Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-995ml Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-29T02:35:41.071Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Science, Values and People: The Three Factors that Will Define the Next Generation of International Conservation Agreements

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 December 2011

Alexander Gillespie*
Affiliation:
University of Waikato, New Zealand. Email: azg@waikato.ac.nz.

Abstract

This paper is concerned with three emerging issues that define the way in which international conservation law moves forward in the coming decades. The three issues are those related to the use of science to frame regimes; the use of philosophy to examine the values of what is trying to be achieved; and the use of politics to ensure that local communities are linked to conservation efforts. Consideration of each of these three areas is relatively recent, none of them having being at the forefront of conservation considerations of international importance in the past. In the future, this is likely to change.

Type
Invited Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1 See Gillespie, A., Conservation, Biodiversity and International Law (Edward Elgar, 2011), at pp. 10–11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

2 Ibid., at pp. 11–13.

3 Ibid., at p. 12.

4 International Whaling Committee, ‘Report of the Scientific Committee’ (IWC, 2010), Doc. IWC/63/Rep 1, at pp. 5–6, available at: http://iwcoffice.org/_documents/sci_com/SCRepFiles2011/63-Rep1-with%20covers.pdf; see also ‘Whale Forensics’, New Scientist, 3 Oct. 2009, at pp. 4–5.

5 Gillespie, n. 1 above, at pp. 17–18.

7 Available at: http://www.cbd.int/gti.

8 Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), 5 June 1992, in force 29 Dec. 1993, available at: http://www.cbd.int/convention/text.

9 Caracas (Venezuela), 1 Dec. 1996, in force 2 May 2001, available at: http://www.iacseaturtle.org.

10 Ibid., footnote to Annex I.

11 Washington, DC (USA), 3 Mar. 1973, in force 1 July 1975, available at: http://www.cites.org. See CITES ‘Standard Nomenclature’ Resolution 12.11 (2010), available at: http://www.cites.org/eng/res/12/12-11R15.php.

12 Mexico City (Mexico), 7 Feb. 1936, in force 15 Mar. 1937, available at: http://www.fws.gov/le/pdffiles/Mexico_Mig_Bird_Treaty.pdf.

13 Ibid., Art. 4., amendment 10 Mar. 1972. For discussion, see Cioc, M., The Game of Conservation: International Treaties to Protect the World’s Migratory Animals (Ohio University Press, 2009), at pp. 58–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

14 Available at: http://iwcoffice.org.

15 Mittermeier, R., et al. , Hotspots: The Earth’s Biologically Richest and Most Endangered Terrestrial Ecoregions (Conservation International, 2008), at pp. 21–7.Google Scholar

16 Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, Paris (France), 23 Nov. 1972, in force 17 Dec. 1975, available at: http://whc.unesco.org/en/conventiontext.

17 Gillespie, n. 1 above, at pp. 36–7.

18 Ramsar (Iran), 2 Feb. 1971, in force 21 Dec. 1975, available at: http://www.ramsar.org.

20 Gillespie, n. 1 above, at pp. 42–5.

21 Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Rapid Assessment of Pollinators’ Status (FAO, 2009), available at: http://www.fao.org/agriculture/crops/news-events-bulletins/detail/tr/item/8902/icode/enGoogle Scholar.

22 CBD, n. 8 above, Art. 11.

23 See CBD COP Decisions VII/9 (2004); IV/10 (2002); V/15 (2000); V/3 (2000), and III/18 (1998); all available at: http://www.cbd.int/decisions/cop.

24 See CBD COP Decision X/44 (2010) on ‘Incentive Measures’. Note also the earlier CBD COP Decision IX/6 (2008) on the same topic, and para. 2 of Decision IX/11 (2008) on ‘Review of Implementation of Articles 20 and 21’. All documents available at: http://www.cbd.int/decisions/cop.

25 Gillespie, A., International Environmental Law, Policy and Ethics (Oxford University Press, 2000), Chapter 7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

26 United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Biodiversity Outlook 3 (UNEP, 2010), at pp. 3–4; and UNEP, Dead Planet, Living Planet (UNEP, 2010), at pp. 5–8.

