Towards a Global Pact for the Environment: Some Legal Reflections

Law-making regarding the environment has been in process for almost fifty years; as widely agreed, the 1972 Stockholm Conference triggered a global regulatory process. Not only did it end up producing the celebrated Stockholm Declaration, 1 which may be considered the founding act of environmental law, but it also was followed by many other important instruments: the 1972 World Heritage Convention 2 and the 1973 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora 3 are some examples. Consequently, it is a field that could be considered to be newly built; it was created to respond to modern needs and recent developments. But, even if these laws are truly necessary, humanity should primarily understand another important reality: that there are other laws that are equally considerable. They are the fundamental laws of nature, which have been violated for almost one hundred years in the name of progress-or, in fact, in the name of profit. And, despite the definitely striking disproportionate place of humankind on Earth (only 0.01 percent of the total biomass of the planet), 4 its destructive impact is indisputable. Humans, who have proven to be extremely efficient in exploiting natural resources, have culled and, in some cases, eradicated, wild mammals for food or pleasure on virtually all continents. 5 Since the rise of the human civilization, 83 percent of wild mammals have been lost, which is a tremendous disaster for the balance of the ecosystems.