Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 5.2 Forest destroyed to make way for illegal gold mines in Madre de Dios, Peru.
The area that incurred extensive damage is considered a biodiversity hotspot
on Earth. (Photo © Andrea Calmet)
Principally, all the land species that require international regulation are
subject to the sovereignty of states. When terrestrial animals cross borders
between states, they enter another state. To protect terrestrial animals, plants
or ecosystems, states have to cooperate and waive their full sovereignty, as is
the case with the Bonn Migratory Species Convention, the Ramsar Wetlands
Convention or the World Heritage Convention.
The greatest marine challenges are related to the loss of the fi sh resources
in the world. During the negotiation process for the Convention on the Law
of the Sea, fi sh resources were reassigned from a shared high seas resource to
the jurisdiction of coastal states within their exclusive economic zones of 200
nautical miles. This was and still is the preferred solution in the opinion of
many economists (at least there is a body in charge of managing fi sh
resources), but this extensive amendment in the law of the sea has unfortu-
nately not resulted in an improvement to fi sh stocks. Instead, the survival
capacity of fi sh populations in large parts of the world has been severely
reduced.
The practice of whaling offers a different example. The 1946 Convention
aimed to administer whales in much the same way as fi sh. The original objec-
tive of the treaty system was sustainable whaling, but as attitudes changed, the
result was a comprehensive ban on whaling.
One result of establishing exclusive economic zones was that coastal states
were able to develop their biodiversity conservation rights and policies over a
much wider marine area than before. At the moment, states have the right and
 
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