JOINT WORK PLAN 2003–2005

Between

The Bureau of the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, Iran, 1971) and the Secretariat of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS)

And Between

The Bureau of the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, Iran, 1971) and the Secretariat of the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA)     

The genie in the bottle: The international regulation of genetically modified organisms

Abstract

This paper describes the circumstances surrounding charges laid against a retail vendor of Traditional Asian Medicinals under Canada's Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act (WAPPRI‐ITA). The vendor was charged with selling a product containing species listed as Appendix I under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES).     

Fisheries management in Jamaica,international perspectives

Abstract

This paper examines Jamaica's efforts to implement of the conservation and management provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), bearing in mind that prior to 1982 there was an existing legal framework that sought to address issues relating to fisheries management. More specifically, the paper looks at the issues related to the conservation and management of straddling and highly migratory fish stocks under UNCLOS and subsequent agreements negotiated under the auspices of UNCLOS. It also addresses the problems Jamaica faces with the conservation and management of Queen Conch (Strombus Gigas), in particular, the UNCLOS provisions regarding access to such resource, taking into account the limitations to such access as regulated by the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).     

The convention on the conservation of European wildlife and natural habitats (Bern, 1979): Procedures of application in practice 1

Abstract

The Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats was signed in Bern, Switzerland in 1979 and came into force on 1 June 1982. Over the past 20 years, various mechanisms have been developed to monitor the implementation of the Convention and to improve its effectiveness. The purpose of diis article is to examine the application of these mechanisms and assess die effectiveness of the Convention as a tool for biodiversity conservation.     

Japan's Research Whaling Is Not Unlawful and Does Not Violate CITES Trade Rules

This article is a critique of two reports of “independent legal experts” sponsored by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW); the “Paris Panel” and the “London Panel.” The article shows that the Paris Panel's conclusion that Japan's research whaling in the Antarctic is unlawful and an abuse of rights under the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW) is based on misuse of evidence and failure to properly interpret Article VIII of the Convention and the legal status of recommendatory non-binding resolutions. It also shows that the London Panel's conclusion that the import of humpback whales from Japan's research program in the Antarctic and sei whales from its research program in the North Pacific are a violation of trade rules under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora is based on incorrect interpretation of that Convention's trade rules. It is concluded that the two independent legal experts panel reports are, from a legal perspective, seriously flawed, rendering their conclusions invalid and relegating the reports to the status of IFAW propaganda.     

Conflict or compatibility? The trade,conservation and animal welfare dimensions of cites

Abstract

While analysis of the effectiveness of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) often focuses on its ability to ensure sustainable trade in the species it regulates, the treaty also contains many provisions intended to ensure the welfare of species introduced into international trade. While such provisions serve salutary objectives, they are often complied with only in the breach. Efforts should be made by the Parties to CITES to ensure implementation of the animal welfare provisions of CITES through stricter enforcement measures, enactment of national legislation and an interpretation of treaty provisions that furthers the underlying welfare objectives of the Convention.     

Investigating the Influence of Non-state Actors on Amendments to the CITES Appendices

Abstract

Non-state actors are playing an increasing role in global environmental governance. Elucidating the modalities and implications of this engagement is important to understanding international policy-making processes. CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, is the primary mechanism for regulating international wildlife trade. It functions by listing species in its Appendices with corresponding trade controls. Accurately listing species in the Appendices is therefore fundamental to the Convention’s effectiveness. We investigate the influence of non-state actors on amending the CITES Appendices using an established framework for assessing NGO influence in international environmental negotiations. We find that non-state actors have been successful in issue framing and agenda setting, and in influencing the position of other actors and final decisions. We also find evidence that NGOs have sought to abuse CITES in pursuit of “campaign” victories, including claiming unwarranted victories, thus undermining NGO legitimacy and accountability. We recommend that the CITES parties seek the most robust science to inform decision-making on proposed amendments to the appendices, which should be broadened to include socioeconomic and economic considerations in order that proposals are evaluated in their real-world context. We further recommend that NGOs should seek to fully understand decision-making in the Convention in order to maximise their legitimate contribution to CITES. Further research is needed to fully elucidate the influence of non-state actors in CITES.     

Problems and Prospects for the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources Twenty Years On*

Abstract

Twenty years after its adoption, the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) remains unique among fisheries agreements in its declared commitment to considering the impact of existing or proposed fisheries on the entire ecosystem, rather than on just the harvested species. However, the recent picture of fisheries activities within the Convention area suggests a substantial ‐ and perhaps widening ‐ gap between theory and practice. The fishery that has most clearly proven beyond CCAMLR's capacity, and which has resulted in the most significant damage to the Antarctic environment in modern times is that for Patagonian Toothfish, Dissostichus eleginoides. That fishery is discussed in more detail below. The roots of that problem in conjunction with structural problems that have contributed to CCAMLR's inability to deal with the toothfish challenge threaten to be repeated in the second‐generation krill fishery that is rapidly developing in Antarctic waters. The authors provide suggestions for structural and procedural changes within CCAMLR to permit it to effectively manage the marine living resources of the Southern Ocean.     

