EVOLVING WILDLIFE POLICIES

“Do we not need a clearer understanding of what we mean by wildlife, particularly when considering what we mean by conservation of wildlife including its sustainable utilisation and how this relates to sustainable development?”

Over the last decades, the place of wildlife in international sustainable development policy has changed. The recognition of wildlife as a key factor in sustainability declined and then rebounded somewhat. The meaning of conservation also changed significantly, but that is a topic for another article.

This article explores the role of wildlife in two key multilateral agreements and two key multilateral strategies that were developed and launched over the last half century.

❶ The 1975 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES),

❷ The 1980 World Conservation Strategy (WCS),

❸ The 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and

❹ The 2015 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

It questions whether there is a place for wildlife in sustainable development policy today and whether wildlife conservation will be part of the future we want.

What is wildlife?

Do we have a shared understanding of what we mean by wildlife? How does wildlife relate to biodiversity? To natural resources? To natural capital? To wilderness? Here are some online dictionary definitions of wildlife:

“Do we not need a clearer understanding of what we mean by wildlife, particularly when considering what we mean by