Online Appendix for "What We Know (and Could Know) about International Environmental Agreements"

Below we provide supplementary materials for the following article:

Ronald B. Mitchell, Liliana B. Andonova, Mark Axelrod, Jörg Balsiger, Thomas Bernauer, Jessica F. Green, James Hollway, Rakhyun E. Kim and Jean-Frédéric Morin. 2020. What We Know (and Could Know) About International Environmental Agreements. Global Environmental Politics 20:1 (February), 103-121. https://doi.org/10.1162/glep_a_00544.

Dataset replication materials and copies of original figures

Replication materials are available HERE. These include three Stata datasets, a Stata command (.do) file, and four scheme files that control graphic parameters. They are contained in a .zip file. Interested scholars can download the zip file, extract all files and folders, read the readme.txt file, and then run the ieadb-graph.do file to generate the figures used in the article.

Original copies of the figures in the article are here:

Black and White versions.
Color versions.

Initial sources for identifying IEAs to initially establish the IEADB

The sources used to initially identify IEAs and establish the IEADB are listed here: https://www.iea.ulaval.ca/about/sources-agreements-database

Criteria for inclusion of IEAs in the IEADB

For a more detailed discussion of how the IEADB decides to include legal instruments proposed for inclusion, see the discussion at: https://www.iea.ulaval.ca/about/international-environmental-agreements-ieas-defined

Treatment of European Union environmental agreements

The IEADB excludes European Union (EU) environmental directives that, although legally binding, are treated as “legislative acts” that more closely resemble national laws within a federal system and, in any event, are well-documented by the EU.

Collecting reliable data and promoting data reliability

The IEADB makes every effort to ensure all information on the site is accurate, complete, and up to date, although it cannot make guarantees regarding the accuracy of the information. In searching for and assessing potential inclusion of international agreements, their texts, membership information, performance indicator data, and the like, the IEADB seek to gather data from official government and intergovernmental sources or institutional sources generally considered to be reliable. For some older IEAs and IEAs among lower-income states, primary sources may be unavailable. In such cases, we rely on secondary sources that brought these IEAs to the project’s attention and include data only from secondary sources that the IEADB Director assesses as sufficiently reliable. Since approximately 2007, additions of any IEAs or related data to the IEADB include documentation of the original source of the data (original sources were not systematically captured for initial entries in the dataset). All existing IEADB data has been collected directly by the IEADB Director or, where collected by others, has been authenticated against original sources by the IEADB Director. To facilitate ongoing improvement in data quality, users of the dataset are encouraged to provide feedback to the IEADB Director if errors are found.

Assigning IEAs to subject categories

Each agreement, when added to the IEADB, is “tagged” with those words found in its title or preamble that were used to identify the agreement as meeting the IEADB’s definition of environmental (see definition at https://www.iea.ulaval.ca/about/international-environmental-agreements-ieas-defined).” For a very few treaties that clearly had a primary focus on environmental issues but whose title or preamble did not include obviously “environmental” words, we have found environmental words either in their first few articles or in assessments made by Giordano in creating a comprehensive list of wildlife treaties (Giordano 2002).
To assign IEAs to subject categories for this article, we simplified and systematized the IEADB’s existing subject categorization. A subset of the IEADB Board of Contributors reviewed tags and subjects assigned to all MEAs in the dataset, which had developed organically as an artifact of assigning tags and subjects to individual MEAs over several years. We reviewed MEA with the goal of systematizing, consolidating, and reducing redundancy and variation among the set of tags and corresponding subject categories. In preparing the current article, we mapped a revised set of 235 potential tags to a set of 8 subject codes. Stata code searched the title of each IEA for all potential tags, coding each for all tags found and, for IEAs with multiple subject codes, assigning the highest-ranked subject code from the following list as the single, dominant, subject code.
1. Climate
2. Species
3. Pollution
4. Energy
5. Habitat
6. Freshwater
7. Human Sphere
8. Other
Thus, a multi-subject IEA addressing river pollution would be treated as Pollution (rather than Freshwater) and one protecting waterfowl in wetlands would be treated as Species (rather than Habitat).

List of codes used for subject assignment

Codes used for subject assignment, with Stata used to apply subject in the following order

For each IEA title (agreement name), Stata code searches for each of the following keywords in the order below, assigning the keyword to a subj_terms variable and the corresponding Subject category to a subj_codes variable. Additional keywords found in the same IEA title are also added to the subj_terms variable, and the corresponding Subject category to the subj_codes variable unless that IEA has already been assigned that Subject category. This leads to many IEA’s subj_terms and subj_codes variables having multiple Keywords and Subject categories.

