Environmentalists urged governments to implement existing global agreements rather than create new ones because the gap is widening between nations' commitments and their actions.

The lack of enforcement of environmental conventions was one of the issues concerning the green campaigners who were named this year's Champions of the Earth by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on Friday night.

Other problems mentioned included water quality, climate change and decreasing biodiversity.

Relevant treaties cover many emerging issues but little action has been carried out, said Masumeh Ebtekar, Iran's vice president, who was named a champion of cleaner petrochemical production.

The award recognises prominent and inspirational environmental leaders who have made an impact at the policy level. Besides Ebtekar, there are six other laureates.  These include former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev who UNEP says has actively promoted environmental awareness among political leaders.

Ebtekar's concerns were echoed by Tewolde Gebre Egziabher, director general of Environmental Protection Authority of Ethiopia, who won an award for his campaign against the patenting of living things and efforts to promote African community rights.

"The UN Security Council can enforce political agreements, trade embargoes can force through trade agreements but nothing can implement an environmental agreement," said Egziabher.

Egziabher called for an equally strong mechanism to ensure countries stick to agreements and push countries that will not sign up to treaties to sign conventions.

"The United States is difficult to deal with on these agreements, and I suppose the world is too scared to force them. They have not implemented the biodiversity convention and bio-safety protocol," he said.

Most environmental issues are associated with a global agreement. For example, climate change was addressed in the Kyoto Protocol, biodiversity in the Convention on Biodiversity and the Cartagena Protocol and toxic waste in the Basel Convention.

"Some problems they wanted to address have become worse," said Shafqat Kakakhel, UNEP's deputy executive director.

Pennapa Hongthong

The Nation

Singapore