International Conservation Law The Protection of Plants in Theory and Practice

About this book

Through a combination of theoretical and empirical approaches, this book explores the role of international environmental law in protecting and conserving plants.

Underpinning every ecosystem on the planet, plants provide the most basic requirements: food, shelter and clear air. Yet the world's plants are in trouble; a fifth of all plant species are at risk of extinction, with thousands more in perpetual decline. In a unique study of international environmental law, International Conservation Law provides a comprehensive overview of the challenges and restrictions associated with protecting and conserving plants. Through analysing the relationship between conservation law and conservation practice, the book debates whether the two work symbiotically, or if the law poses more of a hindrance than a help. Further discussion of the law's response to some of the major threats facing plants, notably climate change, international trade and invasive species, grounds the book in conservation literature. Using case studies on key plant biomes to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the law in practice, the book also includes previously unpublished results of an original empirical study into the correlations between the IUCN Red List and lists of endangered/protected species in international instruments. To conclude, the book looks to the future, considering broader reforms to the law to support the work of conservation practitioners and reshape humanity's relationships with nature.

The book will be of interest to scholars and students working in the field of international environmental law and those interested more broadly in conservation and ecological governance frameworks.

Contents

Foreword
Preface and Acknowledgements
Table of International Agreements

Part 1: Preliminary Issues
Introduction: The Legal and Ecological Context of Plant Conservation
Chapter I: The Value of Plants

Part 2: The International Legal Framework for the Protection of Plants
Chapter II: Global Approaches to the Protection of Plants
Chapter III: Regional Approaches to the Protection of Plants
Chapter IV: Polar Plants
Chapter V: The Protection of Marine and Freshwater Plants

Part 3: Legal Responses to the Drivers of Plant Diversity Loss
Chapter VI: Climate Change
Chapter VII: International Trade
Chapter VIII: Invasive/Alien Species, Disease and Ecosystem Restoration

Part 4: Ways Forward for the Protection of Plants
Chapter IX: Conservation Practice and International Law
Chapter X: Ecological and Ecocentric Models for Reform

Bibliography

Customer Reviews

Biography

Rob Amos is the Academic Lead on the environmental strand of UCL's Global Citizenship Programme.