World Conservation Strategy Research Articles

Implementation of a national conservation strategy: The case of Australia

The World Conservation Strategy called upon all governments to produce their own “national conservation strategies”. Many countries responded to this, although their degree of determination has varied considerably. One of the most exemplary responses was the National Conservation Strategy for Australia (NCSA). The production and endorsement of the NCSA, and of its subsequent progress, are reviewed. Attention is then turned to the actual and potential roles of Commonwealth Government, State and Territory Governments, and other governmental and non-governmental organisations in implementing the Strategy. It is noted that various bodies have endorsed the NCSA, whilst some state governments and the Australian Forestry Council have produced their own strategies. These responses are considered further, but it is found that they appear only rarely to chart precise courses of action. More typically, they comprise broad statements of intent: if real progress is to be made, more attention must be given to the production of detailed, tactical documents. These must be expressed with sufficient precision to permit effective measurement and monitoring.

The deep-ocean option for the disposal of sewage sludge

Present methods of disposal of high-bulk low-toxicity wastes, such as sewage sludge, into shallow marine environments are beginning to be questioned by many environmentalists. The alternative options generally considered all have environmental costs. A novel approach of discharging such wastes as slurries into the deep ocean at depths of 4,000 m close to the abyssal sea bed is considered. Such disposal would fulfil all the criteria required by the Oslo Convention before dumping at sea can be permitted, in that it isolates the waste from Man's ambit and offers no threat to present or foreseeable uses of the ocean. It also seems to fulfil the criteria of the World Conservation Strategy, so long as the oxygen levels in the deep waters of the ocean are not reduced excessively. The improvements in the quality of coastal seas would offset the doubling in the economic cost of disposal.

The World Conservation Strategy and the Forest Sector in Canada

The objectives of the World Conservation Strategy (WCS) and the priority requirements and actions to achieve these objectives are examined from the viewpoint of forestry in Canada, together with an overview of recent events in the implementation of the WCS. Canada supported development and endorsed the WCS in 1981. The federal government has taken a number of initiatives, including one specifically concerning forestry, following a review of its activities. Conservation strategies are under consideration or in preparation in most of the provinces and territories. Modern forestry concepts and practice are contributing effectively to the WCS, and foresters are urged to further its implementation in Canada by assisting the development of, and endorsing, where appropriate, the emerging provincial and territorial conservation strategies.

Changing attitudes to nature conservation: the entomological perspective

Unlike some other kinds of wildlife, insects have little attraction for the public. Insects tend to be a specialist interest, partly because the numbers of species are so large. This concentrates attention on insect identification and the impossibility of accomplishing this in the field except in a few cases. Some conflict between economic entomologists and conservationists has been apparent. Conservation organizations, including those specifically interested in insects, have influenced attitudes, as has the development of ecology, applied biogeography, and other scientific disciplines. Legislation for insect conservation is not satisfactory; not enough emphasis is laid on habitat conservation and the concepts of protected and endangered species are confused. Better cooperation and understanding between legislators and field entomologists are desirable. Species conservation in Britain emphasises butterflies. Many of the species thought to be threatened with extinction in 1925 are also of priority concern today. Better habitat management and re-establishments, both national and local, are important conservation activities. In the Third World, conservation is closely linked with utilization of the resource. This rational and sustainable use is in accordance with the World Conservation Strategy and benefits the rural poor in areas where attitudes to conservation in the developed world are inappropriate.

