International Environment:

International Agreements Are Not Well Monitored

RCED-92-43: Published: Jan 27, 1992. Publicly Released: Jan 27, 1992.

Additional Materials:

Contact:

Office of Public Affairs
(202) 512-4800
youngc1@gao.gov

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed eight international environmental agreements, focusing on whether: (1) the agreements are specific enough to allow implementation to be measured; and (2) agreements' administrative bodies monitor implementation.

GAO found that: (1) six of the eight agreements specify how implementation is to be measured and require parties to provide information periodically; (2) not all parties report complete and timely information; (3) reporting required information is a big problem for developing countries, since they lack the infrastructure and resources to report such information or otherwise implement the agreements; (4) secretariat officials believe they are aware of important implementation problems, but do not have the authority or resources to monitor implementation by verifying reported information or independently assessing countries' compliance; (5) secretariat officials for three agreements believe that funding is inadequate to allow them to carryout their assigned duties or to assist parties in carrying out the agreements; and (6) several international environmental experts have proposed measures to strengthen oversight and parties' capability to comply with agreements.

Jan 22, 2021

Jan 19, 2021

Jan 15, 2021

Jan 13, 2021

Jan 7, 2021

Dec 18, 2020

Dec 9, 2020

Dec 7, 2020

Looking for more? Browse all our products here