Environmental policy instruments for conserving global biodiversity

Environmenta l Polic y

Instrument s fo r Conservin g

Globa l Biodiversit y

£ 1 Springe r

Kiele r Studie n • Kie l Studie s 33 9

Dennis Snowe r (Editor )

Kie l Institut e fo r th e Worl d Econom y

Olive r Dek e

Environmenta l Polic y

Instrument s fo r Conservin g

Globa l Biodiversit y

Springe r

Dr. Oliver Deke

German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU)

Reichpietschufer 60-62

D-10785 Berlin

[email protected]

Library of Congress Control Number: 2006935424

ISSN 0340-6989

ISBN 978-3-540-73747-6 Springer Berlin Heidelberg New York

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Prefac e

If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.

—Mark 9:23

The current, unprecedented loss of global biodiversity as a result of anthropo￾genic interference in the world's ecosystems is affecting human well-being

across the globe with increasing severity. It therefore represents a major chal￾lenge in international environmental policymaking. With the Convention on

Biological Diversity (CBD), the community of states has recognized the in￾creasing importance of preserving biodiversity.

Given the extensive context of biodiversity loss and preservation, this study

focuses on two issues, which are at the center of the public discussion regarding

the objectives of conservation and the sustainable use of biodiversity, and that

are addressed by specific policy instruments. The first issue is the regulation of

cross-border trade in genetic information and genetic resources. Here, the

question is whether the commercial use of genetic information derived from bio￾diversity can create incentives for its preservation. The second issue involves the

conservation of biodiversity through the protection of ecologically valuable eco￾systems from human use. Here, the question is how the protection of these natu￾ral areas and the consequent restriction of destructive human use can be

organized effectively on an international level.

I am very grateful to Professor Horst Siebert for offering valuable advice and

support. I also am indebted to Professor Till Requate for his helpful ideas and

encouragement. My work greatly benefited from the inspiration and knowledge I

gained from my colleagues at the Kiel Institute for World Economics, particu￾larly Professor Gemot Klepper. I would like to thank in particular Sonja

Peterson, Albrecht Blasi, Felix Hammermann, Toman Mahmoud, and Martin

Meurers for valuable comments on earlier drafts of this study. Philip R. Brown,

Mirjam Stegmann and Astrid Sontag helped me in preparing the final version.

Kerstin Stark and Paul Kramer did an excellent job of turning the manuscript

into a finished product.

V I Preface

The study summarizes the work carried out in a research project entitled

"Nutzung und Schutz genetischer Ressourcen—Strategien zur Bewahrung biolo￾gischer Vielfalt?" Financial support from the German Federal Ministry of Edu￾cation and Research (BMBF) is gratefully acknowledged.

Kiel, September 2007 Oliver Deke