International Laws on Biodiversity

Several plant / animal species have become extinct due to certain natural phenomena, such as land upheavals, volcanic eruptions, glaciation, protracted periods of rain of drought, spreading of desert lands, forests fires, and eutrophication in the geological past. While such natural processes in the past had no doubt led to the extinction of flora, the resulting new environmental conditions had also resulted in the evolution and speciation of new flora and migration of floral elements. But, in recent times man with his anthropogenic associates and other factors or practices such as fire or ‘slash and burn’ for shifting cultivation, grazing by cattle and by several other mechanical means, has suddenly accelerated disastrous condition in natural ecosystems. Laws are framed and enacted for preservation of biodiversity. Some international laws are covered in the present book viz. Community diversity; Bio-resources; Ecosystem diversity; Endangered species; ASEAN Agreement on the conservation of Nature and Natural Resources; Plant Protection Agreement for the South East Asia and Pacific Region; Convention Relative to the Preservation of Fauna and Flora in their Natural State (1933); Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild and Forest Principles; Convention on Biodiversity etc.