Adopted at Escazú, Costa Rica, on 4 March 2018, the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean has as its objective to guarantee the full and effective implementation in Latin America and the

The Minamata Convention, in force since August 2017, was adopted at the 2013 Plenipotentiary Conference in Kumamoto, Japan. The aim of this global treaty is to protect human health and the environment from anthropogenic and other releases of mercury and mercury compounds.

The 21st Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 21), held in Paris in 2015, concluded with the adoption of the Decision and the Paris Agreement. The agreement entered into force in November 2016 and will apply as of 2020.

The Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change came into force in 2005 and has been ratified by all 33 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. It applies  the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and sets binding targets for redu

The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources was adopted in 2001 during the Thirty-first Session of the Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants came into force in 2004. It aims to protect human health and the environment from Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs).

The Rotterdam Convention entered into force in 2004. It aims to promote shared responsibility and cooperation among Parties in addressing the international trade of certain hazardous chemicals, in order to protect human health and the environment from potential harm.

The Cartagena Protocol, in force since September 2003, was adopted as a complementary agreement to the Convention on Biological Diversity.

The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification entered into force in 1996 and has been ratified by the 33 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. It is the only binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable soil management.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, in force since March 1994, has been ratified by all 33 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was adopted at the Earth Summit in 1992 and has been ratified by all  33 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal was adopted in response to strong public protest in the 1980s, following the discovery of toxic waste deposits in developing countries from abroad.

The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer of the Vienna Convention has been ratified by all 33 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer entered into force in September 1988 and has ratified by the 33 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), in force since 1975, aims to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not constitute a threat to their survival.