Agreements that reach beyond national boundaries help plan and implement sustainable development. The following conventions and agreements have had a significant impact on the environment globally.One of the most wide-reaching of these is the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Aims to conserve biodiversity, encourage the sustainable use of the components of biodiversity and to facilitate the sharing of the benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources in a fair and equitable way. The CBD established a financial mechanism for the provision of resources to developing countries for the purposes of the Convention, which is operated by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). GEF activities are implemented by the United Nations Development Programme, UNEP and the World Bank. Associated with the CBD are the Global Taxonomic Initiative and the International Clearing House Mechanism, which supports the Convention globally.

There is also the European Community Biodiversity Clearing-House Mechanism which helps to achieve the aims of the 1992 Convention on Biodiversity by providing expertise in managing information and technology to ensure that all governments have access to the information and technologies they need for their work on biodiversity.

The UK also has its Clearing House Mechanism for Biodiversity which is designed to provide rapid access to relevant information.

The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) makes the world's primary data on biodiversity freely and universally available via the Internet. It works cooperatively with and in support of the international organizations named above.