International Hague Network of Judges: Significance in Implementation of the 1980 and 1996 Hague Conventions on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction

The 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (“the Convention”) provides for the prompt return to the country of habitual residence of children taken by a parent from one country to another. It was created to address the threshold problem in such cases, that is, which court should determine the rights of the parties involved. In a case under the Convention, the court's concern is which country is the country of habitual residence and practical aspects of the return to ensure the safety of the child and the taking parent. This article will discuss the formation of the International Hague Network of Judges (IHNJ), why it is crucial in the advancement of the Convention's goals, and, specifically, what it does to educate judges and facilitate communication between judges, and how the IHNJ can facilitate the return, including providing information on services, procedures, and protections offered in the countries of return.     

The convention on biological diversity: Ten years on and the strategic plan

Abstract

The Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (Convention) has taken 114 decisions and launched programmes of work to address five biome‐based themes and thirteen cross‐cutting issues. The challenge for the Convention now is to demonstrate, through action and deed, that it is an effective vehicle for implementing this policy. In response to this challenge, the Conference of the Parties at its fifth meeting, in May 2000, decided to initiate a process to develop a Strategic Plan for the Convention that would provide an important mechanism for the implementation of this policy. This Note, which is an abridged version of document UNEP/CBD/MSP/2, has been prepared to assist participants in this Conference to provide more focused suggestions for the development of the Strategic Plan for the Convention.     

From IPOA Sharks to Sharks MoU Under the Convention on Migratory Species: Progress or Clutter in International Environmental Law?

Abstract

The conservation and management of sharks is regulated under different international instruments of varying degrees of specificity and with different legal purposes. Two international instruments targeted at the conservation and management of sharks are the International Plan of Action for Sharks and the Sharks Memorandum of Understanding, which was adopted under the Convention on Migratory Species. This article examines and compares these two non-binding instruments, querying not only what was gained from the adoption of an additional non-binding instrument in the Sharks MoU just ten years after the IPOA Sharks but also how the accumulation of soft law instruments may operate within the framework of international environmental law. We show that such instruments do serve different purposes and can serve the ultimate goal of improving the conservation status of sharks, as well as thickening international environmental law to the benefit of species conservation.     

On the expansion of species protection in Nepal: Advances and pitfalls of new efforts to implement and comply with CITES

Abstract

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) has proven particularly difficult to implement due to the complex legal requirements that it imposes on its parties. As with many other nations, Nepal lacks national implementing legislation, which has greatly hindered compliance with the treaty's provisions in the country and, indirectly, in the region. Here we explore several case studies of actual and potential CITES violations in Nepal that have come to light in the past decade, and review new draft legislation that is designed to implement the Convention and close gaps in enforcement. We predict that some gaps will remain regarding implementation and compliance with CITES in Nepal, and make several recommendations to address these issues via rule‐making procedures during the formulation of Regulations and via the actions of the CITES Coordination Council, a provision in the draft Act that is designed to improve cross‐sectoral cooperation.     

Military spending,liberal institutions and state compliance with international environmental agreements

The current paper examines the dynamics of state security behavior and international environmental protection. In particular, the study provides a liberal institutional approach in identifying a “guns and butter” relationship between military spending and state participation with international environmental agreements. This cross-national study employs both bivariate and multivariate regression models to analyze the relationship between military expenditures and state participation with international environmental agreements, particularly examining the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. The empirics of the study suggest that states with higher military expenditures as a percent of GDP are less likely to comply with international environmental agreements. Theoretical and empirical implications are presented in the conclusion section.     

Moving Children through Private International Law: Institutions and the Enactment of Ethics

This article examines how the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co‐operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention) plays a central role in justifying the institution of legal adoption. The Hague Adoption Convention has often been regarded as a response to the challenges that the “global situation” brings to adoption practice. Based on private international law, the agreement contains protocols and norms to ensure the protection of the child in intercountry adoption. In the article, I propose that the Hague Convention can be understood as a “transparency device”; a complex assemblage working in pursuit of global “good governance.” The device, however, also operates as justification within the institutional domain, allowing adoption agencies to make distinctions between legitimate and illegitimate adoptions. Idemonstrate how the logic of transparency disguises as much as it promises to reveal. While the doctrine's aim is to validate adoptability and combat trafficking, it also helps to mainstream Euro‐American adoption knowledge to other parts of the world.     

