Abbreviation WNO, OMN Headquarters To be determined | Legal status NGO | |
Formation Formed in 2010; 7 years ago (2010);
Established in 2014; 3 years ago (2014) Type Non-governmental organization (NGO) Purpose Environmental and climate protection | ||
The World Nature Organization (WNO, French: Organisation mondiale de la nature, OMN) was a planned intergovernmental organization which did not come to fruition due to the lack of support from the international community, and was thus not implemented further than the Preparatory Commission. The organization planned to focus on promoting activities, technologies, economies, and renewable energies which are regarded to be environment friendly, and reducing the impact of climate change.
Contents
The foundation of the World Nature Organization would have been one of the key outcomes of multilateral environmental protection negotiations. The role of the organization was to turn declarations into implementable actions and to support the protection of the environment and climate at an international level.
The organization should have been established by the intergovernmental WNO-Treaty, which was planned to enter into force on 1 May 2014. The signatory states would subsequently have ratified the treaty on their respective legislative bodies. The organization would have been governed by the WNO Secretariat and the assembly of the members.
Overview
The initiative behind the organization started back in 2010. The initiative was started with the support of the countries surrounding the Pacific ocean, the Caribbean, and by emerging African countries, which are the primary nations threatened by climate change through increasing droughts and rising sea levels. The Preparatory Commission for the World Nature Organization was then set up the following year and released a draft for the WNO-Treaty in June 2012. The set-up of organizational structures, preparatory measures for the founding conference, and preparing the process for choosing the host country was done in 2012. The agency was expected to become the very first intergovernmental organization on a global scale dedicated to global environmental protection.
The organization decided to commence its operations simultaneous with the Earth Summit, a United Nations conference, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from June 20 to 22, 2012.
History
The WNO initiative dates back to the year 2010, when emerging and developing countries, which are already threatened by rising sea levels and increasing droughts, decided to mandate the Preparatory Commission. The mandate was to set up the structure for the operationalization of the World Nature Organization – the very first intergovernmental organization dedicated on a global scale to worldwide environmental protection. The Preparatory Commission for the World Nature Organization opened the WNO-Treaty for signature on November 1, 2013.The WNO-Treaty was planned to officially enter into force on May 1, 2014, but due to the weak interest and lack of support from the international community did not officially get signed by any founding states.
Aims
The purpose of the WNO is to preserve nature and to prevent detriment and destruction of the natural conditions for existence of human beings, animals and plants, in the water, on land and in the air; guided by the wish that all human beings have secure access to natural resources, especially clean water and air. The organization was to promote sustainable development in a constructive way, as well as information and knowledge transfer among states, organizations and the economic sector, as regards preserving the natural environment, environment-friendly technologies, green economies, renewable energies, protection of resources, protection of water, forest, air, oceans and climate.
Constitution and legal status
The organization was planned to be an international legal personality, by the entry into force of the WNO-Treaty. In accordance with Article XVIII of the WNO-Treaty, the Treaty would have been registered in the United Nations Treaty Collection (UNTC) in accordance with Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations. The membership was open for all governments and intergovernmental organizations (IGO).