ABSTRACT
States have an obvious self-interest in ensuring the prudent use of natural resources such as oil, coal and gas, not only to maintain present needs but also to protect the needs of future generations.1 Plants and animals, on the other hand, are widely perceived as a type of natural resource which, unlike coal and gas, constitute a resource capable of selfrenewal, provided appropriate steps are taken to conserve existing populations. It is now apparent that the conservation of living resources cannot be achieved merely by controlling their exploitation by humankind. In particular, plants and animals cannot be conserved merely by focussing on the preservation of individual species through controls over human activities impinging directly upon them. Their conservation also requires the preservation of their habitat and of related species, as well as the non-living elements of the environment on which they depend (Birnie and Boyle (1992) 419).
