Rhinoceros Conservation and International Law: The Role of Wildlife Treaties in Averting Megaherbivore Extinction

Bram Janssens, A. Trouwborst
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引用次数: 10

Abstract

This review article assesses the relevance of international wildlife treaties for the conservation and sustainable use of the world’s five species of rhinoceros – white rhino (Ceratotherium simum), black rhino (Diceros bicornis), Indian rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis), Javan rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus) and Sumatran rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis). The analysis covers global treaties like the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), the World Heritage Convention and the Ramsar Wetlands Convention, alongside various regional African treaties. Employing standard legal research methodology combined with relevant knowledge from the natural and social sciences, the focus of the review is both on past performance and future potential of the treaties involved. The outcomes of the analysis suggest that, despite pervasive compliance deficiencies which continue to curtail the effectiveness of the various treaties, the prospects of various rhinoceros populations may well have been (even) worse without some of these treaties. The comparative importance of the World Heritage Convention for the conservation of the three Asian rhino species is an example. The main threat to rhinoceroses – poaching driven by a demand for rhino horn in various Asian countries – is international in nature, and a substantial part of the analysis centers on the international community’s efforts to address this threat over the past four decades within the framework of CITES. A key recommendation flowing from this analysis is for CITES parties to seriously but critically explore alternatives to the current trade ban regime, including the option of a strictly controlled legal trade in rhino horn sourced from viable, sustainably managed populations.
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犀牛保护和国际法:野生动物条约在避免大型食草动物灭绝中的作用
本文综述了国际野生动物条约对世界五种犀牛——白犀牛(Ceratotherium simum)、黑犀牛(Diceros bicornis)、印度犀牛(rhinoceros unicornis)、爪哇犀牛(rhinoceros sondaicus)和苏门答腊犀牛(Dicerorhinus sumatrensis)保护和可持续利用的相关性。该分析涵盖了《濒危物种国际贸易公约》(CITES)、《世界遗产公约》和《拉姆萨尔湿地公约》等全球条约,以及各种区域性非洲条约。采用标准的法律研究方法,结合自然科学和社会科学的相关知识,审查的重点是有关条约的过去业绩和未来潜力。分析结果表明,尽管普遍存在的遵守缺陷继续削弱各种条约的有效性,但如果没有其中一些条约,各种犀牛种群的前景可能会更糟。《世界遗产公约》对保护三种亚洲犀牛的相对重要性就是一个例子。对犀牛的主要威胁——亚洲各国对犀牛角的需求所导致的偷猎——本质上是国际性的,分析的很大一部分集中在过去四十年来国际社会在CITES框架内解决这一威胁的努力上。该分析提出的一项重要建议是,CITES缔约方应认真但审慎地探索现有贸易禁令制度的替代方案,包括对来自可行的、可持续管理的种群的犀牛角进行严格控制的合法贸易。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
0.90
自引率
0.00%
发文量
14
期刊介绍: Drawing upon the findings from island biogeography studies, Norman Myers estimates that we are losing between 50-200 species per day, a rate 120,000 times greater than the background rate during prehistoric times. Worse still, the rate is accelerating rapidly. By the year 2000, we may have lost over one million species, counting back from three centuries ago when this trend began. By the middle of the next century, as many as one half of all species may face extinction. Moreover, our rapid destruction of critical ecosystems, such as tropical coral reefs, wetlands, estuaries, and rainforests may seriously impair species" regeneration, a process that has taken several million years after mass extinctions in the past.
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