Transboundary Governance of Biodiversity, edited by Louis J. Kotzé and Thilo Marauhn, published by Brill, 2014, xiv + 373 pp., €146.00, hardback.

• Published date: 01 July 2016
• Date: 01 July 2016
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/reel.12159
• Author: Emma Mitrotta

Book Reviews

Transboundary Governance

of Biodiversity, edited by

Louis J. Kotz

eand Thilo

Marauhn, published by Brill,

2014, xiv + 373 pp., €146.00,

hardback.

Biodiversity is borderless, but it has

been fragmented by artificially

imposed boundaries, overlapping

legal regimes and competing

regulatory authorities. Transboun-

dary biodiversity governance has

emerged as a useful paradigm to

understand this complex reality and

to arrest trendsleading to potentially

irreversible global environmental

changes. With this edited volume,

Louis J. Kotz

e and Thilo Marauhn

offer an innovative contribution

to this literature by introducing

emerging transnational challenges to

biodiversity as well as examining

localizedresponses to them.

Following a table-of-content-like

introduction, the chapters are

grouped into three loosely defined

parts. The individual chapters can

be read in almost any order since

they stand independently from each

other and there is not always a clear

logic linking them together.

Part 1 focuses on general issues that

have a global range and interpret

transboundary biodiversity govern-

ance through the lenses of other con-

cepts. In Chapter 2, K otz

ehighlights

the disastrous impacts of people on

biodiversity in what has been defined

as the ‘Anthropocene’–a human-

dominated geological epoch. The

unpreparedness of people to face the

consequences of their own actions is

reflected in the inadequacy of exist-

ing legal, institutional and gover-

nance structures. He argues that

gradually a new form of global biodi-

versity governance has been taking

shape: it is increasingly inclusive,

with decentralized and flexible legal

and governance processes that have

a transnational application and are

informed by connectivity conserva-

tion. In my view, this discussion links

best to Chapter 5: Marauhn and

B€

ohringer point out that the

mismatch between ecological and

political boundaries hasaffected bio-

diversity conservation. The ecosys-

tem approach addresses this

mismatch, and should inform the

cooperative mechanisms imple-

mented to govern transboundary

biodiversity resources in order to

preserve their ecosystemic integrity.

In Chapter 4, Venter shows that the

rise of global environmental

challenges and the formulation

of transnational responses are erod-

ing traditional State sovereignty.

Although States remain central

actors in governing transboundary

biodiversity by means of interna-

tional cooperation, nongovernmen-

tal agencies and the ‘global citizen’

(at 89) are emerging as key players

as well. The Aarhus Convention has

boosted the role of citizens by estab-

lishing participatory and procedural

rights of the public in environmen-

tal matters. In Chapter 3, Sand

explains the value of these proced-

ural rights in relation to environ-

mental treaty regimes that de facto

apply the concept of public trustee-

ship (e.g., the World Heritage Con-

vention). He designates present and

future citizens as beneficiaries of

public trusteeship over common

biodiversity resources and States as

fiduciaries accountable to them.

Given that biodiversity resources

cannot be enclosed by national

boundaries, the chapters in Part 2

discuss the importance of supra-

national legal frameworks and con-

servation measures to enhance

transboundary biodiversity govern-

ance. In Chapter 6, Beyerlin looks at

thedialoguebetweentransboundary

protection of biodiversity (TPB) and

transboundary protection of wildlife

(TPW) at the international level.

Whereas TPW agreements are

instrumental for achieving the over-

arching objective of biodiversity con-

servation, TPB agreements should

provide the substantive and proced-

ural backbone for the formulation of

TPW agreements. The Convention

on Biological Diversity mirrors the

TPB–TPW synergy; despite being ‘a

prototype of universal agreement on

TPB’(at126),itdoesnotprovide

solid foundations for the formulation

of TPW agreements. In Chapter 8,

Paterson examines how governance

can be structured and exercised

over transboundary biodiversity

resources . He mainta ins that pro -

tected areas governance is so varied

that any attempt of categorizing it is

extremely challenging and reflects on

the practical applicability of the

World Conservation Union (IUCN)

Protected Areas Governance Typol-

ogy and Matrix.

Two chapters in this part illustrate

different regional approaches. In

Chapter 7, Fleurke and Trouwborst

show that in the European Union

(EU) species and ecosystems

protection is effectively ensured

by strict and uncompromisingly

phrased legal obligations, an

advanced institutional apparatus

and the multiple enforcement tools

available in the EU system. The

transboundary ambition of bio-

diversity governance is further

strengthened by integrating the

sites important for the conservation

of habitats and species in regional

ecological networks. In Chapter 9,

Lubbe illustrates the role of trans-

frontier conservation areas (TFCAs)

in the Southern African Develop-

ment Community (SADC), not only

as a tool for biodiversity conserva-

tion, but also for the promotion of

peace and security, economic inte-

gration and poverty alleviation. The

transboundary nature of TFCAs

ª2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA.

268

RECIEL 25 (2) 2016. ISSN 2050-0386 DOI: 10.1111/reel.12159

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