ABSTRACT
Biological diversity is an evolving focus of international environmental law. It encompasses three stages of legal development. The first was the diverse nature of conservation laws promulgated since the late 19th century governing fish and game or forestry. Second were the laws which began in the early and mid-20th century that address soil conservation, agricultural activity and fisheries management, and water and drought management. Third came the pollution and environmental quality laws enacted in the mid- and late 20th century, which affect the ways natural systems are impacted by pollution and waste. All have been subsumed within international environmental law, which since 1972 began to elaborate the links between these subjects’ association with common threats to biological diversity. As Earth’s current “sixth great extinction” has deepened (Kolbert, 2014), the insufficiency of each nation incrementally enacting new statutes or agreeing on new treaties to conserve biodiversity has become evident.
