IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Guruswamy, L.D. | |
| The Convention on Biological Diversity: exposing the flawed foundations | |
| 1999 Environmental Conservation (26): 79-82 | |
Over five years have elapsed since the coming into force of the much heralded United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD or Convention) signed during the 'Earth Summit' at Rio de Janiero in June 1992 (CBD 1992). Despite the warm, even euphoric welcome extended to this treaty by the environmental community, the difficulties of implementing the CBD in the last five years are unmasking and uncovering its flawed environmental foundations. The language of any legal instrument embodies and expresses the considered intentions of its creators, and may contain obligatory provisions that are legally binding. They may also contain hortatory and aspirational commitments that are not legally enforceable. The CBD rejected 'hard' environmental obligations that are legally binding for non-legal exhortations, and highly qualified 'soft' commitments. Whatever their value be as face-saving strategies for reaching agreement on the CBD, such as aspirational expressions do not create a stable foundation for tough decisions in the world of realpolitik. Some of the criticisms leveled against the implementation of the CBD include the charges that the truncation of 'sustainable use' from 'conservation' has impeded the advance of sustainable development, that the different legal obligations imposed on the parties have hampered progress on substantive issues, and that the parties have failed to address forest issues (Wold 1998). Even flag waving commentators/supporters of the CBD are expressing pained exasperation at the lack of progress. One such evaluation dealing with the problems encountered by the Fourth, and most recent, COP in 1998 was that: 'The combination of questionable organization, ineffective implementation and identity problems, combined with backroom politics and a broad issue mandate, all coincided to create a formidable array of obstacles to be overcome.' |
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