La adaptación de la flora y fauna al cambio climático en un paisaje fragmentado y el Derecho europeo sobre la conservación de la naturaleza

Este trabajo analiza el papel de la Directiva Aves y la Directiva Hábitats de laUE con relación a los corredores ecológicos (o conectividad ecológica) y teniendo en cuentala fragmentación del paisaje y el cambio climático. Además de este análisis general, se centra en el caso de los Países Bajos, que resulta de especial interés

EU Regulation 1143/2014 and the Bern Convention:Allied forces in the war on invasive alien species

This article identifies and analyzes current and potential synergies between the new EU Regulation 1143/2014 on the prevention and management of the introduction and spread of invasive alien species on the one hand, and the Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats on the other. Besides focussing on the role the Convention could play in facilitating the Regulation’s effective implementation generally, the article explores the scope for extending some of the actions provided for in the Regulation beyond the EU to Europe at large, using the framework of the Bern Convention. The article identifies and recommends several courses of action that may be taken in either regard. Cooperation on IAS appears to open a promising new chapter in the dynamic interplay that has characterized the relations between the Bern Convention and EU biodiversity law in the past

Restoring what is broken:Wildlife law in an era of ecological emergency, eye-opening science, and maturing morality

Inaugural address, Arie Trouwborst, professor of nature conservation law, Tilburg University

Prevention, Precaution, Logic and Law: The Relationship between the Precautionary Principle and the Preventative Principle in International Law and Associated Questions

The main purpose of this article is to promote clarification of the relationship between the precautionary principle and the prevent(at)ive principle in public international law. One of the questions addressed in this connection is whether the presence of uncertainty is a condition for the applicability of the precautionary principle. The article stresses and discusses the distinction between preventative and precautionary logic on the one hand and the corresponding legal principles on the other hand. It concludes, among other things, that in the international law of the environment the precautionary principle must be regarded as having absorbed the preventative principle or, alternatively, as being its most developed form. The widespread endorsement of the precautionary principle has thus made the continued existence of a separate preventative principle in international law superfluous

The vulnerability of neighbouring communities and their investment in protected area:A speculative analysis

Climate change will increasingly impact species and habitat composition of protected areas, even if precise impacts are difficult to predict, especially in smaller areas. This raises questions for management authorities, not only regarding the ecological integrity of protected areas but also regarding wildlife that ‘escape’ and cause damage. The protected area is traditionally the primary responsibility of the management authority, but the introduction of charismatic and potentially damage-causing wildlife touches on the overlapping and shared commercial interests of the tourism industry and the neighbouring rural communities. As climate change manifests, the complex relationship between these three stakeholders is likely to become strained by the increased frequency of damage caused by wildlife as they attempt to move out of or expand their home ranges beyond the boundaries of the protected area. It is concluded that a laissez-faire approach to climate change by conservation authorities or protected area managers is likely to be problematic – particularly with respect to relationships with neighbouring rural communities. A greater awareness of climate change impacts among all stakeholders is required, including conservation agencies, the tourism industry and neighbouring rural communities and managing escaped wildlife should become a joint responsibility which is founded on a contractual agreement between these stakeholders

When is it acceptable to kill a strictly protected carnivore:Exploring the legal constraints on wildlife management within Europe's Bern Convention

As wolf populations expand across Europe, many countries face challenges in finding ways to address the concerns of some elements among the rural stakeholders who are being asked to share their landscapes with wolves for the first time in several generations. In these recovery landscapes, wolves are associated with a wide range of conflicts that include economic, psychological, perceptional, social, cultural and political dimensions. A recurring demand concerns the desire to introduce the use of carefully regulated lethal control of wolves, through either culling by state employees or hunting conducted by rural hunters. Introducing such measures can be very controversial, and many critics challenge their legality under the international wildlife conservation instruments that have nurtured wolf recovery. We evaluate this issue for the case of wolves in Norway, which are strictly protected under the Bern Convention. Drawing on the latest results of social science research, we present the multiple lines of argumentation that are often used to justify killing wolves and relate these to the criteria for exceptions that exist under the Bern Convention. We conclude that while the Convention provides apparent scope for allowing the killing of wolves as a means to address conflicts, this must be clearly justified and proportional to the conservation status of wolves so as to not endanger their recovery

Legal implications of range expansions in a terrestrial carnivore:The case of the golden jackal (Canis aureus) in Europe

Due to global environmental changes, species are appearing more frequently in places where they have not previously occurred, and this trend is expected to continue. Such range expansions can create considerable challenges and confusion for management and policy, especially for species associated with conflicts and whose management is influenced by international legal frameworks. The golden jackal (Canis aureus) in Europe represents a good case study to address the questions related to management of naturally expanding species. We review the recent expansion of the golden jackal across the continent, and address several ensuing policy and legal questions that also have clear implications for other expanding species. To that end, we analyze the EU Habitats Directive and several other international legal instruments including the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Bern Convention on European Wildlife. We also review the status of the golden jackal under national legislation and highlight some of the management confusion due to recent range expansion and inadequate legal interpretation. Specific questions we address include in which cases an expanding species is to be considered an (invasive) alien species in countries where it did not formerly occur; what countries’ conservation obligations are with respect to expanding species; what difference it makes for those obligations whether or not a species historically occurred in a country; what scope exists for lethal control of its populations; what the prospects are for transboundary cooperation at the population level; and what responses are required when colonizing species hybridise with other wildlife or domestic animals

Upholding European Nature Legislation Is Well Justified

The European Commission has finally abandoned the controversial plan to revise the EU Birds and Habitats Directives. In this opinion piece, we explain that this is good news for biodiversity in the EU and in the Netherlands