Abstract
This article will advocate that treaties based on international environmental policy which favor global ecosystem preservation are the best, perhaps the only solution, which will ensure the survival of wildlife for present and future generations. The article begins with an overview of the alarming rate of species’ extinction occurring presently on the earth. Particular emphasis will be placed on extinction rates occurring in tropical rainforests which provide habitats for the greatest diversity of the world’s life forms. Deforestation of tropical rainforests has been characterized as “one of the world's great ecological disasters in the closing decades of the twentieth century.” Thereafter, the article proceeds to examine the justifications for the protection and conservation of the earth’s wildlife, showing that these reasons can sometimes be in conflict with each other. Next, the article traces the evolution of wildlife law to the present date with particular emphasis on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Although an exemplary model of the ongoing international effort to conserve wildlife, CITES contains many infirmities that work to the detriment of wildlife conservation, the foremost of which is its failure to provide for habitat protection. Lastly the article will present future trends in international environmental policy, followed by conclusions and recommendations which will ensure that ecosystem preservation is the blueprint for the protection of wildlife in the twenty-first century.
Recommended Citation
Batchelor, Anne
(1988)
"The Preservation of Wildlife Habitat in Ecosystems: Towards a Direction Under International Law to Prevent Species' Extinction,"
Florida Journal of International Law: Vol. 3:
Iss.
3, Article 2.
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.ufl.edu/fjil/vol3/iss3/2