Many Keywords are truncated, capturing titles that contain any variant of the term
The “&” symbol in a Keyword is used to search for multi-word phrases in titles
Title searches were done in the order below, with iterative verification to ensure that both Keyword terms and the sequencing of their assignment led to appropriate assignment of values to the subj_term, subj_codes, and subj_code variables

Keyword	Subject category
fauna	Species
accident	Pollution
Fish	Species
animal	Species
marine resources	Species
seal	Species
senegal river	Freshwater
pollut	Freshwater
rhine	Freshwater
nuclear material	Energy
oder	Freshwater
lake	Freshwater
river	Freshwater
weapon	Human_sphere
hazardous	Pollution
energy	Energy
climate change	Climate
kyoto mechanism	Climate
risk capacity	Climate
power plant	Energy
transportation of nuclear material	Energy
joint works	Energy
common works	Energy
power and irrigation	Energy
hydraulic	Energy
senegal river&development	Energy
environment program	Other
environmental framework	Other
nordic environment	Other
nuclear environmental program	Other
permanent commission of the south pacific	Other
spitsbergen	Other
cooperation in the area of environment	Other
cooperation in the field of environment	Other
environmental cooperation	Other
environment protection	Other
environmental protection	Other
protection of the environment	Other
seabed	Other
coastal zone management	Other
continental shelf	Other
gulf of aden environment	Other
high seas	Other
indian ocean marine affairs	Other
law of the sea	Other
maritime zone	Other
natural heritage	Other
natural resources	Other
nature conservation	Other
conservation of nature	Other
aral sea	Freshwater
danube	Freshwater
elbe	Freshwater
indus basin	Freshwater
limpopo	Freshwater
maas	Freshwater
mekong	Freshwater
mosel	Freshwater
navigation of the rhine	Freshwater
non-navigational uses of international watercourses	Freshwater
plata	Freshwater
scheldt	Freshwater
transboundary water	Freshwater
volta	Freshwater
waterway	Freshwater
zambezi watercourse	Freshwater
diama	Freshwater
niger	Freshwater
manantali	Freshwater
syr darya	Freshwater
tornea	Freshwater
water coordination	Freshwater
water resources	Freshwater
desertification	Habitat
drought control	Habitat
dry and barren land	Habitat
wetland	Habitat
landscape	Habitat
biosphere reserve	Habitat
park	Habitat
trifinio	Habitat
protected area	Habitat
alp	Habitat
amazon	Habitat
antarctic	Habitat
cultural heritage	Human_sphere
access to information	Human_sphere
environmental impact assessment	Human_sphere
industrial accident	Human_sphere
industrial policy	Human_sphere
industrial safety	Human_sphere
fishing vessel personnel	Human_sphere
occupational health	Human_sphere
safety and health	Human_sphere
training	Human_sphere
environmental monitoring	Human_sphere
exploration of the sea	Human_sphere
meteorolog	Human_sphere
monitoring of the stratosphere	Human_sphere
marine science	Human_sphere
hydrographic org	Human_sphere
oceanographic commission	Human_sphere
environment and development	Human_sphere
sustainable	Human_sphere
association of caribbean states	Human_sphere
common market	Human_sphere
east african community	Human_sphere
free trade	Human_sphere
southern african development community	Human_sphere
world trade organization	Human_sphere
tourism	Human_sphere
transfrontier cooperation	Human_sphere
nuclear free	Human_sphere
nuclear test	Human_sphere
environmental modification	Human_sphere
institute	Human_sphere
weapon&chemical	Human_sphere
warfare&bacteriological	Human_sphere
weapon&bacteriological	Human_sphere
pollutant release	Pollution
transport of corrosive	Pollution
activities dangerous to the environment	Pollution
against pollution	Pollution
control of pollution	Pollution
emergen	Pollution
man-made disasters	Pollution
technological disaster	Pollution
compensation	Pollution
liability	Pollution
chernobyl	Pollution
radiation accident	Pollution
radioactive contamination	Pollution
haze pollution	Pollution
ozone	Pollution
white lead in paint	Pollution
bay of bengal program	Pollution
benguela current	Pollution
protection of the marine environment	Pollution
protection and development of the marine environment	Pollution
pollution from land-based sources	Pollution
detergent	Pollution
polluted waters	Pollution
wastewater treatment	Pollution
dumping	Pollution
oil spills	Pollution
pollution from ships	Pollution
carriage of dangerous goods by inland water	Pollution
anti-fouling	Pollution
ballast	Pollution
nuclear safety	Pollution
reactor safety	Pollution
radioactive waste	Pollution
recycling of ships	Pollution
salvage	Pollution
ships carrying dangerous chemicals	Pollution
wrecks	Pollution
mercury	Pollution
persistent organic	Pollution
pollution&air	Pollution
pollution&marine	Pollution
pollution&mediterranean	Pollution
pollution&black	Pollution
pollution&baltic	Pollution
north-east atlantic&pollution	Pollution
pollution&north atlantic	Pollution
pollution&oil	Pollution
coastal environment&protection	Pollution
coastal areas&conservation	Pollution
mediterranean shore&protection	Pollution
rhine&corrosive	Pollution
rhine&discharge of waste	Pollution
rhine&inflammable	Pollution
rhine&petroleum	Pollution
rhine&protection	Pollution
pollution&river	Pollution
pollution&emergen	Pollution
aquacultur	Species
deposit of microorganisms	Species
foot and mouth	Species
locust	Species
veterin	Species
agricult	Species
agropecuaria	Species
crop	Species
phylloxera	Species
new varieties of plants	Species
protection of plants	Species
phytosanitary	Species
plant protection	Species
plants quarantine	Species
plant quarantine	Species
quarantine of plants	Species
genetic resources of cultured plants	Species
tobacco	Species
fertilizer	Species
biodiversity	Species
biological diversity	Species
albatross	Species
bird	Species
bats	Species
hunting	Species
ivory marketing	Species
polar bears	Species
trapping	Species
vicuna	Species
gorillas	Species
anadromous	Species
capelin	Species
herring	Species
plaice	Species
pollock	Species
prawns	Species
tuna	Species
liquor traffic	Species
transitional rights	Species
aquatic biological resources	Species
living aquatic resources	Species
living resources	Species
living marine resources	Species
maritime resources	Species
salmon	Species
cetacean	Species
dolphin	Species
fur seal	Species
marine mammal	Species
turtle	Species
whale	Species
whaling	Species
wild animal	Species
wildlife	Species
extinguishing of natural fires	Species
forest	Species
timber	Species
fauna&flora	Species

