International law and lions (Panthera leo): understanding and improving the contribution of wildlife treaties to the conservation and sustainable use of an iconic carnivore

Arie Trouwborst,Dawn Burnham,Amy Dickman,Amy Hinks,David W Macdonald,Timothy Hodgetts,Ewan A Macdonald,Melissa Lewis

doi:10.3897/natureconservation.21.13690

Arie Trouwborst, Dawn Burnham + Show 6 more

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https://doi.org/10.3897/natureconservation.21.13690

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Journal: Nature Conservation	Publication Date: Sep 13, 2017
Citations: 14	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Tilburg University, University of Oxford

Abstract

The lion (Panthera leo) is featuring ever more prominently on the agendas of international wildlife treaties like the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS). Lion range and numbers have declined markedly over the last two decades. In this review we assess the present role of international wildlife treaties with a view to improving their combined contribution to the conservation and sustainable use of lions. Our analysis identifies a substantial body of relevant international wildlife law and, moreover, a significant potential for enhancing the contribution to lion conservation of these global and regional treaties. The time is right to invest in such improvements, and our review renders a range of general and treaty-specific recommendations for doing so, including making full use of the Ramsar Wetlands Convention, World Heritage Convention and transboundary conservation area (TFCA) treaties for lion conservation. The CMS holds particular potential in this regard and our analysis provides strong support for listing the lion in its Appendices.

Highlights

Lion (Panthera leo) conservation features prominently on the agendas of international wildlife treaties like the 1973 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the 1979 Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS or Bonn Convention)
Building on Watts (2016), this review aims to explore the current and potential future utility of international wildlife law for lion conservation
We limit this analysis to international wildlife law, we note the existence of other fields of international law with direct or indirect significance for lion conservation, such as legal instruments dealing with crime, corruption, climate change, or the regulation of pesticides, some of which are used to poison lions (Watts 2016)

Summary

Introduction

Lion (Panthera leo) conservation features prominently on the agendas of international wildlife treaties like the 1973 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the 1979 Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS or Bonn Convention). Within the broad arena of the ongoing global biodiversity crisis (Ceballos et al 2015), large-bodied species are generally more vulnerable than small-bodied species, and their population trends reflect this (Di Marco et al 2014; Ripple et al 2014; Ripple et al 2015). With some exceptions, such as most European large carnivore populations (Chapron et al 2014), the world’s largest carnivores, including lions, are declining, with range contractions and worsening conservation status (Ripple et al 2014; Bauer et al 2016). A large number of conservation scientists involved with large carnivore and large herbivore conservation called for ‘comprehensive actions to save these iconic wildlife species’, appealing to all disciplines involved, and duly noting the role of international wildlife conservation treaties as part of this joint endeavor (Ripple et al 2016a)

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