27 Engler, M., ‘The Value of International Wildlife Trade’ (2008) 22(1) TRAFFIC Bulletin, at pp. 4–5.Google Scholar

28 FAO, State of the World’s Forests (FAO, 2009), available at: http://www.fao.org/docrep/011/i0350e/i0350e00.htm.Google Scholar

29 Gillespie, n. 1 above, at pp. 106–11 and 115–18.

30 UNEP, Biodiversity Outlook 3 (UNEP, 2010), at pp. 3–4; UNEP, Dead Planet, Living Planet (UNEP, 2010), at pp. 5–8; Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, Ecosystems and Human Well-Being (Island Press, 2005), at pp. 40–1.

31 See n. 18 above. For the reflection of this principle in Ramsar Resolutions, see Resolutions 8.4 (2002), 8.34 (2002), 8.23 (2002), 8.25 (2002), 8.40 (2002), 7.15 (1999), 7.16 (1999), 6.10 (1996), 2.3 (1984), and 1.6 (1980) on ‘Assessment of Wetland Values’, available at: http://www.ramsar.org/cda/en/ramsar-documents-resol/main/ramsar/1-31-107_4000_0__.

32 Available at: http://www.thegef.org.

33 GEF, Making a Visible Difference in Our World (GEF, 2005), at p. 29, available at: http://www.thegef.org/gef/node/1578.Google Scholar

34 See n. 16 above.

35 GEF, n. 33 above, at pp. 22, 24, 27 and 29.

36 ‘A Trophy for Conservation’ (2008) 49 SPECIES: Newsletter of the IUCN Species Survival Commission, at p. 35; Barnett, R. and Patterson, C., Sport Hunting in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Region: An Overview (traffic East/Southern Africa, 2005), at p. 3.Google Scholar

37 ‘Preservation Pays’, New Scientist, 4 July 2009, at p. 4.

38 Hoyt, E., The State of Whalewatching (IFAW, 2008), at p. 3Google Scholar; Newsome, D., et al. ., Wildlife Tourism (Channel View Publications, 2005), at pp. 122–7.Google Scholar

39 Gillespie, n. 1 above, at pp. 127–9.

40 Ibid., at pp. 128–30.

41 See n. 11 above.

42 Bonn (Germany), 23 June 1979, in force 1 Nov. 1983, available at: http://www.cms.int.

43 Bern (Switzerland), 19 Sept. 1979, in force 1 June 1982, available at: http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/cultureheritage/nature/bern/default_en.asp.

45 Available at: http://www.cbd.int/gspc.

46 Gillespie, n. 1 above, at pp. 132–4.

47 CBD COP Decision VI/26 (2002) on ‘The 2010 Target’, available at: http://www.cbd.int/decisions.

48 CBD COP Decision X/2 (2010) on ‘Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020’, available at: http://www.cbd.int/decisions.

49 OIE Resolution XIV (2007) on ‘Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare’, available at: http://www.oie.int.

50 IUCN Resolution 24 (1990), ‘Conservation of Wildlife through Wise Use as a Renewable Natural Resource’, Resolution of the 18th Session of the IUCN General Assembly, Perth, Australia, 28 Nov. to 5 Dec. 1990.

51 CBD COP Decision V/24 (2000) on ‘Sustainable Use as a Cross Cutting Issue’, available at: http://www.cbd.int/decisions.

52 At n. 42 above.

53 At n. 11 above.

54 At n. 14 above.

55 CITES COP Decisions 14.58 and 14.59 (2007) on ‘Transport of Live Specimens’, available at: http://www.cites.org/eng/dec/index.php.

56 See, e.g., the Agreement on International Humane Trapping Standards (aihts) between the European Community, Canada, and the Russian Federation; in force 1 June 1999, 37 International Legal Materials (1998) 532.

57 Art. IX, reprinted in Rüster, B., Simma, D. & Bock, M. (eds.), International Protection of the Environment: Treaties and Related Documents, Vol. IV (Oceana, 1975), at p. 1561.Google Scholar

58 Paris (France), 19 Mar. 1902, in force 11 May 1907, 102 British and Foreign State Papers 969, Art VII, available at: http://eelink.net/~asilwildlife/bird_1902.html.

59 The 1957 Interim Convention on the Conservation of North Pacific Fur Seals, Washington, DC (US), 9 Feb. 1957, in force 14 Oct. 1957, 314 United Nations Treaty Series 105, Art. IX(3).

60 See UN Doc. A/CONF.13/L. 56 (1958).

61 UNESCO, The Importance of Sacred Natural Sites for Biodiversity Conservation (UNESCO, 2003), at pp. 6–7Google Scholar and 153–8; Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, Ecosystems and Human Well-Being (Island Press, 2005), at p. 44.

