This book describes how a rather vague proposal put To The UN Environment Programme in 1987 developed into the 1992 Biodiversity Convention. The author gives a first hand and personal account of heading the UK delegation during the negotiations and subsequently, As a consultant, Of taking part in the first tentative steps towards its implementation. The Convention has generated a number of academic treatises and legal analyses: this book offers a unique insight into how it was negotiated, arguments and counterarguments, misunderstandings, compromises, rhetoric, camaraderie and frustation. The `story' takes the reader behind the scenes at international gatherings in London, Nairobi, Geneva, Montreal, New York, Madrid, Nassau And The Rio de Janeiro `Earth Summit'. It should be of interest to environmental policy makers, conservation groups, lawyers, students of environmental law and of the wider United Nations negotiating process.

One of the cornerstones of life's wonders is the vast array of species filling the planet. From plants to animals to humans, there is no shortage of beings to provide 'spice of life' variety is said to be. Periodically, scientists announce the discovery of a 'new' form of life, so it seems as if Earth is capable of producing new species just to keep us on our toes. At times, the immense breadth of living things can even feel overwhelming, as one pauses to ponder how numerically insignificant humans are when compared to the insect population. Given the biological diversity of the planet, it is incumbent upon humans to safeguard the natural beauty of the environment. To that end, conservation takes on special importance, necessitating the balancing of industrial expansion with preserving the flora and fauna surrounding us. This book is an important tool in understanding and researching the many different life forms spanning the globe. Collected here is a substantial and carefully selected listing of relevant literature on biological diversity and its conservation. Following this bibliography are author, title, and subject indexes to allow for further access to this information. The sheer bulk of the works about biological diversity can be so intimidating that a book such as this one becomes useful in sorting through the resources about the importance of life's variety.

This book focuses on the impact of social change on the rules relating to the forms and procedures of treaty-making, but inevitably also comes to focus on the content of the norms themselves, where, as in human rights and the environment, they have had an impact on the form and procedure of the treaty. It is of great value to all practitioners, academics, and policy-makers involved with, or interested in, the treaty-making process.

The book focuses on the negotiation process leading up to the creation of the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) and the domestic implementation of this international agreement. This political science study of the negotiation process applies several perspectives drawn from international relations theories, while also focusing on the implementation of international environmental agreements in a developing country. Moreover, the links between factors at international and domestic levels are examined, with four proposed mechanisms through which an international institution may affect domestic policies. Evidence is found that the CBD has had a beneficial impact on national biodiversity policies in the country studied, but that necessary compatible legislation is absent in developed country parties. Readership: Policy makers, decision makers, political scientists, lawyers and environmentalists engaged in development assistance work, and academics and industrialists involved in the biotechnology industry.

A tool to help negotiators of Multilateral Environmental Agreements to prepare strategies and to participate more effectively in the negotiations and focus on environmental issues, their creation of binding international law, and their inclusion.