Chapter 2 - Methods Of Conserving Biodiversity 1 (legislation / Protocols)

Question 1

What is the wildlife and countryside act (1981)

Answer 1

• UK law which includes much of the legislation that protects UK wildlife.
• it covers;
  1) uprooting of wild plants
  2) bats
  3) protection of mammal species

Question 2

List the designated protected areas in the UK

Answer 2

1) Sites of special scientific interest (SSSI)
2) National nature reserve (NNR)
3) special are of conservation (SACs)
4) special protected area (SPA)
5) natura 2000 sites
6) Ramsar sites
7) Marine Nature Reserve (MNR)
8) Local nature reserve (LNR)
9) Marine protected area (MPA)
10) Marine conservation zone (MCZ)

Question 3

How do CITES conserve biodiversity through trade controls

Answer 3

• CITES are the main international agreement that regulates the international trade in wildlife
• selected species are grouped in lists caked appendices:
  1) Appendix I: includes species that are threatened with extinction, so all international trade is banned except movement for conservation breeding programmes
  2) Appendix II: includes species that may be threatened with extinction is trade is not closely controlled

Question 4

What is the International Whaling Commission (IWC)

Answer 4

• main aim of the IWC is to regulate and manage whaling.
• populations of many whale species had been so depleted by unregulated whaling that commercial whaling was banned in 1986 until populations recovered

Question 5

What is the common fisheries policy of the European Union (EU CFP)

Answer 5

• series of regulations that cantilever fishing within the territorial waters of the European Union.
• aim is to ensure that fishing and aquaculture are environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable.
• regulations change, but typically cover:
  1) catch quotas to limit the total mass that can be landed
  2) size limits, so fewer small fish are killed and have a change to grown
  3) a ban on the discarding of unwanted fish

Question 6

What is the International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO)

Answer 6

• the ITTO aims to encourage sustainable management of the tropical forests
• in 1990, ITTO members agreed to strive for an international trade of tropical timber from sustainably managed forests by 2000, without unsustainable exploitation
• however, by 2000 there was little evidence of success