UN/GA: Wildlife comes to the plenary

Poaching and the illicit trafficking of wildlife products were raised for the first time at the General Assembly during discussions on strengthening national and international governance.

In a written statement, the United States highlighted “the harm caused by wildlife poaching and trafficking to conservation efforts, rule of law, governance and economic development.”

“Such organized crime is increasingly affecting the environment and biodiversity through poaching and illegal fishing,” Gabon’s President Ali Bongo said during the High-level Meeting on the Rule of Law. “Gabon intends to strengthen its criminal justice system to combat this phenomenon. But such efforts will require a greater international legal cooperation.” President Bongo took the occasion to reaffirm his country’s commitment to “combating violations of the Convention on International Trade [in] Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora as well as other conventions to protect the environment and biodiversity.”

France also emphasized the severity and negative impacts of wildlife crime. “There are still entire sectors of activity without any legal safety,” French Minister Delegate for Development Pascal Canfin said. “International law is lacking when it comes to the plundering of natural resources, for example, or the trafficking of fauna.”

Nigeria: Oil spill legislation

 

According to GLOBE International, Senator A. Bukola Saraki, Chair of the Committee on Environment and Ecology of the National Assembly, has introduced a bill to amend the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency Act (NOSDRA) 2006. The amendment seeks to:

• Strengthen the institutional and regulatory capacity of NOSDRA to proactively manage oil spills in a much more robust and effective manner,
• creating a clear and specific regime of penalties and responsibilities for oil spills
• providing a consistent guide and procedure for assessing and accessing compensation for oil spill and other civil liabilities.

With an estimated 13 million -16 million barrels of oil spilled in the Niger Delta over the past 50 years, this legislation would strengthen the governance and penalty system.
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IPBES Members

The Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services has announced the current list of  92 members as of 1 September 2012.

Africa
Algeria, Botswana, Central African Republic (CAR), Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Morocco, Niger, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania and Zimbabwe.

Asia and the Pacific
Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Yemen.

Eastern Europe
Albania, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Montenegro, Republic of Moldova, Russian Federation and Slovakia.

Latin America and the Caribbean
Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay.

Western Europe and Others
Andorra, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and United States of America.