The Río de la Plata has been subjected to various environmental stresses as a result of human and economic activities in the coastal areas of both countries and is therefore a recipient of considerable urban, agricultural and industrial pollution. The system is very dynamic and pollutants are transported by currents, winds, sediments and living organisms.

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The Treaty establishes that the States Parties are obliged to protect and preserve the aquatic environment and, in particular, to prevent its pollution. Within this framework, both countries have developed actions to control and reverse these situations.

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Likewise, the Treaty assigns to CARP and CTMFM the function of promoting scientific studies and research, with special reference to the evaluation, conservation and preservation of living resources and their rational exploitation and the prevention and elimination of pollution and other harmful effects that may derive from the use, exploration and exploitation of the river waters. To this end, one of the most important binational actions was the Environmental Protection Project for the Rio de la Plata and its Maritime Front for the Prevention and Control of Pollution and Restoration of Habitats, known as FREPLATA.