256 • Technologies To Maintain Biological Diversity 



The Convention on the Conservation of 

 Migratory Species of Wild Animals (commonly 

 cited as the Bonn Convention], passed in 1979, 

 provides strict protection for migratory species 

 in danger of extinction throughout all or a sig- 

 nificant part of their range, and encourages 

 range states to conclude agreements for man- 

 agement of species that would benefit from in- 

 ternational cooperation. Fifteen states were 

 party to the convention as of 1984, and the first 

 meeting of the parties in October 1985 estab- 

 lished machinery for implementing the con- 

 vention. 



Marine conservation also has received in- 

 creased attention, particularly in the past two 

 decades. The Convention on the Law of the Sea, 

 adopted in 1982 at Montego Bay and yet to 

 come into force, identifies a number of general 

 obligations relevant to conservation. Article 192 

 imposes an obligation on states to protect and 

 preserve the marine environment. Coastal 

 states are obliged to ensure through proper con- 

 servation and management measures that liv- 

 ing resources in their exclusive economic zones 

 are not endangered by exploitation (article 

 61(2)]. Activities outside national jurisdiction 

 are to be undertaken "in accordance with sound 

 principles of conservation" (article 15(b]). 



Regional Conventions 



Other regional treaties have emphasized con- 

 servation of habitat through creation of pro- 

 tected areas and other programs. The major 

 conventions in force are the Convention on Na- 

 ture Protection and Wildlife Preservation in the 

 Western Hemisphere from 1940; the African 

 Convention on the Conservation of Nature and 

 Natural Resources from 1968; the Convention 

 on the Conservation of European Wildlife and 

 Natural Habitats from 1979; and the ASEAN 

 Agreement on the Conservation of Nature and 

 Natural Resources from 1985. With habitat de- 

 struction being a principal threat to biological 

 diversity, treaties that call for protection of flora 

 and fauna through habitat protection are par- 

 ticularly important and need long-term support. 

 The Western Hemisphere and African conven- 

 tions, however, have had difficulties with im- 

 plementation and enforcement at the national 



level, largely due to financial and technical 

 limitations. The more recently developed Asso- 

 ciation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) 

 Convention involved regional consultations to 

 incorporate management and conservation 

 techniques and therefore elicits greater hopes 

 for success. 



The regional seas programs developed by the 

 United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) 

 in cooperation with other agencies, particularly 

 the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the 

 United Nations (FAO) and the International 

 Meteorological Organization, involve 10 re- 

 gions encompassing about 120 of the 130 or so 

 coastal states in the world. (The 10 regions are 

 the Caribbean, Mediterranean, Persian Gulf, 

 West and Central Africa, East Africa, East Asia, 

 Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, South Pacific, South- 

 East Pacific, and South-West Atlantic.) The ob- 

 jective is to reduce pollution and conserve bio- 

 logical resources through cooperative manage- 

 ment efforts. The legal mechanisms include 

 action plans and regional conventions. The re- 

 gional seas conventions include articles on pol- 

 lution from ships, aircraft, and land-based 

 sources; pollution monitoring; and scientific 

 and technological cooperation. Protocols are 

 authorized in each convention text and address 

 specific approaches to certain problems. Tech- 

 nical annexes provide standards for regulatory 

 or cooperative activity. 



Protocols are also being explored for protec- 

 tion of easily disrupted marine ecosystems and 

 for habitats of depleted or endangered marine 

 life through the creation of protected areas. The 

 Convention for the Protection and Develop- 

 ment of the Marine Environment of the Wider 

 Caribbean Region, signed in Cartagena, Colom- 

 bia in 1983, is generating government discus- 

 sion on protected areas and wildlife in this re- 

 gion. Resolutions adopted call for preparation 

 of draft protocols (19). U.S. technical support 

 could be a key factor in the ratification and im- 

 plementation of such protocols (20). 



The Convention on the Conservation of Ant- 

 arctic Marine Living Resources, passed in 1980, 

 contains important innovations on the conser- 

 vation of biotic resources. It obliges parties to 

 adopt an ecosystem approach to exploitation 



