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school of law Conservation scientists stress the importance of ecosystem approaches for biodiversity conservation. Further, many sites that merit conservation straddle the 220000km that make up the world’s international land borders. Transboundary cooperation provides a valuable means of combining and coordinating biodiversity conservation efforts at a transnational scale. State practice and academic commentary however lack detailed consideration of the principles of International Law that apply to biodiversity conservation in terrestrial transboundary ecosystems. This seminar examines existing transboundary law and two key biodiversity MEAs (the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)). From this it is argued that international law is currently inadequate for transboundary biodiversity conservation.

 

 

Michelle Lim is a PhD candidate in the Australian Centre for Agriculture and Law. Michelle’s PhD focuses on the legal and institutional requirements for biodiversity conservation across international boundaries. Her research is linked to a United Nations transboundary project in the Pamir Mountains between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Michelle facilitated a workshop on legal and policy development for project’s national teams while in Tajikistan from April to May 2010. She also participated in meetings of local community leaders and an expert roundtable. This visit supplemented field work conducted in both Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in 2009. Michelle has also examined The ‘Heart of Borneo’ transboundary biodiversity conservation project which involves Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia. Michelle’s interests are in International Environmental Law, Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Development. She obtained a double-degree in Science and Law with first-class honours from the University of New England in 2008. Michelle majored in Ecosystem and Natural Resource Management under the Science component of her degree. Her Law honours thesis questioned the adequacy of international law obligations for biodiversity conservation. Michelle gained a Diploma in Expedition Management in 2006 while assisting in Rapid Biodiversity Assessments in the Nguru South Mountain Forests of Tanzania. Further in 2007 Michelle was project manager of the Jane Goodall Institute’s Mt. Kilimanjaro Community-Based Environmental Project.

The underdeveloped nature of international law is compounded by the fact that collaboration between adjacent states for transboundary biodiversity conservation occurs on a largely ad-hoc, case-specific basis without adherence to uniform standards or guidelines. Acknowledging this gap, this paper also addresses the governance issues for biodiversity conservation in transboundary mountain ecosystems. To achieve meaningful biodiversity conservation outcomes across international boundaries, integrative legal approaches are required. Such approaches need to incorporate the disciplines of governance and conservation science. Thus, this seminar examines ‘how to make the law work’ across international and disciplinary boundaries.
This research combines an extensive review of the Transboundary Protected Area (TBPA) and Transboundary Natural Resource Management (TBNRM) literature with a critical reflection involving two case studies. The first case study is located in the Pamir-Alai Mountains of Central Asia. It involves the adjacent former Soviet nations of Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz Republic. The second occurs in the highlands of Borneo and includes the island’s three countries: Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia. This seminar elaborates on the particular challenges of each case study and the lessons learnt. From this a set of 11 criteria for effective transboundary biodiversity conservation have been developed. These 11 criteria are presented here.