Recently, news broke (again) that Kenya was to introduce the death penalty for poachers (the same story ran already in May 2018). According to the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act (WCMA), poaching means the "illegal hunting, illegal capturing and illegal harvesting of any wildlife." Kenya lists the African elephant (Loxodonta africana), the White rhino (Ceratotherium simum) …
Animal cultures and human cultures – tools for conservation
A study published yesterday in Science links animal learning patterns with conservation efforts. While knowledge on the cultural learning of whales, seals and other species is not new (see e.g. Whitehead & Rendell, 2014), a strategic link to conservation has not been established. The only exception here is the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), whose …
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Commercial Sealers under the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants
On 17 December 2018 the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNROP). The document, which encompasses 28 articles, is a far-reaching human rights instruments, which combines well-established human rights standards with labour rights, environmental rights and, more specifically, women's rights. Additionally, …
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The decline of insects – The canary in the coal mine?
A recent study by Francisco Sánchez-Bayo and Kris Wyckhuys (2019) in Biological Conservation has shown that the world of insects has been experiencing significant declines over the last decades. In fact, the authors warn that around 40% of insect species are threatened with extinction. Since insects constitute two thirds of all terrestrial species on earth and thus …
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Towards a UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants
The 19th of November 2018 marked an important step forward towards an instrument protecting rural people and their livelihoods: in a rather overwhelming vote of 119 in favour, 49 against and 7 abstentions the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian, Cultural) of the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution A/C.3/73/L.30 which endorses the draft of the UN Declaration …
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The interpretation of treaties
It is easy to talk about a law and to refer to its provisions: law XY states this and that and it is thus the case that we have to stick to it. But is it really this simple? Obviously it is not. Apart from the long-standing debate on what 'law' actually is, at least …
Local recognition in the Convention on Biological Diversity
The year 2018 saw several crucially important international conferences for the protection of our planet, such as the Convention on Migratory Species, the Convention on Biological Diversity or the Climate Convention. The United Nations are indeed active in trying to protect the environment. I attended the 14th Conference of the Parties (CoP) of the Convention …
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Whaling today – The 67th International Whaling Commission Meeting 2018
During the meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in September 2018 in Florianópolis, Brazil, aboriginal whalers experienced a relieving decision by the Commission: they were granted a new quota, which is now valid for 7 years, and which will be transferred automatically unless agreed otherwise. But the decision did not come lightly. After all, …
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