Catalog of unique subj_terms assigned to IEAs

Catalog of unique subj_terms assigned by Stata code

As noted above, our Stata code leads to many IEAs having subj_terms and subj_codes variables that contain multiple Keywords and multiple Subject categories. To simplify the presentation in the present article, the IEADB used Stata code to assess each IEA’s set of subj_codes (with potentially multiple subjects) and assign that IEA a subj_code (single subject) corresponding to the highest-ranked subject in our hierarchy of eight subject codes (see above). That Stata code assigned 458 unique subj_term combinations to 52 unique subj_codes, which were then assigned one of our eight subject codes. Those assignments are documented below.

*subj_terms (words found in title of IEA)*	*subj_codes (allows for multiple subjects)*	*subj_code (single subject)*
access to information	Human_sphere	Human_sphere
accident	Pollution	Pollution
accident, emergen	Pollution	Pollution
accident, emergen, radiation accident	Pollution	Pollution
accident, energy	Pollution, Energy	Pollution
accident, industrial accident	Pollution, Human_sphere	Pollution
accident, lake, transboundary water, industrial accident, compensation, liability	Pollution, Freshwater, Human_sphere	Pollution
accident, nuclear safety	Pollution	Pollution
accident, nuclear test, chernobyl, radiation accident	Pollution, Human_sphere	Pollution
accident, pollut	Pollution, Freshwater	Pollution
activities dangerous to the environment, liability	Pollution	Pollution
agricult	Species	Species
agricult, bird	Species	Species
agricult, forest	Species	Species
agricult, plant quarantine	Species	Species
agropecuaria	Species	Species
albatross	Species	Species
alp	Habitat	Habitat
alp, agricult	Habitat, Species	Species
alp, forest	Habitat, Species	Species
alp, sustainable	Habitat, Human_sphere	Habitat
alp, tourism	Habitat, Human_sphere	Habitat
amazon	Habitat	Habitat
anadromous	Species	Species
animal	Species	Species
animal, niger	Species, Freshwater	Species
animal, plant quarantine	Species	Species
animal, veterin	Species	Species
animal, wild animal	Species	Species
antarctic	Habitat	Habitat
antarctic, living resources	Habitat, Species	Species
antarctic, whaling	Habitat, Species	Species
anti-fouling	Pollution	Pollution
aquacultur	Species	Species
aquatic biological resources	Species	Species
aral sea	Freshwater	Freshwater
association of caribbean states	Human_sphere	Human_sphere
ballast	Pollution	Pollution
bats	Species	Species
bay of bengal program	Pollution	Pollution
benguela current	Pollution	Pollution
biodiversity	Species	Species
biological diversity	Species	Species
biosphere reserve	Habitat	Habitat
bird	Species	Species
bird, hunting	Species	Species
capelin	Species	Species
carriage of dangerous goods by inland water	Pollution	Pollution
cetacean	Species	Species
chernobyl	Pollution	Pollution
climate change	Climate	Climate
climate change, environmental protection, nature conservation, nuclear safety	Climate, Other, Pollution	Climate
coastal areas&conservation	Pollution	Pollution
coastal environment&protection	Pollution	Pollution
coastal zone management	Other	Other
common market	Human_sphere	Human_sphere
common works	Energy	Energy
compensation	Pollution	Pollution
conservation of nature	Other	Other
continental shelf	Other	Other
cooperation in the area of environment	Other	Other
cooperation in the area of environment, environmental monitoring	Other, Human_sphere	Human_sphere
cooperation in the area of environment, environmental protection	Other	Other
cooperation in the area of environment, environmental protection, natural resources, sustainable	Other, Human_sphere	Human_sphere
cooperation in the field of environment	Other	Other
cooperation in the field of environment, environmental monitoring	Other, Human_sphere	Human_sphere
cooperation in the field of environment, environmental protection	Other	Other
cooperation in the field of environment, environmental protection, natural resources	Other	Other
crop	Species	Species
cultural heritage	Human_sphere	Human_sphere
danube	Freshwater	Freshwater
danube, protected area	Freshwater, Habitat	Habitat
danube, water resources	Freshwater	Freshwater
deposit of microorganisms	Species	Species
desertification	Habitat	Habitat
detergent	Pollution	Pollution
diama	Freshwater	Freshwater
dolphin	Species	Species
drought control	Habitat	Habitat
dry and barren land	Habitat	Habitat
east african community	Human_sphere	Human_sphere
elbe	Freshwater	Freshwater
emergen	Pollution	Pollution
emergen, man-made disasters	Pollution	Pollution
emergen, nuclear safety	Pollution	Pollution
emergen, technological disaster	Pollution	Pollution
energy	Energy	Energy
energy, alp	Energy, Habitat	Energy
energy, biodiversity, forest	Energy, Species	Species
energy, climate change	Energy, Climate	Climate
energy, climate change, biodiversity, forest	Energy, Climate, Species	Climate
energy, kyoto mechanism	Energy, Climate	Climate
energy, liability	Energy, Pollution	Pollution
energy, manantali	Energy, Freshwater	Energy
energy, nature conservation	Energy, Other	Energy
energy, niger	Energy, Freshwater	Energy
energy, power plant	Energy	Energy