Audiovisual Reviews

Tape/Slide Planning for survival: The World Conservation Strategy Set of 80 slides, with notes, in a plastic wallet, ref. A VP 077, price £12.95, or as a full-frame filmsthp, price £6.95. A 20- minule cassette tape, price £3.50. All prices are exclusive of VA T and postage and packing. Available from International Centre for Conservation Education, Greenfield House, Guiting Power, Cheltenham, Glos GL54 5TZ, John A. Barker Tape/Slide Biotechnology Six 20-minute programmes on Radio 4 VHF/FM from BBC Radiovision. For transmission dates contact Educational Broadcasting Information, Villiers House, The Broadway, Eating, London W5 2PA. The programmes can be recorded. Susan M. E. Allan Videotapes The decade of destruction: The mechanics of the forest A 30-minute video produced in the USA in 1986. Available for hire, £10.00, or sale, £30.00, from Concorde Video, 201 Felixstowe Road, Ipswich IP3 9BJ, P. A. Horton Multi-media People packs Ref. M90034/4, price £19.85. Available from Philip Harris Biological Ltd, Oldmixon, Weston-super-Mare, Avon BS24 9BJ, John A. Barker Wallcharts Drug dependence A set of four colour wallcharts, 38 cm x 51 cm with teacher's notes. Produced by Pictorial Charts Educational Trust, 27 Kirchen Road, London W13 OUD. Ref. F704. Price £4.60, A. Brown Wallcharts Set of 10 biological wallcharts Laminated wallcharts by R. Simmons. Size 1100 mm by 800 mm. Colour. Available from Roopers Export Sales Ltd, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN3 8BZ. Price £9 each (+VAT) and carriage £2 (any quantity), A. Flaherty

In defence of the inuit world-saving a way of life

The author describes how the philosophies of the World Conservation Strategy are particularly applicable to the Inuit, or Eskimo, peoples of the Arctic. A trans-national conservation strategy has been established to safeguard the culture, livelihood and interest of these people. The requirements and structure of this strategy are briefly outlined.

The Development of a National Conservation Strategy for Australia

The National Conservation Strategy for Australia (NCSA, 1983) provides Australia with nationally agreed guidelines for the use of her living resources. It orginated from the World Conservation Strategy (WCS, 1980) and was developed through a process of public discussion which is described in this paper. A Steering Committee was established to oversee the development of the Strategy and guide a task-force. Conservation, industry, scientific, and government, interests were all represented throughout the development of the Strategy.

National parks and protected areas, national conservation strategies and sustainable development

The role of national parks and protected areas in National Conservation Strategies (NCS), a key element in the 1980 World Conservation Strategy, is analyzed for the nine countries of Australia, Belize, Canada, Czechoslovakia, India, Senegal, the United Kingdom, Vietnam and Zambia. These NCS responses are described, evaluated and synthesized primarily for 12 national park and protected area functions identified through a review of the recent literature. National parks and protected areas are found to be involved in the nine NCS in uneven and less than optimal ways. Furthermore, little relationship can be found among the various proposed roles of national parks and protected areas and the socio-economic and other characteristics of the nine countries under study. As a basis for improving both NCS and the role of national parks and protected areas, a better NCS information system is recommended for the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) headquarters, Gland, Switzerland. IUCN Commissions also are urged to be more active in NCS work. More research also is recommended especially on the role of national parks and protected areas in regard to regional planning and development, indigenous and local people, and comprehensive land use management. Finally, special efforts should be made by IUCN, and other related international, national, provincial and regional agencies, to ensure their personnel are knowledgeable about NCS and the range of functions that national parks and protected areas can contribute to them, and so to sustainable development globally.

Australian Rain-forest Subdivisions and Conservation Strategies

The subdivision of Australian tropical rain-forest into one- and two-hectares' residential blocks changes the local ecology in a dramatic manner. It opens the canopy, changes the humidity regime, decimates ancient climax vegetation, and introduces weed species. As a result, the practice is incompatible with the objectives alike of the World Conservation Strategy and the National Conservation Strategy for Australia. Government intervention will be required if the Strategy is to be implemented. The first step towards implementation is the evaluation of current and proposed practices. A brief analysis of the incidence of costs and benefits demonstrates the skewed distribution which results from rain-forest subdivision. A few sellers and promoters receive millions of dollars in capital gains, while millions of other people lose the public and recreational benefits offered by the existing rain-forest, and the world as a whole loses much of scientific value. The information gained by this brief analysis provides the Government with a better basis on which to act than heretofore.

