The ECOLEX Conference of Parties (COP) decision search tool allows the user to search decisions produced by the Parties of the following multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs):
These MEAs were chosen based on a number of factors, including the number of Parties involved (typically more than 80) and their relative level of activity and global relevance.
The COP decision collection and this tool were developed for the Environmental Treaties and Resource Indicators (ENTRI) service of the NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC) managed by the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) at the Earth Institute of Columbia University, and made available to ECOLEX by CIESIN under an ECOLEX wrapper. CIESIN updates the COP decisions in the database approximately every six months. The last update date is found at the bottom of the ECOLEX COP decision search tool home page.
CIESIN has sought in every way to maintain the integrity of the original decision documents. Nevertheless, the primary utility of this tool is in locating hard-to-find decision documents across multiple treaties. Users who need to cite decision texts are encouraged to cut-and-paste the link to the original document location in order to obtain the original decision document from the relevant MEA secretariat Web sites.
It is recommended that users consult the MEA secretariat websites to determine if decisions/resolutions are still in effect. Particularly in the case of CITES, many early decisions have been superseded or annulled by subsequent decisions.
Acknowledgements
CIESIN and ECOLEX wish to acknowledge the secretariats for the Basel, CBD, CITES, CMS, Ramsar, CCD, FCCC (and Kyoto Protocol), Vienna (and Montreal Protocol) agreements as the source of the decision documents included in the ECOLEX COP Decision Search Tool. Without the public provision of this information via their respective Web sites this service could not be possible.