Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
(see, for example, Shine et al . 2000; Miller and Gunderson 2004). For example,
'introduction' (of a species) is defi ned very diff erently in the following two cases:
it refers to the 'movement by human agency, indirect or direct, of an alien species
outside its natural range (past or present)' in the context of the Convention on
Biological Diversity and to 'the entry of a pest resulting in its establishment' in the
context of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC). h e concept
of 'preventing new introductions' hence means quite diff erent things in these two
conventions
A mosaic of over 50 internationally agreed legal instruments, binding as well
as non-binding, now deal with some aspects of IAS. Many focus on a particu-
lar dimension of the IAS issue, with regards to a particular protection objective.
Binding instruments, such as treaties and conventions, are agreements of a manda-
tory nature between States: they must be observed and their obligations performed
in good faith. h ey often require lengthy negotiation processes, and rarely contain
detailed rules. It is not unusual for their text to include qualifi ers such as 'as pos-
sible', 'as practical', 'as appropriate'. While this may be seen as detracting from their
mandatory nature, it is in fact a refl ection of reality. Countries have widely diver-
ging capacities, diverse values, and diff erent priorities—without such qualifi ers it
would become virtually impossible to reach international agreements to which a
signifi cant number of countries would agree to become signatories. Young (2006)
states this succinctly: 'unless it is grounded in practical motivations, capabilities
and situational realities, the most beautifully crafted legislative instrument will be
meaningless or ineff ective'.
Non-binding instruments are adopted by inter-governmental forums in the
form of resolutions, recommendations, action programmes, action plans, plans
of work, technical guidelines, codes of conduct, etc. h eir non-binding nature
usually means that they can contain more detail (e.g. technical guidelines), can be
negotiated relatively quickly, and can be reviewed, amended, or updated more eas-
ily, to keep pace with changes in knowledge or new developments in technology.
In addition, non-state actors, including non-governmental organizations (such as
IUCN), may develop guidelines and other advisory material (e.g. IUCN 2000;
McNeely et al . 2001; Hewitt et al . 2006).
International instruments of relevance to IAS have been developed in diverse
sectoral context and this is refl ected in the diversity of international institutional
arrangements and processes that may apply to them. h e following sections look
at some global and regional instruments in more detail. h ese include instru-
ments for biodiversity or environmental conservation (including specifi c refer-
ence to aquatic ecosystems and fi sheries); instruments that relate to sanitary and
phytosanitary measures, and instruments relating to international transport. Any
measures against (invasive) alien species that result in restrictions or prohibitions
in international trade need to be consistent with applicable rules and disciplines
adopted within the World Trade Organization (WTO) framework, and hence
some aspects of the multilateral trading system are also included. Also covered are
the international framework for some approaches to IAS management, examples
 
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