Conventions
International environmental conventions each cover one narrow thing — wetlands, trade in endangered species, hazardous waste, ozone. The topic is easiest as a lookup table: convention name, subject, year.
Mental model
File every convention by WHAT IT PROTECTS, then attach its city name — the city is the memory hook and the subject is the answer. Wetlands = Ramsar. Ozone = Vienna, with the Montreal Protocol doing the actual phase-out. Hazardous waste movement = Basel. Trade in endangered species = CITES. Biodiversity = Rio, with Cartagena for living modified organisms and Nagoya for benefit sharing. Desertification, climate and biodiversity are the three 'Rio conventions' born of the 1992 Earth Summit.
Associations
A short trigger on the left, everything it pulls with it on the right.
Ramsar wetlands, CITES trade, Basel waste, Montreal ozone.
Four conventions, four one-word subjects. Ramsar (1971) protects wetlands and gives its name to the 'Ramsar site' designation Gujarat's wetlands carry. CITES (1973) regulates trade in endangered species. Basel (1989) controls transboundary movement of hazardous waste. Montreal (1987) phases out ozone-depleting substances.
Montreal fixed a hole; Kyoto and Paris fight a trend.
The Montreal Protocol is widely regarded as the most successful environmental treaty because it addressed a single measurable problem — ozone depletion — with substitutable chemicals, and the ozone layer is recovering. Climate treaties tackle a much larger, harder-to-substitute problem, which is why they read as pledges rather than fixes.
Things to remember
The night-before list. Short enough to recall cold.
- 1The Ramsar Convention (1971) provides for the conservation and wise use of wetlands; Gujarat's Nal Sarovar and Thol Lake are among India's Ramsar sites.
- 2CITES (1973) regulates and monitors international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants to prevent it threatening their survival.
- 3The Montreal Protocol (1987) phases out substances that deplete the ozone layer, such as chlorofluorocarbons.
- 4The Basel Convention (1989) controls the transboundary movement of hazardous wastes and their disposal.
- 5The Convention on Biological Diversity (1992) has three goals: conservation, sustainable use, and fair sharing of benefits from genetic resources.
- 6The Kigali Amendment (2016) to the Montreal Protocol phases down hydrofluorocarbons, potent greenhouse gases used as ozone-safe refrigerants.
In detail
- The Ramsar Convention, signed in 1971 in Iran, is the treaty on conservation and wise use of wetlands.
- The Montreal Protocol, adopted in 1987 under the Vienna Convention, phases out ozone-depleting substances; its Kigali Amendment extends it to hydrofluorocarbons, which harm the climate rather than ozone.
- The Basel Convention governs transboundary movement of hazardous wastes and their disposal.
- CITES regulates international trade in endangered species and lists them in three appendices by degree of protection.
- The Convention on Biological Diversity, opened at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, has three objectives: conservation, sustainable use, and fair and equitable sharing of benefits from genetic resources.
Where people slip
- CITES governs trade in species, not domestic hunting or habitat protection — those fall under national wildlife law.
Check yourself
Nothing here is scored — it will not change your mastery figures.
The Ramsar Convention is concerned with the conservation of:
From the question bank
The Ramsar Convention, adopted in 1971, is primarily concerned with the conservation of which type of ecosystem?
From the question bank
Consider the following statements about CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species): 1) It regulates and monitors international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants. 2) It classifies species into three Appendices based on the degree of protection needed. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Books to read
- Environment for Civil Services — Shankar IAS Academy
- India Year Book — Publications Division, Government of India
Official sources
Hand-checked official domains only — the notes above carry no links of their own.