ABSTRACT
According to Lyster, the Berne Convention is an extremely important wildlife conservation treaty for two main reasons: first, the mandatory nature of its provisions is a departure from the hortatory language utilised by most environmental and especially wildlife treaties. Rather than encouraging parties to implement conservation measures, the Convention almost always requires them to do so. Secondly, the administrative system created by the Convention to promote and oversee implementation of its provisions represents a major advance on previous instruments. The full range of mechanisms including inter alia a Secretariat (provided by the Council of Europe), regular meetings of the Standing Committee at which all Parties are represented, attendance by non-governmental observers at these meetings, and reporting requirements, to ensure effective enforcement of obligations are all provided for (Lyster (1985) 130-31).