The Origins of the World Conservation Strategy

On two counts, the publication of the World Conservation Strategy in 1980 was a fundamental policy change for the international conservation movement. It marked a shift from the traditional focus on cure rather than prevention-away from a concentration on wildlife preservation toward a concern for the wider pressures affecting the natural environment-and despite many omissions, it confirmed a growing belief that the assimilation of aims of both conservation and development was the key to a sustainable society. In the decade before the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, Western European and North American environmentalism focused on two concerns: (1) the limits to the earth's natural resources (renewable and non-renewable); and (2) the potential danger in the continued growth in demand, particularly as a consequence of rapid population increase. Environmentalists generally considered economic growth suspect and inimical to sound and rational environmental management. principal defect of the industrial way of life with its ethos of expansion, noted the authors of The Ecologist, that it is not sustainable.'I In industrial Europe and North America particularly, economic growth often was equated with undesirable environmental effects such as pollution and resource degradation. Following the Stockholm conference, however, a new philosophy emerged based on the belief that development and sound environmental management were not incompatible, and that an assimilation of the aims of both was necessary to create a sustainable society. Economic growth was no longer to be distrusted; in fact it was seen as essential, provided that it was sustainable. The attitudes of environmentalists before Stockholm were largely negative-end pollution, stop the exhausting of nonrenewable natural resources, and use renewable resources only on a sustainable basis.2 But a decade after Stockholm, environmentalists were more conciliatory; they supported the development of environmentally sound technologies, advocated the equitable sharing of limited resources, and recommended sustainable uses for renewable resources. The change of emphasis is reflected in the argument of the World Conservation Strategy-that the conservation of living resources is essential to sustainable development. The introduction to the document notes that

The rat problem on oceanic islands—research is needed

In October 1983 a rat was reported to have been seen on Gough Island, an outlier of the Tristan da Cunha Group in the South Atlantic. Gough Island has no permanently resident human inhabitants, but supports one of the largest and most diverse assemblages of breeding seabirds now remaining anywhere in the temperate zones. The author was a member of a small team of biologists that spent three weeks on Gough Island, in October-November 1984, to try to confirm whether there were any rats on the island, and if so to make recommendations for their control and extermination. The following proposals result from experience in carrying out this survey, and from writing World Conservation Strategy proposals for Oceanic Islands for the IUCN.

Ocean Development and Management in the Arctic: Issues in American and Canadian Relations

The need for Canadian-American cooperative ocean management in the Arctic stems from four factors. Transboundary ocean currents have the potential to carry marine pollutants from one country to the other. Many living resources, such as bowhead and beluga whales, do not recognize political boundaries. Native communities depend culturally and economically on coastal resources. Technological collaboration in such areas as satellite communications and navigational aids is necessary to avoid costly duplications. Three documents - the World Conservation Strategy, the Report of the U.N. Conference on the Human Environment, and the Law of the Sea Convention - bid the United States and Canada to join hands in managing resources in a more systematic manner. At least four jurisdictional issues concerning arctic waters are capable of rocking future U.S.-Canadian relations: the Alaska/Yukon offshore boundary, the legal status of the waters of the Canadian arctic archipelago and the Northwest Passage, the legal principles governing the exclusive economic zones in the Beaufort, Chukchi, and Bering seas, and the legal regime applicable to arctic waters and the seabed beyond 200 nautical miles. Although cooperative ocean management may be hindered by national complexities, such as lack of clear arctic policies, fragmented decision-making processes, and tensions between government managers and local communities, the two countries should address eight threshold questions concerning future institutional linkages: Are present formal and informal arrangements adequate for arctic ocean management? What type or types of agreement - demonstrative, administrative, distributive or resolutive - should be used to formalize cooperation? What level of cooperation - bilateral, trilateral, arctic-wide or global - is required and politically feasible? Should the two countries create new management institutions or should they harmonize existing legislation and administration? Should one super commission be created with a say over all arctic marine issues or should a number of commissions be created for coordinating individual ocean uses? Should joint institutions have advisory or actual decision-making powers? What role should native groups play in regionalized arctic marine management? What type of dispute-settlement mechanism(s) should be established? Key words: Canada-U.S. relations, ocean development and management, international law of the sea

European Meeting in Preparation for the Ottawa Conference on the World Conservation Strategy, held in Brussels, Belgium, during 21–22 April 1986

European Meeting in Preparation for the Ottawa Conference on the World Conservation Strategy, held in Brussels, Belgium, during 21–22 April 1986

World Conservation Strategy Conference, held in Ottawa, Canada, during 31 May to 5 June 1986

World Conservation Strategy Conference, held in Ottawa, Canada, during 31 May to 5 June 1986

Conservation of natural resources

SynopsisAn indication is given of the importance of the Clyde Estuary for economic, scientific and aesthetic purposes. The main thrust of the World Conservation Strategy and the Conservation and Development Programme for the U.K. is explained. In the light of this the attitudes and actions of a range of agencies operating in the estuary are examined.