Sharing the benefits of biodiversity the Kani TBGRI deal in Kerala,India

Abstract

The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) concluded at the Earth Summit in 1992, mandates that where utilisation of the knowledge, innovations and practices of local and indigenous communities leads to benefits, such benefits shall be equitably shared with the holders of such knowledge, innovations and practices. The study analyses some of the issues that have emerged in the context of a ‘benefit sharing exercise’ attempted by the Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute (TBGRI), a research institute based in Kerala, with the Kani tribals of Kerala, pursuant to the development of a pharmaceutical drug, based on the knowledge, information and natural resources that the Kanis have nurtured over many years.

As the case study illustrates, the debate on benefit sharing in the absence of other fundamental rights such as the rights to land, access to the resource and adequate governance structures becomes a limited and myopic exercise. A ‘fair and equitable benefit sharing mechanism’ would therefore call for certain basic pre‐conditions that will be discussed in the course of the study.     

A flying start for the agreement on the conservation of African‐Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA)

Abstract

In accordance with Article XIV the Agreement on the Conservation of African‐Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) entered into force on November 1, 1999 after the signature and ratification by the requisite fourteen Ranges States, comprising at least seven from Africa and seven from Eurasia. A few days later, the first Meeting of the Parties took place in Cape Town, South Africa. This article will provide a brief historical overview of the development of AEWA. However the main focus will be on what has occurred since November 1999 and what can be anticipated in the near‐term future.     

The Endangered Species Act and Habitat Conservation Plans

Abstract

The federal Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) is over 40 years old. During those years, the landscape of endangered species issues and the tools we have to address them have changed considerably. Habitat Conservation Plans (HCP) under the ESA have been used throughout the country for 30 years and have significantly changed the way federal agencies address impacts to endangered species. The ever‐changing needs of endangered species, and the laws in place to protect them, affect all aspects of project planning. The history of these laws and the current issues today are key to understanding when an HCP may benefit your project or plan.     

CITES as Global Governance: Paths to Consensus and Defining Nature Through Uncertainty

Abstract

As concern over various environmental issues has risen at the international level, questions regarding what constitutes “nature” and how it should be portrayed and treated have gained a greater sense of urgency. This paper explores varying concepts and attributes of nature articulated by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (“CITES”). Much of the research on CITES comes from the fields of policy and ecology, exploring matters of biodiversity, sustainability, enforcement, functionality, and evaluation of CITES as a “success” or “failure” of policy, with little focus on issues of cultural context and ambiguities. In contrast, within the social sciences, the contemporary literature is broadly dedicated to critiquing the static, dualistic ideas of nature upon which environmental regulations are based. However, what is often missing from this discourse is how environmental policies often have an implicit understanding that these static conceptions of nature are not accurate – that within the environmental legislation process, there is “an awareness, for example, of the messy, improvised character of knowledges about nature”. This paper explores CITES’s understanding of nature, how it characterizes nature, and how these conceptions become implemented in legislative practice. It illustrates CITES as a manifestation of what Krueger calls a regulatory process of “coded and recoded text with material implications” (p. 880), wherein a relatively unchanging set of legislation can create “multiple, even contradictory, outcomes coexisting simultaneously in the same system” (p. 872).     

A GIS‐based Quantitative Approach for the Search of Clandestine Graves,Italy

Previous research on the RAG color‐coded prioritization systems for the discovery of clandestine graves has not considered all the factors influencing the burial site choice within a GIS project. The goal of this technical note was to discuss a GIS‐based quantitative approach for the search of clandestine graves. The method is based on cross‐referenced RAG maps with cumulative suitability factors to host a burial, leading to the editing of different search scenarios for ground searches showing high‐(Red), medium‐(Amber), and low‐(Green) priority areas. The application of this procedure allowed several outcomes to be determined: If the concealment occurs at night, then the “search scenario without the visibility” will be the most effective one; if the concealment occurs in daylight, then the “search scenario with the DSM‐based visibility” will be most appropriate; the different search scenarios may be cross‐referenced with offender's confessions and eyewitnesses’ testimonies to verify the veracity of their statements.     

The Western Riverside County Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan: 10 Years Later

Abstract

Urban development in Southern California over the past few decades has largely concentrated on the coastal areas. In contrast, Riverside County, California's fourth largest county, which sits inland from the coast and is about the size of New Jersey, has until recently retained much of its rural and agricultural acreage with a significant percentage of its land undeveloped. With so much open space, western Riverside County was among the inland areas of Southern California left with a majority of the remaining intact habitat areas for species, sometimes making it “ground zero” for a battle between saving habitat for endangered species and building new homes and infrastructure in a fast‐growing area. That tug‐of‐;war eventually led to the formation of one of the nation's largest Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs) covering nearly 150 plants and animals protected by endangered species laws or potentially in danger of becoming listed as endangered or threatened.