The Global Conservation Battleground: CITES, the IWC, the African Elephant and the Whale

Abstract

From Page 1:

"Modern international environmental treaties are changing shape. Unlike older treaties, modern treaties regularly include provisions for aid to be provided to developing countries when they are asked to act in ways that benefit the developed world or other states, at cost to themselves. There is also a trend for modern treaties to include monitoring and reporting procedures, with support structures and institutional frameworks.

"One of the issues this article considers is the way in which Japan and Norway appear to be attempting to use the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in order to circumvent the moratorium on whaling imposed by the International Whaling Commission. Allied to this is the potential for these countries to use the international trade in ivory as a symbol and precedent for efforts to resume whaling.

"To be learned from this is that international environmental treaties may have shelf-lives. CITES and the Convention for the Regulation of Whaling may well be nearing the limits of their effectiveness.

"This leads to a discussion of a related issue raised: that of differing perceptions of conservation, preservation and usage of natural resources held by different international actors. The principal countries involved in the issues discussed in this paper hold markedly different ideas about conservation, the utilisation of natural resources and indeed the very concept of sustainable development."