energy, reactor safety	Energy, Pollution	Pollution
energy, southern african development community	Energy, Human_sphere	Energy
energy, sustainable	Energy, Human_sphere	Energy
energy, syr darya	Energy, Freshwater	Energy
energy, volta	Energy, Freshwater	Energy
energy, water resources	Energy, Freshwater	Energy
environment and development	Human_sphere	Human_sphere
environment program	Other	Other
environment protection	Other	Other
environmental cooperation	Other	Other
environmental framework	Other	Other
environmental framework, emergen	Other, Pollution	Pollution
environmental impact assessment	Human_sphere	Human_sphere
environmental modification	Human_sphere	Human_sphere
environmental monitoring	Human_sphere	Human_sphere
environmental protection	Other	Other
environmental protection, antarctic	Other, Habitat	Habitat
environmental protection, antarctic, emergen, liability	Other, Habitat, Pollution	Pollution
environmental protection, forest	Other, Species	Species
environmental protection, natural resources	Other	Other
environmental protection, natural resources, water resources	Other, Freshwater	Freshwater
environmental protection, nature conservation, forest	Other, Species	Species
environmental protection, nature conservation, nuclear safety	Other, Pollution	Pollution
environmental protection, nature conservation, park, nuclear safety	Other, Habitat, Pollution	Pollution
environmental protection, nature conservation, reactor safety	Other, Pollution	Pollution
environmental protection, sustainable	Other, Human_sphere	Human_sphere
exploration of the sea	Human_sphere	Human_sphere
extinguishing of natural fires	Species	Species
fauna	Species	Species
fauna, amazon, fauna&flora	Species, Habitat	Species
fauna, fauna&flora	Species	Species
fauna, park, forest	Species, Habitat	Species
fauna, protected area, coastal environment&protection, fauna&flora	Species, Habitat, Pollution	Species
fertilizer	Species	Species
fish	Species	Species
fish, agricult	Species	Species
fish, antarctic	Species, Habitat	Species
fish, aquacultur	Species	Species
fish, compensation	Species, Pollution	Species
fish, continental shelf	Species, Other	Species
fish, continental shelf, herring	Species, Other	Species
fish, danube	Species, Freshwater	Species
fish, fishing vessel personnel, training	Species, Human_sphere	Species
fish, herring	Species	Species
fish, high seas	Species, Other	Species
fish, high seas, living resources	Species, Other	Species
fish, lake	Species, Freshwater	Species
fish, lake, river	Species, Freshwater	Species
fish, law of the sea	Species, Other	Species
fish, living resources	Species	Species
fish, marine resources, living marine resources	Species	Species
fish, niger	Species, Freshwater	Species
fish, plaice	Species	Species
fish, rhine	Species, Freshwater	Species
fish, rhine, lake	Species, Freshwater	Species
fish, rhine, river, salmon	Species, Freshwater	Species
fish, river	Species, Freshwater	Species
fish, river, salmon	Species, Freshwater	Species
fish, river, tornea	Species, Freshwater	Species
fish, river, tornea, salmon	Species, Freshwater	Species
fish, salmon	Species	Species
fish, seal	Species	Species
fish, seal, fur seal	Species	Species
fish, seal, lake	Species, Freshwater	Species
fish, southern african development community	Species, Human_sphere	Species
fish, tornea, salmon	Species, Freshwater	Species
fish, training	Species, Human_sphere	Species
fish, tuna	Species	Species
fish, turtle	Species	Species
fish, waterway	Species, Freshwater	Species
foot and mouth	Species	Species
forest	Species	Species
forest, timber	Species	Species
free trade	Human_sphere	Human_sphere
genetic resources of cultured plants	Species	Species
gorillas	Species	Species
gulf of aden environment	Other	Other
hazardous	Pollution	Pollution
hazardous, compensation, liability	Pollution	Pollution
hazardous, industrial safety	Pollution, Human_sphere	Pollution
hazardous, radioactive waste	Pollution	Pollution
herring	Species	Species
high seas	Other	Other
hunting	Species	Species
hunting, forest	Species	Species
hunting, whale	Species	Species
hydraulic	Energy	Energy
hydrographic org	Human_sphere	Human_sphere
indian ocean marine affairs	Other	Other
indus basin	Freshwater	Freshwater
industrial policy	Human_sphere	Human_sphere
institute	Human_sphere	Human_sphere
institute, agricult	Human_sphere, Species	Species
institute, forest	Human_sphere, Species	Species
ivory marketing	Species	Species
joint works	Energy	Energy
lake	Freshwater	Freshwater
lake, compensation	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
lake, emergen	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
lake, environmental protection	Freshwater, Other	Freshwater
lake, meteorolog	Freshwater, Human_sphere	Freshwater
lake, natural resources	Freshwater, Other	Freshwater
lake, river	Freshwater	Freshwater
lake, salmon	Freshwater, Species	Species
lake, sustainable	Freshwater, Human_sphere	Freshwater
lake, sustainable, east african community	Freshwater, Human_sphere	Freshwater
lake, transboundary water	Freshwater	Freshwater
landscape	Habitat	Habitat
landscape, alp	Habitat	Habitat
landscape, sustainable	Habitat, Human_sphere	Habitat
law of the sea	Other	Other