62 WHC Decision 10/34.COM/8B (2010), available at: http://whc.unesco.org/archive/2010/whc10-34com-8Be.pdf.

63 See Fowler, P., World Heritage Cultural Landscapes (UNESCO, 2003).Google Scholar

64 WHC Decision 9/33.COM/8B (2008) on ‘Mount Wutai’, available at: http://whc.unesco.org/archive/2009/whc09-33com-8Be.pdf.

65 Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), 14 June 1992; available at: http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?documentid=78&articleid=1163. See also UN Dept of Economic and Social Affairs, Division for Sustainable Development, Agenda 21, Chapters 3, 11 and 14, available at: http://www.un.org/esa/dsd/agenda21.

66 Johannesburg (South Africa), 26 Aug. to 4 Sept. 2002; see para. 44, Sections J, L, and H of the WSSD Plan of Implementation, UN. Doc. A/CONF.199/20, available at: http://www.johannesburgsummit.org/html/documents/summit_docs/2309_planfinal.htm.

67 At n. 8 above, Art. 8(j); see also Art. 1(c).

69 New York (NY), 13 Sept. 2007, available at: http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/en/declaration.html.

70 Ibid., Arts. 24 and 25.

71 See UNESCO/WHC, ‘Summary Report of the 12th General Assembly of States Parties to the WHC’ (Doc. WHC-99/CONF.206/7), at p. 4, para. 20; available at: http://whc.unesco.org/archive/1999/whc-99-conf206-7e.pdf.

72 See Damania, R., et al. ., A Future for Wild Tigers (World Bank, 2008)Google Scholar, at p. 15; and Birdlife, State of the World’s Birds: Indicators for Our Changing World (Birdlife, 2008), at p. 20.

73 The spectrum of what ‘participate’ is or means is very wide. For the options in this area, see IUCN, Guidelines for Management Planning of Protected Areas (IUCN, 2003), pp. 57–61.

74 See generally Kemf, E. (ed.), Indigenous Peoples and Protected Areas (Earthscan, 1993)Google Scholar.

75 CBD COP Decision IX/18 (2008) on ‘Protected Areas’, Section A, para. 19; available at: http://www.cbd.int/decisions/cop.

76 Agreement on the Conservation of Gorillas and Their Habitats (agreed under the auspices of the CMS, n. 42 above), Paris (France), 26 Oct. 2007, in force 1 June 2008, available at: http://www.cms.int/species/gorillas/index.htm.

77 Ibid., Arts. III(2)(k) and VIII(1).

78 See Raven, S., Assessment of the Solution-Orientated Research Needed to Promote a More Sustainable Bushmeat Trade in Central and West Africa (DEFRA, 2002).Google Scholar

79 UNESCO, Use and Conservation of the Biosphere (UNESCO, 1968), at p. 223.

80 See UNESCO, Seville Strategy and the Statutory Framework of the World Network, available at: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0010/001038/103849Eb.pdf.

81 See UNESCO, The Madrid Action Plan for Biosphere Reserves (2008–2013), at p. 15, Target 10, available at: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0016/001633/163301e.pdf.

82 Ramsar COP Resolutions 8.36 (2002) on ‘Participatory Environmental Management’, and 8.14 (2002) on ‘New Guidelines for Management Planning for Ramsar Sites’, both available at: http://www.ramsar.org/cda/en/ramsar-documents-resol-resolutions-of-8th/main/ramsar/1-31-107%5E21367_4000_0__.

83 Ramsar COP Recommendation 6.3 (1996) on ‘Involving Local and Indigenous People’; and Resolution 8.14 (2002), ibid.

84 WHC, n. 16 above, Art. 5(a).

85 Cattaneo, M. & Trifoni, J., The World Heritage Sites of UNESCO: Nature Sanctuaries (WhiteStar, 2003), at pp. 16Google Scholar, 66, 70 and 100–1; Pressouyre, L., The World Heritage Convention, Twenty Years Later (UNESCO, 1992), at pp. 14–15, and 22.Google Scholar

86 See WHC Decisions 32 COM 7A.3 (2008) and 30 COM 7A.7 (2006), both available at: http://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions.

87 Proposal for a ‘Fifth C’ to be Added to the Strategic Objectives, WHC-07/31 COM/13B. See also, 31 COM 13 B (2007) 31 COM 13 B. All documents available at: http://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions.