26
S.M. Wells . R. Rochert
erative governmental arrangement between the countries of Denmark, Germany and
The Netherlands. The 'guiding principle' for management, adopted at the Sixth Trilateral Governmental Conference for the Protection of the Wadden Sea in 1991, is "to achieve,
as far as possible, a natural and sustainable ecosystem in which natural processes proceed in an undisturbed way". At the same meeting it was agreed that, in principle, construction of new pipelines is to be avoided (CWSS 1992). These principles are policy,
however, and have no legal basis.
The German part of the Wadden Sea is designated a 'national park', the strongest
conservation category that German environmental law offers. The Wadden Sea is also
listed under some of the international and regional treaties which require that contracting parties protect and effectively manage key sites of the world's natural ecosystems. However, neither the legal designation as a National Park nor the tri-nationally
adopted principles and international obligations have prevented the construction of
the Europipe. WWF's view is that this represents a failure on the part of the German
government to enforce national legislation and meet international obligations.
This raises several questions. How'protected' are protected areas, if detrimental economic interests and political support for them can overturn environmental laws and
conservation arguments? Can any large-scale construction in a protected area be considered sustainable use, and compatible with the objectives of such a site? Or conversely,
should protected areas not be, at a minimum, free from large-scale industrial development and thus a 'refuge' from major constructions? The Europipe case is not the only
problem of that sort, but it provides a starting point for illustrating the national and
international obligations that exist for the protection of biodiversity through the establishment and management of protected areas.
4.3
National Obligations
The role of protected areas in protecting the world's biodiversity and contributing to
sustainable development is now well established. At the Earth Summit (the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development) in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, one of
the major outputs was Agenda 21, an action plan designed to carry biodiversity protection work through to the next century. Chapter 17 of Agenda 21 covers the oceans and
specifically requires that "states should identify marine ecosystems exhibiting high levels
of biodiversity and productivity and other critical habitat areas and should provide
necessary limitations on use in these areas, through inter alia designation of protected
areas". Subsequently, many of the agreed principles in Agenda 21 were specified as obligations for contracting Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (De
Fontaubert et al. 1996). This requires that, among other things, each Party shall, as far
as possible and as appropriate: 1) establish a system of protected areas or areas where
special measures need to be taken to conserve biological diversity; and 2) develop, where
necessary, guidelines for the selection, establishment and management of such areas.
In order for a protected area to be recognised internationally, it must fall within
certain definitions laid out, for example by IUCN (''An area of land and/or sea especially dedicated to the protection and maintenance of biological diversity, and of natural and associated cultural resources, and managed through legal or other effective
means") and the Convention on Biological Diversity (,'A geographically defined area
S.M. Wells . R. Rochert
erative governmental arrangement between the countries of Denmark, Germany and
The Netherlands. The 'guiding principle' for management, adopted at the Sixth Trilateral Governmental Conference for the Protection of the Wadden Sea in 1991, is "to achieve,
as far as possible, a natural and sustainable ecosystem in which natural processes proceed in an undisturbed way". At the same meeting it was agreed that, in principle, construction of new pipelines is to be avoided (CWSS 1992). These principles are policy,
however, and have no legal basis.
The German part of the Wadden Sea is designated a 'national park', the strongest
conservation category that German environmental law offers. The Wadden Sea is also
listed under some of the international and regional treaties which require that contracting parties protect and effectively manage key sites of the world's natural ecosystems. However, neither the legal designation as a National Park nor the tri-nationally
adopted principles and international obligations have prevented the construction of
the Europipe. WWF's view is that this represents a failure on the part of the German
government to enforce national legislation and meet international obligations.
This raises several questions. How'protected' are protected areas, if detrimental economic interests and political support for them can overturn environmental laws and
conservation arguments? Can any large-scale construction in a protected area be considered sustainable use, and compatible with the objectives of such a site? Or conversely,
should protected areas not be, at a minimum, free from large-scale industrial development and thus a 'refuge' from major constructions? The Europipe case is not the only
problem of that sort, but it provides a starting point for illustrating the national and
international obligations that exist for the protection of biodiversity through the establishment and management of protected areas.
4.3
National Obligations
The role of protected areas in protecting the world's biodiversity and contributing to
sustainable development is now well established. At the Earth Summit (the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development) in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, one of
the major outputs was Agenda 21, an action plan designed to carry biodiversity protection work through to the next century. Chapter 17 of Agenda 21 covers the oceans and
specifically requires that "states should identify marine ecosystems exhibiting high levels
of biodiversity and productivity and other critical habitat areas and should provide
necessary limitations on use in these areas, through inter alia designation of protected
areas". Subsequently, many of the agreed principles in Agenda 21 were specified as obligations for contracting Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (De
Fontaubert et al. 1996). This requires that, among other things, each Party shall, as far
as possible and as appropriate: 1) establish a system of protected areas or areas where
special measures need to be taken to conserve biological diversity; and 2) develop, where
necessary, guidelines for the selection, establishment and management of such areas.
In order for a protected area to be recognised internationally, it must fall within
certain definitions laid out, for example by IUCN (''An area of land and/or sea especially dedicated to the protection and maintenance of biological diversity, and of natural and associated cultural resources, and managed through legal or other effective
means") and the Convention on Biological Diversity (,'A geographically defined area