Elephant Treaties: The Colonial Legacy of the Biodiversity Crisis

by Rachelle Adam

Based on a legal history of international biodiversity treaties from the late nineteenth century to the present, Rachelle Adam argues that today’s biodiversity crisis is rooted in European colonial history, especially in the conservation treaties that the colonial powers (and their non-governmental counterparts) negotiated to protect Africa’s big-game animals. Reflecting on the colonial past—particularly on efforts to manage the commerce in elephant ivory—Adam sheds light on why more recent attempts to arrest the decline in biodiversity by way of international agreement have failed. This volume will spur a rethinking of such agreements and trigger a search for alternatives outside of existing international structures.

Hardcover is un-jacketed.

191 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Jenna · Rating 2 out of 5]

While this book makes good points and could be a good reference, it was painfully academic and hard to wade through, to the point where I completely skimmed and skipped sections. The last chapter is worth a read, but even there I feel there is language bent toward the criticized colonialism. Instead of pointing to Africans’ own ability to lift themselves out of the biodiversity crisis and be leaders, it is suggested that NGO’s and international organizations “give” rights to locals, as though rights are anybody’s to give in the first place.