liability	Pollution	Pollution
liability, biological diversity	Pollution, Species	Species
limpopo	Freshwater	Freshwater
limpopo, park	Freshwater, Habitat	Habitat
liquor traffic	Species	Species
living aquatic resources	Species	Species
living resources	Species	Species
locust	Species	Species
maas	Freshwater	Freshwater
marine mammal	Species	Species
marine resources	Species	Species
marine resources, high seas, living marine resources	Species, Other	Species
marine science	Human_sphere	Human_sphere
maritime resources	Species	Species
maritime zone	Other	Other
mediterranean shore&protection	Pollution	Pollution
mekong	Freshwater	Freshwater
mercury	Pollution	Pollution
meteorolog	Human_sphere	Human_sphere
meteorolog, environmental modification	Human_sphere	Human_sphere
monitoring of the stratosphere	Human_sphere	Human_sphere
mosel	Freshwater	Freshwater
natural heritage	Other	Other
natural resources	Other	Other
natural resources, conservation of nature	Other	Other
natural resources, east african community	Other, Human_sphere	Human_sphere
natural resources, sustainable	Other, Human_sphere	Human_sphere
natural resources, sustainable, biodiversity	Other, Human_sphere, Species	Species
nature conservation	Other	Other
nature conservation, landscape	Other, Habitat	Habitat
nature conservation, nuclear safety	Other, Pollution	Pollution
nature conservation, nuclear safety, forest	Other, Pollution, Species	Species
new varieties of plants	Species	Species
niger	Freshwater	Freshwater
niger, plant protection, plant quarantine	Freshwater, Species	Species
niger, sustainable	Freshwater, Human_sphere	Freshwater
niger, water resources	Freshwater	Freshwater
non-navigational uses of international watercourses	Freshwater	Freshwater
nordic environment	Other	Other
nuclear environmental program	Other	Other
nuclear free	Human_sphere	Human_sphere
nuclear material	Energy	Energy
nuclear material, energy	Energy	Energy
nuclear material, liability	Energy, Pollution	Pollution
nuclear material, transportation of nuclear material	Energy	Energy
nuclear material, weapon, weapon&chemical	Energy, Human_sphere	Energy
nuclear safety	Pollution	Pollution
nuclear test	Human_sphere	Human_sphere
oceanographic commission	Human_sphere	Human_sphere
oder	Freshwater	Freshwater
oil spills	Pollution	Pollution
ozone	Pollution	Pollution
park	Habitat	Habitat
park, sustainable	Habitat, Human_sphere	Habitat
permanent commission of the south pacific	Other	Other
permanent commission of the south pacific, maritime zone	Other	Other
permanent commission of the south pacific, whaling	Other, Species	Species
phylloxera	Species	Species
phytosanitary	Species	Species
phytosanitary, plant protection	Species	Species
plaice	Species	Species
plant protection	Species	Species
plant protection, plant quarantine	Species	Species
plant quarantine	Species	Species
plants quarantine	Species	Species
plata	Freshwater	Freshwater
polar bears	Species	Species
pollock	Species	Species
pollut	Freshwater	Freshwater
pollut, access to information, pollutant release	Freshwater, Human_sphere, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, against pollution	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, against pollution, dumping, pollution&marine, pollution&black	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, against pollution, north-east atlantic&pollution	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, against pollution, pollution from land-based sources	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, against pollution, pollution from land-based sources, pollution&marine, pollution&black	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, against pollution, pollution from land-based sources, pollution&mediterranean	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, against pollution, pollution&black	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, against pollution, pollution&mediterranean	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, against pollution, protection of the marine environment, pollution from land-based sources, pollution&marine	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, against pollution, protection of the marine environment, pollution&marine	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, antarctic, pollution from ships	Freshwater, Habitat, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, antarctic, pollution from ships, pollution&oil	Freshwater, Habitat, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, compensation, pollution&oil	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, continental shelf, protection of the marine environment, pollution&marine	Freshwater, Other, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, control of pollution, pollution from ships	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, dumping	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, dumping, pollution&air, pollution&marine	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, dumping, pollution&air, pollution&mediterranean	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, dumping, pollution&marine	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, dumping, pollution&marine, pollution&oil	