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 …
Continue reading "The decline of insects – The canary in the coal mine?"
Whenever we look into a direction, we indirectly apply our expectations in the way we perceive a specific region. This is, of course, also the same when we look 'North' - to the Arctic, the Circumpolar North, Ultima Thule, or whatever title we give the region in question. In public discourse, the Arctic is narrated …
Continue reading "The narration of the Arctic in Arctic law"
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 …
Continue reading "Towards a UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants"
The public discourse on the non-indigenous, commercial seal hunt is marked by connotations of barbarism and brutality. And indeed, stemming from my own fieldwork in the Newfoundland hunt, sealing is not pretty. But then again, is killing an animal ever pretty? The answer is quite obviously 'no'. Lookout of a sealing vessel © Nikolas Sellheim …
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 …
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 …
Continue reading "Local recognition in the Convention on Biological Diversity"
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, …
Continue reading "Whaling today – The 67th International Whaling Commission Meeting 2018"
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