Two Recent International Agreements On Environmental Sustainability

1.23 Results Reports. Effective accountability requires that actual results be measured and communicated against expectations. Department reports on department plans and priorities and departmental performance reports are the two main means used by federal departments to report to Parliament on expected results. Departments can report, in other ways, on the results of their international environmental agreements, such as periodic reports. B the secretariats of the Convention, other publications or their websites. However, departmental performance reports are the most important and recognized instrument for reporting results and results to Parliament. 1.126 While there were no specific requirements to report to Parliament or Canadians on the achievement of results in the five environmental agreements, responsible services have, in some cases, used their departmental performance reports to report on international environmental agreements. However, in most cases, the reports focused on departmental activities or initiatives, not on environmental outcomes. We found an exception: with respect to the ozone schedule, Environment Canada provided information in its performance reports on the xenon content of soil in major cities and the concentration of clean air pollutants. 1.127 In all cases, with the exception of the MARPOL Agreement, the responsible services indicated that they were conducting periodic performance checks to assess environmental outcomes on the basis of expected results. However, none of the departments had clear documentation of the findings of these audits. 1.63 The agreement.

The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution by Ships (MARPOL) aims to eliminate deliberate pollution of the marine environment resulting from maritime operations and to minimize accidental releases of pollutants. In six annexes, the MARPOL Convention deals with pollution from hydrocarbons, chemicals, packaged goods, waste, wastewater and air emissions. The convention contains requirements for shipbuilding, certification and inspection, equipment, registrations and port procedures. The convention came into force internationally in 1983. Canada became a party to MARPOL in 1993 and has since adopted and implemented annexes dealing with oil pollution, chemicals and packaged products. 1.132 In our case studies, we found that responsible departments have different information and knowledge about achieving the environmental objectives and outcomes of their agreements. We found that the departments were aware of the environmental results for two agreements (the Montreal Protocol and the Ozone Annex), were unaware of the results for two others (MARPOL and Ramsar) and were partially aware of an agreement (UNFA). We found that, for the Montreal Protocol and the Ozone Annex, the expected results were clearly defined and the results measured. 1.116 Two of the four areas were unable to provide documentation of conservation outcomes. The other two sites provided results on the dynamics of major animal and vegetation populations and on the state of wetland habitats. One of these sites recently compiled its results information to identify gaps and guide the future update of its management plan. 1.13 In Canada, Parliament and Canadians do not always have adequate information on the progress made under our agreements.

In our 1998 report, Chapter 2, Working Globally – Canada`s International Environmental Commitments, we noted that Canada does not always have an overview of how it works in implementing its international environmental commitments.