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, dumping, radioactive waste, pollution&marine	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, emergen, pollution from ships, pollution&mediterranean, pollution&emergen	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, emergen, pollution&baltic, pollution&oil, pollution&emergen	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, emergen, pollution&emergen	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, emergen, pollution&marine, coastal environment&protection, pollution&emergen	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, emergen, pollution&marine, pollution&black, pollution&oil, pollution&emergen	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, emergen, pollution&mediterranean, pollution&oil, pollution&emergen	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, emergen, pollution&oil, pollution&emergen	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, emergen, protection of the marine environment, pollution&marine, pollution&oil, pollution&emergen	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, energy, pollution from ships, pollution&air	Freshwater, Energy, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, environmental protection	Freshwater, Other	Freshwater
pollut, environmental protection, nature conservation, nuclear safety	Freshwater, Other, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, environmental protection, nature conservation, wastewater treatment, nuclear safety	Freshwater, Other, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, hazardous	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, hazardous, pollution&mediterranean	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, hazardous, protection of the marine environment, pollution&marine	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, haze pollution	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, high seas, pollution&oil	Freshwater, Other, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, lake, against pollution	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, landscape, against pollution, pollution&black, biodiversity	Freshwater, Habitat, Pollution, Species	Species
pollut, liability, pollution&oil	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, mosel, against pollution	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, nature conservation, nuclear safety, pollution&air	Freshwater, Other, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, ozone, pollution&air	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, persistent organic	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, persistent organic, pollution&air	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, polluted waters	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, pollution from land-based sources, pollution&marine	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, pollution from ships	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, pollution from ships, pollution&air	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, pollution from ships, pollution&air, pollution&marine	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, pollution from ships, pollution&baltic	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, pollution from ships, pollution&oil	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, pollution&air	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, pollution&baltic, pollution&oil	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, pollution&marine	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, pollution&marine, pollution&oil	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, pollution&oil	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, protection and development of the marine environment, pollution from land-based sources, pollution&marine	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, protection of the marine environment, pollution&marine	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, protection of the marine environment, pollution&marine, pollution&baltic	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, protection of the marine environment, pollution&marine, pollution&oil	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, rhine, against pollution, rhine&protection	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, rhine, rhine&protection	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, river, pollution&river	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, seabed, continental shelf, against pollution, pollution&mediterranean, pollution&oil	Freshwater, Other, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, seabed, dumping, pollution&marine	Freshwater, Other, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, seabed, liability, pollution&oil	Freshwater, Other, Pollution	Pollution
pollut, water resources, control of pollution	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
power and irrigation	Energy	Energy
power plant	Energy	Energy
power plant, niger	Energy, Freshwater	Energy
