This study is based on an analysis of recent legislation of various countries of the world relating to wild animals and aims at the identification of major trends.
The introduction briefly refers to trends which had already been identified in the early 1980s in an analysis of African countries’ legislation. In comparison with those of the previous generation, the more recent laws of the 1970s tended to take a more comprehensive view of wildlife management, including development as well as conservation aspects.
Chapter II on international, national and local legislation on wildlife management refers to the relations among these various levels of legislative powers, and benefits and complexities deriving from the increase of both international and local initiatives. While the benefits of adopting legislation at different territorial levels as may be appropriate are numerous, there may be some difficulties of coordination and therefore in achieving harmonized implementation of the legislation, for example in the case of international agreements, as well as national provisions, to be implemented at the regional level.
The same chapter includes specific sections on international legislation (limited to a brief description of a few conventions dealing with wildlife) and on European Community (EC) legislation. As regional legal instruments, EC initiatives have had an outstanding impact in shaping the legal framework of the fifteen member countries, particularly as regards environmental matters. A section includes a discussion of the Birds and Habitats Directives, which are the principal legal instruments adopted by the Community regarding wildlife, and a review of how this legislation has been interpreted by the Court of Justice of the European Communities.
Chapter III examines how some significant wildlife management issues are addressed in legislation. Specific sections deal with protection rules, management planning and other management aspects such as hunting, use of licences, and initiatives like game ranching and breeding.
Among the most common protection rules are limitations to hunting, which may be by species, area, hunting methods, purposes of hunting, or be based on time limits. Regarding prohibitions to hunt with particular methods, some of them are common to most countries, while others vary depending on local traditions. Some arrangements continue to be allowed by the law because they have traditionally been considered acceptable, either to contribute to subsistence or to meet the requests and interests of sport hunters. The justification of some methods for sport hunting purposes is however still widely debated in many countries.
Listing of species is a typical tool for the protection of wild animals, which remains common in recent legislation. Frequently there are provisions for the creation of lists of different categories of animals, which are to receive different degrees of protection. The effectiveness of these provisions may depend on the flexibility allowed in adapting the lists to sustainability requirements.
Some national laws have started to require the appropriate management of processes which may have negative impacts on wildlife, with a view to eliminating or mitigating them. A section on this topic gives some examples.
A number of laws in recent years have reflected the enhanced concern for the protection of biodiversity as a whole, rather than simply of significant species of animals and plants. The sub-section on protection of biodiversity briefly reports some examples.
The section on management planning describes some provisions which set out wildlife management processes, which may include steps such as collection of relevant data and adoption of various types of management plans. It appears from this analysis that almost all countries have provided some legal basis for management planning, but that the approach remains rather fragmentary, i.e. the laws rarely set out a complete rational framework.
The section on regulation of hunting is limited to issues which are not dealt with in other parts (e.g., sections on protection rules, on licences, etc.). It describes some of the political debate on hunting which influences the formulation of legislation. At least three major interest groups frequently take partly conflicting views regarding the regulation of issues such as re-stocking of wildlife, selective hunting, and traditional hunting methods.
Provisions of national laws concerning licences and permits are usually meant to contribute to rational wildlife management. The section on this topic notes, however, that this effect is limited, as although most countries set out numerous requirements for licences, they do not tie conditions for their issue to actual management needs, leaving related decisions widely to the discretion of administrations. Some laws set out different types of licences, based on different degrees of protection of concerned animals, or different size of animals (e.g., small game and big game), or place of residence (e.g., for visitors and foreigners) or objectives for hunting or capturing animals (e.g., sport, subsistence, scientific purposes).
The analysis of provisions regarding game ranching and breeding shows that they mainly set out control systems with a view to protecting the environment and biodiversity and preventing negative impacts.
Chapter IV on ownership of wildlife presents some of the different approaches regarding ownership of wildlife resources and related rights and obligations, such as the right to hunt and to draw financial benefits from wildlife and the obligation to manage wildlife and to pay compensation for damage which it may cause. There are two basic trends, i.e. State ownership of wild fauna and ownership by private or communal owners of land.
Chapter V on land use and protected areas presents provisions on the types of protected areas which are specifically devoted to the protection and management of wildlife, including hunting. The following section refers to some of the rare provisions regarding land-based wildlife protection measures applicable outside protected areas in national laws. The final section examines the relationship of wildlife management, which implies some forms of land use, with other land uses within protected areas and in neighbouring areas, and generally with land use policies and planning. This is also a topic which is frequently not addressed in legislation.
Chapter VI discusses provisions on public involvement in wildlife management. Advantages deriving from people’s participation in the benefits deriving from wildlife management as well as in decision-making are numerous, including broad-based support to the measures adopted and consequent improved implementation and enforcement.
Countries encourage participation to varying extents and under various approaches. A basic step is to allow access to available wildlife-related information. A further step is generally to require in the law that the interests of concerned people be taken into account. More concrete measures require effective consultation of stake-holders or the public in activities such as adoption of management plans or declaration of protected areas. Another approach is to foresee the creation of people-centred bodies with various wildlife management responsibilities, or the management of areas under agreements between interested people or communities and the administration. The devolution of legislative and/or administrative powers from the central to the local level is another way in which people may be more directly involved in wildlife management. The chapter examines examples of these various approaches.
The legislation which has been reviewed is listed at the end of the text.
