1933 Convention on the Preservation of Fauna and Flora in

Their Natural State

By: Elizabeth Wilkins

GEO 4372
10/20/2015
Writing Assignment #1

In the early 1900, Europe saw the need for the preservation of wild fauna
and flora that was rapidly disappearing from Africa. A convention was first held in
London, England to by the international congress to discuss the protection of
nature. This led to little results and no treaty was signed due to lack of confirmation
of all parties involved. Then in 1933 another convention was held in London,
England which enacted a special treaty that would preserve the endangered or
threatened species of wild fauna and flora. Among those who attended were the
Union of South Africa, Belgium, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland, Egypt, Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, and the Angelo-Egyptian Sudan. The
main goal of this convention was the preservation of wildlife, so the convention
members came up with ways to achieve this goal. This started with the creation of
national parks and reserves, domesticating useful animals, changing the policy on
hunting, killing or capturing of wild fauna, and prohibiting the collection or
destruction of wild flora. These policy changes would be enforced with strict
regulation. Regulation would also be assigned to what is called trophy killings;
this means killing simply for sport.
The convention also changed the methods of weapons that were legally
allowed for hunting, killing and capturing of wild fauna. The hunting methods that
are now forbidden are poisons, explosives, dazzling lights, nets, pits, and snares.
With the creation of the natural parks, human settlement would also be monitored
and changed. Meaning, if an area were to become a national park, the indigenous
people would most likely have to move and would no longer be able to hunt on the
property. This new regulation is understandably meant to protect endangered
species and ecosystems but causes much conflict for the indigenous people. The

nation saw this conflict and soon after World War II a conference was held to write
new policy that would take into account the indigenous people and their way of life.
Significant change came out of the 1933 convention. With the creation of the
national parks and nature reserves, this treaty became the first legally binding
instrument in Africa. This was also the first convention to take into consideration
the significance of protecting plant species and lovingly given the name the Magna
Carta of wildlife conservation. It was also the first step toward great change in the
protection of wild fauna and flora in Africa. By doing this, the U.N. and other
nations became more aware of the issues with wildlife degradation and the
extinction of key plant species therefore giving way to more changes being made in
other parts of the world. The convention was the first huge stepping-stone to
restrict poachers from unprofessional like hunting. Even though horrible hunting
practices and violations still occur, the creation of natural parks and reservations
allow a fighting chance to counteract the negative actions and regrow endangered
and hunted species.
The 1933 convention was a great step forward for wildlife and plant species.

Work Cited
"Convention Relative to the Preservation of Fauna and Flora in Their Natural State."
- The Faculty of Law. UIO, n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.
<http://www.jus.uio.no/english/services/library/treaties/06/602/preservation-fauna-natural.xml>.
McNeely, Jeffrey. In 2003: 30 Years Of International Agreement. 1st ed. CITES
World, 2003. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.
"Treaties: Record Details (return)." ECOLEX: Treaties: Record Details. ECOLEX, 11
July 2003. Web. 19 Oct. 2015.
<http://www.ecolex.org/ecolex/ledge/view/RecordDetails?id=TRE000069&index=treaties>.