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Wildlife and Landscapes
Abstract
Landscapes and the wild plants and animals (wildlife) inhabiting them have long been, and continue to be, considered natural resources for humankind to make use of. This chapter explores the evolving role of international law in regulating such use. In particular, the focus is on international agreements concerning the conservation and/or sustainable use of wild flora and fauna and their habitats – nowadays often referred to as biodiversity – and landscapes.
... Treaty provisions must be interpreted in good faith, according to the ordinary meaning of their terms in light of a treaty's objectives, while taking into account any subsequent agreements or subsequent practice by the parties regarding the interpretation of the treaty or the application of its provisions, as well as any other relevant rules of international law (Vienna Convention, Article 31). Good examples of other such relevant rules are the aforementioned Bern and Bonn Conventions and the European Landscape Convention from 2000 (Bowman et al. 2010;Jorgensen et al. 2016;Trouwborst 2016b). When interpretation according to these guidelines still leaves the meaning of a provision ambiguous or obscure or leads to a result which is manifestly absurd or unreasonable, recourse may be had to supplementary means, including the preparatory work of the treaty and the circumstances of its conclusion (Vienna Convention, Article 32). ...
The EU Habitats Directive is a key biodiversity conservation instrument. It contains legal obligations for the 28 EU member states in order to safeguard a ‘favourable conservation status’ (FCS) for selected species and habitat types. The crucial FCS concept itself, however, remains subject to considerable confusion regarding its proper interpretation and operationalization, impairing the Directive’s effective implementation. Diminishing this confusion is the purpose of this review. It focuses specifically on large carnivores—wolf (Canis lupus), brown bear (Ursus arctos), Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) and wolverine (Gulo gulo). These pose particular challenges, given their low densities, transboundary populations, and human-wildlife conflict potential. Large carnivores are also the only species for which specific guidance has been adopted by the European Commission—and subsequently contested. Our methodology combines legal analysis with an understanding of the species’ ecology and associated social, economic and cultural dimensions. We analyze the methods and processes through which EU law is interpreted, implemented, and enforced, by member states, European Commission, and EU Court of Justice—which is the ultimate authority regarding EU law interpretation. On that basis, we engage three particularly complex interpretation questions which are also of great practical significance: (1) the appropriate scale to achieve FCS (national or transboundary population level); (2) the respective roles of demographic, genetic and ecological factors in determining FCS; and (3) the use of extinction versus carrying capacity as benchmark. Regarding these questions, we identify approaches that are workable and effective, as well as likely to be endorsed by the EU Court.
This chapter aims at suggesting sensible reforms for the individual issues identified in the law of designation under the Habitats Directive to facilitate Member States’ compliance with their legal duties. The main contribution of this chapter will thus be a systematic assessment of the Habitats Directive’s designation provisions one after another with a focus on their weaknesses initially identified in the previous chapters. The interpretation method used for this assessment will orientate on the CJEU’s legal interpretation technique but also consider elements such as selected national and international legal interpretation techniques and CJEU case law. This chapter will provide a reform suggestion for each identified weakness in the law on designating Natura 2000 as well as a proposal regarding its location in the Habitats Directive.
The Relationship between the Exploitation of Natural Resources and the Protection of the Environment
- Tuomas Kuokkanen
Tuomas Kuokkanen, 'The Relationship between the Exploitation of Natural Resources and the Protection of
the Environment', in Tuula Honkonen, Melissa Lewis and Ed Couzens (eds), International Environmental Lawmaking and Diplomacy Review 2013 (University of Eastern Finland/UNEP 2014) 1, at 3. See chapter 1 in this
volume.
Conservation and Use of Wildlife-based Resources: The Bushmeat Crisis (Secretariat of the CBD and Center for International Forestry Research
- Robert Nasi
Robert Nasi et al., Conservation and Use of Wildlife-based Resources: The Bushmeat Crisis (Secretariat of the
CBD and Center for International Forestry Research 2008).
Article 5(b) and (d)
- Ibid
Ibid., Article 5(b) and (d).
Preamble, 6 th paragraph
- Ibid
Ibid., Preamble, 6
th paragraph.
The European Landscape Convention is also referred to in the Protocol's Preamble, 6 th paragraph
- Ibid
Ibid., Article 3(k). The European Landscape Convention is also referred to in the Protocol's Preamble, 6
th
paragraph.
paragraphs 6(a)-(c) and (f)
- Ibid
Ibid., paragraphs 6(a)-(c) and (f).