The Future of International Ecosystem-Based Conservation

Photo by Sebastian Lambarri via Unsplash

One does not have to search on the internet to conclude that our home, Earth, had greatly changed since its birth approximately 4.6 billion years ago. Perhaps, what is the most obvious is how our Earth went from being blue, green, and brown landscapes to a world of concrete jungles. Inevitably, there will be biodiversity and habitat loss. Biodiversity loss, as defined by United Nations office for Disaster Risk Reduction “refers to the reduction of any aspect of biological diversity (i.e.., diversity at the genetic, species and ecosystem levels) in a particular area through death (including extinction), destruction or manual removal.” Habitat loss occurs when a habitat is destroyed, fragmented, or degraded.[1] This can occur when an ecosystem has been dramatically changed by human activities like oil and gas exploration, commercial and residential development, or water diversion and thus may not be able to provide the food, water, and shelter to sustainably raise wildlife native to the area.[2]  Habitat loss include habitat destruction (such as a bulldozer pushing down trees), habit fragmentation (habitats that are cut up into fragments by roads and developments),  and habitat degradation (such as pollution).[3]

While conservation efforts may seem like issues that each country individually should address, given habitats are local areas, it is actually an international effort given the interconnectedness of our world. For example, many conservation efforts such as, but not limited to, coral reef protection, climate stabilization, prevention of oil spills, and logging require governments and nations to work together given that they exist in areas that are not under the control of a single sovereign.

Generally, conservation efforts have largely been effective. The first global commitment to biodiversity conservation measure was promulgated by the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity.[4]The Convention on Biological Diversity is a legally binding multilateral instrument, ratified by 193 UN members.[5] Its goal is to reduce the rate of biodiversity loss. Other agencies tackling conservation include the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) (the leading global authority on the environment), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). However, there is still important work to be done to ensure species and the Earth as a whole are protected.

The oceans, which makes up about 2/3 of Earth’s surface, are facing the repercussions of the growth of the global human population, overfishing, habitat destruction, population, and climate change have caused unprecedented challenges to marine ecosystems.[6]

Specifically, human population growth had contributed to the decline in biologically sustainable fishing stocks and has resulted in overfishing – situations whereby insufficient fishing and defaunation resulted in declining fish populations.[7] The Food and Agriculture Association (FAO) reported that more than 85% of the global fish stocks are either overfished or fully exploited and a few fisheries in the European Union have a current fleet size that exceed sustainable levels by two and even three times.[8] This poses a huge problem because overfishing causes further indirect changes in habitat structure and processes as food chains break down and ecosystems are placed into disequilibrium. The FAO, in the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, reported that “[n]ations could take steps to avoid overfishing and excess fishing capacity and implement management measures to ensure that fishing effort is adequate for the productive capacity of fishery resources and their long-term consumption.” The United Nations has also recognized overfishing and habitat loss as an issue and has determined it to be a sustainable development goal (sustainable development goal 14) to protect and utilize the oceans, seas, and marine ecosystems sustainably.[9] Sustainable Development Goal 14.2 aims to “effectively manage and safeguard marine and coastal habitats, increase their resilience, reduce harmful effects, and attain productive and health oceans.[10] However, while the Sustainable Development Goals have good intentions, when these steps are administered by different state actors fragmented ocean management follows.[11] Studies have shown that as the number of fishing vessels and the number of fishermen operating in these countries increased, their fishery production also increased significantly compared with countries with a low proportion of overfishing, but at the same time, it also resulted in the increase in overfishing or a lack of adequate resources for the fish species.[12] The effect of overfishing and the destructive fishing practices have damaged vital habitats like coral reefs and seafloors.[13] Vessels and coastal living has also introduced toxins, plastics, and excess nutrients into the marine environment.[14]

Consequently, there is a tension between the needs of human societies and the preservation of ecological integrity.[15] Conservation efforts such as ecosystem-based management is a practical approach to marine resource management, which has created marine protected areas that are designated to conserve and protect specific marine ecosystems and species.[16] Specific to the problem of overfishing, it considers the impact of fishing practices on “non-target species and sensitive habitats.[17] This concept has found its way into international fisheries management organizations that govern fisheries that span multiple countries’ waters and require coordinated efforts.[18] For example, the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission has applied ecosystem-based management principles to tuna fisheries and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary has adopted ecosystem-based management to protect coral reefs.[19]

While ecosystem-based management has helped, it is not the be-all and end-all given how complex, integrated, and vast ocean networks and ecosystems are. Issues with illegal fishing, engaging and gaining the support of local communities in these initiatives, as well as the financial resources for monitoring, enforcement, research, and outreach are hurdles to this approaching being effective. Nevertheless, it has indeed worked to safeguard some of these habitats. For example, the local communities of Chumbe Island Park near Zanzibar are involved in park management and income from ecotourism contributes to these conservation initiatives, such as enforcing strict regulations on fishing and coral harvesting.[20] While this is a great first step, in order to further the conservation efforts, nations must cooperate and entities such as the United Nations and uphold their agreements.

Gwyneth Chen is a Staff Editor at CICLR.

[1] Habitat Loss,  Nat’l Wildlife Fed., https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Threats-to-Wildlife/Habitat-Loss[https://perma.cc/Z6EZ-EUPP] (Last visited Apr. 5, 2025).

[2] Id.

[3] Id.

[4] Carlos Carroll & Justina C. Ray, Maximizing the Effectiveness of Nat’l Commitments to Protected Area Expansion For Conserving Biodiversity and Ecosystem Carbon Under Climate Change, 27 Global Change Bio. 3395 (March 30, 2021).

[5] Id.

[6] Young Chung Hee, Geography in Action: Translating Int’l Biodiversity Policies into Sustainable Conservation Initiatives, 3 Social Science Chronicle 1 (Oct. 27, 2023).

[7] Ca-Van Pham, Hui-Cheng Wang, Sheng-Hung Chen & Jie Min Lee, The Threshold Effect of Overfishing on Global Fishery Outputs Evidence from a Sustainable Fishery Perspective 8 Fishes 71 (2023).

[8] Id. at 72.

[9] Id. at 74.

[10] Id. at 74.

[11] Id.

[12] Id. at 83.

[13] Hee, supra note 6, at 3.

[14] Id.

[15] Id. at 2.

[16] Id.

[17] Id.

[18] Id. at 4.

[19] Id. at 4.

[20] Conservation, Chumbe Island Coral Park, https://chumbeisland.com/conservation/ [https://perma.cc/L9R9-DRGM ] (last visited May 2, 2025).