STOCKHOLM CONVENTION:
The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) will become legally binding on May 17, 2004. France, on February 17, became the 50th country to ratify the treaty negotiated in 2001, which take the treaty into force. POPs are not soluble in water and readily absorbed in fatty tissues. Linked to diseases such as cancer and damage to nervous, reproductive and immune systems, these chemicals travel long distances and concentrate in humans, other mammals, fish and predatory birds that are high up in the food chain.
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BALLAST WATER CONVENTION:
More than 100 countries adopted a treaty on February 13 that aims to regulate ballast water, the water carried in ships to provide it balance and stability. Ballast water carries with it marine species that wreak havoc in foreign ecosystems once they are introduced there. Marine aquatic alien species are believed to be one of the four biggest threats to marine environments.
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CLOUD FORESTS:
These are tropical rainforests characterised with the persistent presence of cloud and mist. They are huge repositories of several rare and endangered species and are a source of water supplies to millions. Yet these forests are threatened by climate change and human activities, says a recently released report of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

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