power plant, volta	Energy, Freshwater	Energy
prawns	Species	Species
protected area	Habitat	Habitat
protected area, biodiversity	Habitat, Species	Species
protected area, biological diversity	Habitat, Species	Species
protected area, protection and development of the marine environment, wildlife	Habitat, Pollution, Species	Species
protection and development of the marine environment	Pollution	Pollution
protection of plants	Species	Species
protection of the environment	Other	Other
protection of the marine environment	Pollution	Pollution
protection of the marine environment, biological diversity	Pollution, Species	Species
protection of the marine environment, dumping, radioactive waste	Pollution	Pollution
quarantine of plants	Species	Species
radioactive contamination	Pollution	Pollution
radioactive waste	Pollution	Pollution
reactor safety	Pollution	Pollution
recycling of ships	Pollution	Pollution
rhine	Freshwater	Freshwater
rhine, lake	Freshwater	Freshwater
rhine, lake, hunting	Freshwater, Species	Species
rhine, navigation of the rhine, rhine&corrosive, rhine&inflammable	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
rhine, navigation of the rhine, transport of corrosive, rhine&corrosive	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
rhine, rhine&corrosive, rhine&inflammable	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
rhine, rhine&discharge of waste	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
rhine, rhine&inflammable	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
rhine, rhine&petroleum	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
rhine, rhine&protection	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
rhine, river	Freshwater	Freshwater
rhine, river, navigation of the rhine, transport of corrosive, rhine&corrosive	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
risk capacity	Climate	Climate
river	Freshwater	Freshwater
river, common works	Freshwater, Energy	Energy
river, danube	Freshwater	Freshwater
river, danube, compensation	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
river, danube, sustainable	Freshwater, Human_sphere	Freshwater
river, emergen	Freshwater, Pollution	Pollution
river, forest	Freshwater, Species	Species
river, hydraulic	Freshwater, Energy	Energy
river, maas	Freshwater	Freshwater
river, mekong, sustainable	Freshwater, Human_sphere	Freshwater
river, natural resources	Freshwater, Other	Freshwater
river, niger	Freshwater	Freshwater
river, niger, water resources	Freshwater	Freshwater
river, plata	Freshwater	Freshwater
river, salmon	Freshwater, Species	Species
river, scheldt	Freshwater	Freshwater
river, sustainable	Freshwater, Human_sphere	Freshwater
river, timber	Freshwater, Species	Species
river, volta	Freshwater	Freshwater
river, water resources	Freshwater	Freshwater
safety and health	Human_sphere	Human_sphere
salmon	Species	Species
salvage	Pollution	Pollution
scheldt	Freshwater	Freshwater
seabed	Other	Other
seal	Species	Species
seal, antarctic	Species, Habitat	Species
seal, fur seal	Species	Species
senegal river	Freshwater	Freshwater
senegal river, senegal river&development	Freshwater, Energy	Energy
ships carrying dangerous chemicals	Pollution	Pollution
southern african development community	Human_sphere	Human_sphere
southern african development community, forest	Human_sphere, Species	Species
southern african development community, wildlife	Human_sphere, Species	Species
spitsbergen	Other	Other
sustainable	Human_sphere	Human_sphere
sustainable, bird	Human_sphere, Species	Species
sustainable, coastal environment&protection	Human_sphere, Pollution	Pollution
sustainable, forest	Human_sphere, Species	Species
sustainable, tourism	Human_sphere	Human_sphere
technological disaster	Pollution	Pollution
timber	Species	Species
tobacco	Species	Species
tourism	Human_sphere	Human_sphere
training	Human_sphere	Human_sphere
training, institute, forest	Human_sphere, Species	Species
transboundary water	Freshwater	Freshwater
transboundary water, sustainable	Freshwater, Human_sphere	Freshwater
transfrontier cooperation	Human_sphere	Human_sphere
transitional rights	Species	Species
transport of corrosive	Pollution	Pollution
trapping	Species	Species
trifinio	Habitat	Habitat
tuna	Species	Species
turtle	Species	Species
veterin	Species	Species
veterin, phytosanitary	Species	Species
vicuna	Species	Species
volta	Freshwater	Freshwater
warfare&bacteriological	Human_sphere	Human_sphere
wastewater treatment	Pollution	Pollution
water coordination	Freshwater	Freshwater
water resources	Freshwater	Freshwater
water resources, forest	Freshwater, Species	Species
water resources, sustainable	Freshwater, Human_sphere	Freshwater
waterway	Freshwater	Freshwater
weapon	Human_sphere	Human_sphere
weapon, weapon&bacteriological	Human_sphere	Human_sphere
weapon, weapon&chemical	Human_sphere	Human_sphere
wetland	Habitat	Habitat
whale	Species	Species
whaling	Species	Species
white lead in paint	Pollution	Pollution
wildlife	Species	Species
world trade organization	Human_sphere	Human_sphere
world trade organization, phytosanitary	Human_sphere, Species	Species
wrecks	Pollution	Pollution
zambezi watercourse	Freshwater	Freshwater

