It details the path from the first post-war sectorial attempts at introducing international pieces of conventional environmental regulation to the booming of environmental instruments of the 1990s and the recent fertile period of new MEAs and their exponential growth.

Contents: Foreword to the Encyclopedia by Jamie Benidickson and Yves Le Bouthillier Foreword to Volume by Michael Faure Introduction by Malgosia Fitzmaurice, Attila Tanzi and Angeliki Papantoniou PART 1 BIODIVERSITY Section A: Global Agreements 1. Convention On Biological Diversity 1992 Marine Yzquierdo 2. Bonn Convention On The Conservation Of Migratory Species Of Wild Animals 1979 (CMS) Melissa Lewis and Arie Trouwborst 3. Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans in the Baltic, North East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas (ASCOBANS), the Agreement on the Conservation of Gorillas and their Habitats (Gorilla Agreement), and the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) Melissa Lewis and Arie Trouwborst 4. In UN Convention To Combat Desertification 1994 Katrien Steenmans i) Global Conventions, which are Relevant to the Protection of the Environment 5. Convention For The Protection Of The World Cultural And Natural Heritage 1972 Stefan Gruber 6. Convention On International Trade In Endangered Species Of Wild Fauna And Flora 1973 Azra Dizdarevic Section B: Regional Agreements 7. Central American Convention for the Protection of the Environment Francesco Seatzu Section C: Agreements Regulating the Protection of Particular Species or Habitats 8. International Convention For The Regulation Of Whaling 1946 Katrien Steenmans 9.Convention On Wetlands Of International Importance, Especially As Waterfowl Habitat) 1971 (Ramsar) Edward J. Goodwin Section D: Fisheries 10. Convention Concerning Fishing in the Black Sea 1959 Gabriela A. Oanta Section E: Protocols to Regional Agreements of Marine Environmental Protection 11. The Black Sea Biodiversity and Landscape Conservation Protocol to The Convention on The Protection Of The Black Sea Against Pollution 2002 Gabriela A. Oanta 12. Protocol Concerning Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife Protocol (SPAW) of Duplthe Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region 1983 (Cartagena Convention) Mary E. Desmond and Ann Powers PART 2 MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION Section A: Global Agreements 13. United Nations Convention On The Law Of The Sea 1982 Meagan S. Wong 14. International Convention For The Prevention Of Pollution From Ships MARPOL 2012 (and Annexes I, II,III,IV,V,VI) Gian Maria Farnelli 15. Convention On The Prevention Of Marine Pollution By Dumping Of Wastes And Other Matter 1972 And 1996 Protocol Gian Maria Farnelli and Attila Massimiliano Tanzi Section B: Regional Agreements B.1. Europe/Asia 16. OSPAR Convention 1992- Convention For The Protection Of The Marine Environment Of The North-East Atlantic (and Annexes I, II,III, IV) Meagan S. Wong 17. Convention For The Protection Of The Marine Environment Of The Baltic Sea 1992 (Helsinki) Gian Maria Farnelli 18. Convention For The Protection Of The Mediterranean Sea Against Pollution 1976 (Revised In Barcelona, Spain, On 10 June 1995 As The Convention For The Protection Of The Marine Environment And The Coastal Region Of The Mediterranean) Vladislav Lanovoy 19. Convention on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution 1992 Elizabeth A. Kirk, Naporn Popattanachai and Chioma Ibe B.2. Caribbean Regions 20. Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region 1983 (Cartagena Convention) Mary E. Desmond and Ann Powers 21. Protocol Concerning Co-operation in Combating Oil Spills in the Wider Caribbean Region Mary E. Desmond and Ann Powers 22. Protocol Concerning Pollution from Land-Based Sources and Activities (LBS Protocol) Mary E. Desmond and Ann Powers PART 3 SHARED FRESH WATER RESOURCES Section A: Global Agreements 23. Convention on the Law of the Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses 1997 Ludovica Chiussi 24. Convention On The Protection And Use Of Transboundary Watercourses And International Lakes 1992 (The UNECE Helsinki Convention) Cristina Contartese Section B: Regional Agreements B.1 Europe 25. Agreements On The Protection Of The Rivers Meuse Scheldt 1994 Cristina Contartese 26. Convention On Cooperation For The Protection And Sustainable Use Of The Danube River (Danube River Protection Convention) 1994 Ludovica Chiussi and Felix Zaharia 27. Rotterdam Convention On The Protection Of The Rhine 1998 Cristina Contartese 28. Finnish-Russian agreement concerning frontier watercourses Irina Krasnova Section C: Groundwater 29. The Guarani Aquifer Agreement 2010 Francesco Sindico PART 4 ATMOSPHERE Section A: Global Agreements 30. Convention For The Protection Of The Ozone Layer 1985 (Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer) Francesca Romanin Jacur PART 5 HAZARDOUS WASTE Section A: Global Agreements 31. The Basel Convention On The Control Of Transboundary Movements Of Hazardous Wastes And Their Disposal 1989 Juliette Voinov Kohler 32. Rotterdam Convention On The Prior Informed Consent Procedure For Certain Hazardous Chemicals And Pesticides In International Trade 1998 Tarcísio Hardman Reis 33. Stockholm Convention On Persistent Organic Pollutants 2001 (UNECE) (POPs) Tarcísio Hardman Reis Section B: Regional Agreements 34. Bamako Convention On The Ban Of The Import Into Africa And The Control Of Transboundary Movement And Management Of Hazardous Wastes Within Africa (1994) Juliette Voinov Kohler PART 6 CLIMATE CHANGE 35. United Nations Framework Convention On Climate Change 1992 Panos Merkouris PART 7 PROCEDURAL OBLIGATIONS AND PROCEDURAL HUMAN RIGHTS 36. Espoo Convention On Environmental Impact Assessment In A Transboundary Context 1991 Angeliki Papantoniou 37. Aarhus Convention On Access To Information, Public Participation And Access To Justice In Environmental Matters 1998 Elena Fasoli PART 8 NATURAL RESOURCES Section A: Global Agreements 38. Energy Charter Treaty 1994 Silke Goldberg and Krishna Kakkaiyadi PART 9 ANTARCTIC/ARCTIC REGIONS Section A: Antarctic 39. The Antarctic Treaty 1959: Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty (1991) Rebecca Bates Index