Responding to the World Conservation Strategy

The nature, achievements and shortcomings of the World Conservation Strategy (WCS) are reviewed. In particular, the National Conservation Strategies (NCS) prepared in response to WCS are discussed, and the differences between developed and less developed countries are noted in this respect. Special attention is paid to the UK follow-up. It is concluded that more emphasis must be placed on popularizing WCS and on acquiring a more balanced appreciation of conservation.

Economics, ecology, sustainable agricultural systems and development∗

The importance of ecologically sustainable economic systems and sustainable development, including sustainable agricultural development, has been recognised internationally in the last two decades and is reflected in policy initiatives in South Africa and elsewhere. However, complex issues and tradeoffs are involved in choosing between alternative productive systems. Ecologists, economists and other resource scientists need to cooperate to specify the options more carefully. Increasing human population levels and consumption levels are now widely seen as a major threat to living resources, to their life‐support systems and to sustainable development. Possible policy implications resulting from this are explored in the World Conservation Strategy. An examination of the possible attributes of different agricultural systems and forms of land use illustrates the complexity of choosing between different productive systems and leads to the question of whether sustainability should be an absolute goal in all cir...

A sustainable society through sustainable development: Towards a regional development strategy for Northern Quebec

In the Kativik region of Northern Quebec there is a need to support the growth of the culture and values of the indigenous population, to satisfy the basic human needs of all residents in the region, and to contribute to an increased quality of life through the provision of economic opportunities for growth and development. The proposed Kativik regional strategy emphasizes the need to achieve sustainable development — the development of living resources that does not exceed their capacity to reproduce. As such, the strategy is consistent with the principles and objectives of the World Conservation Strategy and those contained in the resolutions of the Inuit Circumpolar Conferences on subsistance rights, environmental policy and economic development. The Inuit Circumpolar Conference was established in 1978 and includes native people from Alaska, the Northwest Territories of Canada, Greenland and the Scandinavian Countries. Delegates meet tri-annually to discuss issues of common concern. In order to achieve sustainable development and thus a sustainable society in the North, environment, settlement and development must be integrated into a common framework. The key components of this strategic framework that will require careful analysis and then policy and program proposals include those listed below. • - Managing information and knowledge in a manner consistent with the principles developed in the on-going Inuit Harvest Research project in the Kativik region. The Harvest Research Study is a project designed to monitor and assess the wildlife harvest by the Inuit of Northern Quebec. The project is run by the Inuit themselves and supported by an Inuit corporation. • - Conserving and harvesting wildlife in a manner consistent with the wildlife management principles established by Anguvigaq Wildlife Commission. The Anguvigaq Wildlife Commission is a component of the Kativik regional administration — a regional body established as a result of the “James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement” — that supports and regulates hunting, fishing and trapping in Northern Quebec. • - Protecting fragile ecosystems in a manner consistent with the principles of the World Conservation Strategy and the Inuit Circumpolar Conference. • - Providing opportunities for economic growth in a manner consistent with the principles of large-scale development adopted by the Makivik Corporation. The Makivik Corporation is wholly owned by the Inuit of Northern Quebec. Established as a result of the “James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement”, the Corporation receives and manages the compensation funds derived from the agreement on behalf of all Inuit. • - Organizing the community and improving the quality of life in a manner consistent with all the principles outlined above.

