Principles of International Environmental Law

Sands, Philippe; Peel, Jacqueline; Fabra, Adriana; MacKenzie, Ruth

doi:10.1017/9781108355728

Cited by 180 publications

(60 citation statements)

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“…Industry, especially in countries bearing a legal requirement for environmental assessment (European Commission, 2011), has a responsibility to minimize its impact on wildlife. Assessment approaches vary, but generally contain an appraisal of risk to populations from impacts of additional mortality (Buckland, Goudie, & Borchers, 2000), following the precautionary principle (Sands & Peel, 2012), supported by EU directives (European Commission, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The sensitivity of seabird populations to density‐dependence, environmental stochasticity and anthropogenic mortality

Miller

Furness

Trinder

et al. 2019

Journal of Applied Ecology

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The balance between economic growth and wildlife conservation is a priority for many governments. Enhancing realism in assessment of population‐level impacts of anthropogenic mortality can help achieve this balance. Population Viability Analysis (PVA) is commonly applied to investigate population vulnerability, but outcomes of PVA are sensitive to formulations of density‐dependence, environmental stochasticity and life history. Current practice in marine assessments is to use precautionary models that assume no compensation from density‐dependence or rescue‐effects via “re‐seeding” from other colonies. However, if we could empirically quantify regulatory population processes, the responses of populations to additional anthropogenic mortality may be assessed with more realism in PVA. Using Bayesian state‐space models fitted to population time series from three sympatric seabird populations, selected for varied life histories, we inferred the extent to which their dynamics are driven by environmental stochasticity and density‐dependence. Based on these inferences, we conducted an exhaustive PVA across credible parameterizations for intrinsic and extrinsic population regulation, simulated as a closed and re‐seeded system. Scenarios of anthropogenic mortality, along a sliding scale of precaution, were applied both proportionally and as a fixed quota using Potential Biological Removal (PBR). Baseline results from fitting revealed clear environmental regulation in two of our three species. Crucially, we found that for our empirically derived, realistic model parameterizations there are risks of decline to real populations even under very precautionary mortality scenarios. We find that PBR is dubious in application as a sustainable tool for population assessment when we account for regulation. Closed versus re‐seeded models showed a large divergence in outcomes, with sharper declines in closed simulations. Fixed‐quota mortality typically induced greater population declines comparative to proportional mortality, subject to regulation and re‐seeding. Synthesis and applications. Practitioners using arbitrary formulations of population regulation risk over‐precaution (economic constraint) or under‐precaution (endangering populations). The demands of increased economic development and preservation of wildlife require that methodologies apply techniques that confer reality and rigour to assessment. The current practice of employing models lacking density‐dependence and empirical environmental information imposes limitations in the efficacy of estimating impacts. Here, we provide a method to quantify the conditions that predominantly regulate a population and exacerbate the risk of decline from anthropogenic mortality. It is in the interests of both developers and conservationists to apply methods in population impact assessments that capture realism in the processes driving population dynamics.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The sensitivity of seabird populations to density‐dependence, environmental stochasticity and anthropogenic mortality

Miller

Furness

Trinder

et al. 2019

Journal of Applied Ecology

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“…International environmental law is the principal collection of norms aimed at ensuring global environmental protection [28]. Having emerged in the early 1970s, the international environmental law regime is burgeoning, diverse, and detailed, while it seeks to tackle several narrowly defined, sectoral environmental challenges, such as biodiversity protection, ocean governance, and climate change [29]. Despite its rapid development, questions loom large over international environmental law's ability, effectively to contribute to ensuring Earth system stability and integrity in the face of increasingly severe global socio-ecological decay.…”

Section: International Environmental Law and The Anthropocenementioning

confidence: 99%

Earth System Law for the Anthropocene

Kotzé

2019

Sustainability

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Law has failed to address the ever-deepening socio-ecological crisis of the Anthropocene. In the light of, and as a response to, law’s failures in this respect, this paper argues in support of developing a new legal paradigm for the Anthropocene epoch called Earth system law. It does so first by briefly describing the Anthropocene trope and the extent and dimensions of its socio-ecological crisis. The paper then specifically focuses on international environmental law as an example of how and why law has become incapable of, and inappropriate for, addressing this crisis, and for being unable to respond to the Anthropocene’s regulatory demands. By drawing on three Earth system-related regulatory implications of the Anthropocene trope (i.e., inclusivity, interdependencies and complexity), the final part of the paper makes out a case in support of reforming law and creating a new Earth system oriented legal paradigm that is fit for purpose in the Anthropocene epoch.

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“…While some practitioners argue that this is due to the painstakingly slow nature of these political negotiations, in which parties are first and foremost concerned with domestic priorities (see for instance literature on the north-south divide, e.g. Koester 1997;Birnie et al 2009;Sands and Peel 2012), others have argued that this issue stems from a broader and more deep-seated issue, namely the normative culture upon which international environmental law is founded. For instance, Natarajan and Khoday (2014) have argued that foundational concepts found within the international legal regime, such as sovereignty, development, property, and economy have evolved through understandings of nature that make it difficult, and sometimes not favourable, to perceive or observe ecological limits.…”

Section: Situating Participation Within Environmental Law: Why Does Imentioning

confidence: 99%

What We Talk About When We Talk About ‘Local’ Participation: Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities’ Participation Under the Convention on Biological Diversity

Parks¹,

Schröder²

2018

SSRN Journal

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Principles of International Environmental Law

Cited by 180 publications

References 0 publications

The sensitivity of seabird populations to density‐dependence, environmental stochasticity and anthropogenic mortality

The sensitivity of seabird populations to density‐dependence, environmental stochasticity and anthropogenic mortality

Earth System Law for the Anthropocene

What We Talk About When We Talk About ‘Local’ Participation: Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities’ Participation Under the Convention on Biological Diversity

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