Secretariats and Conventions (MEAs)

As the leading global environmental authority, UNEP administers, or provides secretariat functions for numerous multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) and other entities as follows:

Global MEAs

Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) 

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)

Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS)

• Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA)
• Agreement on the Conservation of Gorillas and Their Habitats
• Agreement on the Conservation of Populations of European Bats (EUROBATS)
• Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic, North East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas (ASCOBANS)

Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal

Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade  

Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants

Minamata Convention on Mercury

Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer

• Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol

Regional Conventions

Bamako Convention on the Ban of the Import into Africa and the Control of Transboundary Movement and Management of Hazardous Wastes within Africa

Framework Convention on the Protection and Sustainable Development of the Carpathians (Carpathian Convention)

Regional Seas Conventions and Action Plans

Convention for Cooperation in the Protection, Management and Development of the Marine and Coastal Environment of the Atlantic Coast of the West, Central and Southern African Region (Abidjan Convention)

Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean (Barcelona Convention)

Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region (Cartagena Convention)

Convention for the Protection, Management and Development of the Marine and Coastal Environment of the Western Indian Ocean (Nairobi Convention)

Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea (Tehran Convention)

Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA)

Northwest Pacific Action Plan (NOWPAP)

Other entities

Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) – hosted jointly by UNEP and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

Intergovernmental negotiating commitee (INC) on Plastic Pollution

United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR)