Ch. 10— Maintaining Biological Diversity Internationally • 257 



of Antarctic resources, thus requiring consid- 

 eration of impacts on interdependent species 

 and the marine system as a whole when set- 

 ting harvest limits. Article 1(2) of the conven- 

 tion defines marine living resources to include 

 all species of living organisms, including birds, 

 found south of the Antarctic convergence 

 (where the warm and cold waters of the Ant- 

 arctic Ocean meet). 



Species-Oriented Treaties 



A group of species-oriented treaties focus on 

 controlling exploitation of specific wildlife, 

 such as polar bears, vicuna, northern fur seals, 

 whales, and Antarctic seals (52). Although these 

 treaties are concerned primarily with control- 

 ling harvesting, attention to specific species 

 commonly extends to concerns for their habi- 

 tat, thus potentially serving biological diversity 

 more broadly. The major species-oriented trea- 

 ties are listed in table 10-1. 



Deciaratiens and Resoiutions 



The United Nations Conference on the Hu- 

 man Environment, held in Stockholm, Sweden 

 in 1972, adopted a Declaration on the Human 

 Environment that remains a key soft-law doc- 

 ument on international environmental issues. 

 The Stockholm Declaration contained 26 prin- 

 ciples to guide the international effort to pro- 

 tect the environment. Principle 2 addresses con- 

 servation of the Earth's biological resources: 



The natural resources of the earth including 

 the air, water, land, flora and fauna, and espe- 

 cially representative samples of natural ecosys- 

 tems must be safeguarded for the benefit of 

 present and future generations through care- 

 ful planning or management as appropriate. 



Another important soft-law is the World Con- 

 servation Strategy (WCS), a comprehensive doc- 

 ument prepared by the International Union for 

 Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources 

 (lUCN). Advice, cooperation, and financial 

 assistance for the preparation of WCS were pro- 

 vided by UNEP and the World Wildlife Fund, 

 with collaboration from FAO and the United 

 Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural 

 Organization (UNESCO). 



The strategy was launched worldwide in 1980 

 in some 30 countries. It provides broad policy 

 guidelines for determining development priori- 

 ties to secure sustainable use of renewable re- 

 sources, and it links conservation and devel- 

 opment. The World Conservation Strategy has 

 three principal objectives: 1) maintenance of 

 essential ecological processes and life-support 

 systems, 2) preservation of genetic diversity, 

 and 3) sustainable use of species and ecosystems. 



Introductory sections of the WCS define con- 

 servation as: 



. . . the management of human use of the bio- 

 sphere so that it may yield the greatest sustaina- 

 ble benefit to present generations while main- 

 taining its potential to meet the needs and 

 aspirations of future generations (43). 



Development is defined as: 



. . . the modification of the biosphere and the 

 application of human, financial, living, and 

 non-living resources to satisfy human needs 

 and improve the quality of human life. 



As defined and used in the WCS, conservation 

 and sustainable development are mutually de- 

 pendent processes. 



A key WCS priority is the promotion of na- 

 tional conservation strategies. These conserva- 

 tion planning tools are now completed or in 

 preparation in 29 countries (see table 10-2). 

 Their long-term purpose is to integrate conser- 

 vation and development planning and provide 

 an important tool for all stages of development. 



The World Charter for Nature offers a third 

 example of soft law that is becoming increas- 

 ingly influential in development. This docu- 

 ment, the result of 7 years of effort by interna- 

 tional organizations and the United Nations, 

 proclaims 24 principles of conservation by 

 which all human conduct affecting nature is 

 to be guided and judged. In 1982, the United 

 Nations General Assembly, by a vote of 111 to 

 1, adopted the charter sponsored by the Gov- 

 ernment of Zaire and 35 other nations. 



The United States, the only dissenting vote, 

 objected to the mandatory language contained 

 in the supposedly nonbinding document (14). 