Assigning IEAs to lineages

Lineages consist of the legal linkages between some initial treaty, any modifying protocols or amendments, any legal emanations (e.g., that broaden its scope), and any follow-on or replacing treaties. IEAs are identified as part of a lineage based on evidence from its legal text identifying a legal relationship in which it modifies, extends, or replaces (or is modified, extended, or replaced by) another IEA. The lineage concept is conceptually similar to a parent-child relationship. The first IEA in a lineage is an Agreement (i.e., treaty, convention, accord, or other major legal instrument). Protocols or Amendments become part of a lineage if they modify or extend that initial IEA. In some cases, later Agreements (as opposed to Protocols and Amendments) may significantly modify or extend and even terminate and replace an initial IEA, so long as their texts explicitly identify the legal relationship to an earlier Agreement in that lineage. As noted in the article, the “international whaling” lineage includes the 1946 International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling but also includes the 1931 and 1936 treaties which it replaced, as they had lapsed during World War II. To access all IEAs within a given lineage, use the "Lineage" filter on the main IEADB agreements page.

Two clarifying points deserve mention in relation to how IEADB lineages differ from IEADB subjects. First, each of the eight subject categories used in this article contain numerous lineages. For example, the Species category contains scores of legally-distinct lineages, including those related to whaling, numerous fisheries regimes, and CITES. Second, as lineages are defined by legal relationships, when efforts to regulate a given environmental problem are undertaken by different groups of states, they are assigned to different lineages. For example, international regulations to protect the Mediterranean are found in both the Mediterranean Action Plan (MedPlan) lineage and the Mediterranean Shores Protection lineage, since those are legally-separate regulatory efforts.