some of the issues facing coral reefs, such as climate change, are global or trans-boundary and are addressed in international conventions – however while those issues may be global, many also require local level solutions for effective implementation.