The Deal to Protect the World's Wild Species and Places – We have been Conned

I read in Guardian a very severe indictment of much touted deal to protect the world's wild species and places. The writing was by George Monbiot.

Monbiot says the declaration of the so-called summit in Japan was a mere hypebole. The problem he sees is this: none of the journalists who made these claims has seen it. All that they had read was a press release which, though three pages long, is almost content-free. 

The draft agreement, published a month ago, contained no binding obligations. No government is obliged to change its policies. A third of the countries attending the conference couldn’t even be bothered to send a minister. 

Monbiot continues “Japan was praised for its slick management of the meeting, but still insists on completing its mission to turn the last bluefin tuna into fancy fast food. Russia signed a new agreement in September to protect its tigers (the world's largest remaining population), but an unrepealed law in effect renders poachers immune from prosecution, even when they're caught with a gun and a dead tiger. The US, despite proclaiming a new commitment to multilateralism, refuses to ratify the convention on biological diversity.”

Read the full article in Guardian. Click HERE