Legal limits and adaptive management of wildlife populations in Swedish law

• During the last century the variety of species has decreased dramatically and numerous species are today classified as endangered or threatened. The main determining factor is human related activities such as forestry, farming, intensive hunting and fishing. Since the middle of the last century, a number of legal instruments concerning the use and conservation of natural resources have been applied, such as protection of individual species and their nests and restrictions on hunting and fishing, without hindering the eradication of species. One proposition for the failures of traditional legal instruments is the lack of a holistic approach in regarding ecosystem characteristics such as inter-species and habitats relations and biodiversity. The paper founds that the legal instruments mainly are concerned with the rational use or protection of a certain species rather than dealing with inter-relations and the sustainability of ecosystems. E.g. the motive for legal protection is based on a definition of a sustainable population which is determined with respect to the conservation status of the targeted species rather than with aim of achieving sufficient diversity of species in the ecosystems and legal limits related to the use of wildlife populations fail to integrate ecological concepts such as biodiversity for determining such limits. Another proposition is that since ecosystems are dynamic and complex it is important that the legal system has the capacity to respond to ecological changes. The analysis will show that the legal system concerning the protection of species generally lacks adaptive elements. A legislative approach which is more  holistic and adaptive is thus necessary; otherwise there is a risk that the preservation of biodiversity will be further frustrated.

Subject headings

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Juridik -- Juridik (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Law -- Law (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Law

Rättsvetenskap

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

kon (subject category)