Conservation at the Crossroads: The Countryside

MY PURPOSE TONIGHT is to show what the thinking behind the World Conservation Strategy means for our countryside, and how it can provide the basis for new policies. If, as the title of my talk suggests, conservation is indeed at the crossroads, then so too is the countryside. We may think of the countryside as synonymous with peace, quiet and harmony. But the reality is different. For the countryside has become, in recent years, a place of dispute, conflict?even of crisis. This applies to each ofthe three aspects of the countryside, its society, its economy and its environment?as I hope to show. The image of life in the countryside which we are offered by those who wish us to buy beer, or whatever, is of charming villages, jolly pubs and friendly shops; above all, life at a natural pace and at a personal scale. In reality, the social structure of the countryside has been drastically altered by two forces, acting in opposite directions. The traditional role of the village as the home of the rural workforce has been undermined by a massive contraction in employment, especially in agriculture (there are barely one-third the number of farm workers now than there were in 1949); and at the same time, the village has become a desirable place in which to live for those with money and the mobility to commute elsewhere to work, or indeed in which to acquire a second home. Thus, while many rural areas have enjoyed an increase in population, especially in more recent years, this trend often obscures an unbalanced age structure (with too many old people and too few younger ones), and deep social divisions. The mobile newcomers frequently help to bring about the demise of local services?shops, post offices, buses, even schools?for which they have little need, but which are essential to the quality of life for those not owning cars. Furthermore, they contribute to pushing house prices beyond the reach of local people. Of course the countryside is spared the tensions of the inner cities, but all is not harmony, even in the most picturesque of villages. The popular image of rural employment, especially of farming, has also taken quite a knock recently. Until a few years ago the farmer stood in an especially favoured position in public esteem. He works hard, his livelihood is at the mercy ofthe elements, he meets the most basic of human needs?and as a bonus, he has been seen as caring for the countryside. But food surpluses, the nonsenses ofthe Common Agricultural Policy and the undeniable evidence of modern farming's massive assault upon the wildlife, landscape and historic heritage of the countryside have dethroned the farmer from this favoured position with astonishing speed. Thus, whereas a few years ago criticism of farmers was almost indecent, the pendulum has now swung so far the other way that scarcely a day passes without some new piece of (often ill-informed) 'farmer bashing' appearing in the newspapers. It reflects a minor earthquake in public attitudes. It has developed in parallel with another, no less significant, development: a sea change in the economic outlook for farming. Until recently farming seemed to be a blue chip part of the economy: now, with surprising speed, the mood has become distinctly bearish and a chill wind of uncertainty blows through every farm in the land (for with milk quotas here, can grain quotas be far behind?). So again where there was consensus and confidence, there is now conflict and doubt. No less dramatic has been the turnaround in our understanding of what is happening to the countryside environment. The planning system developed after the war was based on the assumption that the mere absence of urban development would ensure the protection of landscape, wildlife and the historic heritage. Such assumptions were widely shared until quite recently, with the comforting belief that, provided the countryside was not actually built upon, its environmental quality would not

Whither W.C.S.?

When the World Conservation Strategy was promoted to provide 'an intellectual framework and practical guidance for conservation actions'; IUCN, UNEP and WWF were initiating for the first time a program of world-wide rational development and conservation of the resources of our planet. Global co-ordinated efforts related to development and conservation would be 'necessary for our survival and for the discharge of our responsibilities as trustees of natural resources for the generations to come'. The March 1980 launch of this unique report came with an exhilarating flourish, for the In'st time economic development was recognised as an important means of achieving conservation. Enthusiastic debate followed, which helped to refine the major pre-requisites that were necessary for sustainable world-wide development and, in turn, national governments were called upon to establish their own conservation and development strategies. Conservation aims to keep our world 'a clean, healthy, productive, and beautiful place to live' (Munro, 1980). This ideal state, promoted through sustainable development and National Conservation Strategies should surely be the ultimate objective of every politician, and actively sought by every government. And yet, the political will and commitment to initiate and establish a National Conservation Strategy (NCS) has been limited to but a handful of enlightened national governments. Governments that acclaimed the principle of the World Conservation Strategy, have proved reluctant to produce their own NCS. Dr. David Munro, the former Director General of IUCN, has suggested (1984) that this is because such a document would provide 'a benchmark against which governments may be judged by their actions'. National Conservation Strategies are, however, slowly evolving; principally in three distinct ways: