Background

In December 1938 the Eighth International Conference of American States met in Lima and recommended to the Pan American Union that it should establish a committee of experts to study problems relating to nature and wildlife in the American republics and should prepare a draft convention for their protection. The recommendation was adopted, and the committee of experts drew up the Convention on Nature Protection and Wildlife Preservation in the Western Hemisphere (the “Western Hemisphere Convention”). The Western Hemisphere Convention was opened for signature to Member States of the Pan American Union (now called the Organization of American States, hereinafter referred to as the “OAS”) on 12 October 1940 and entered into force on 30 April 1942. At the time of writing, it has been signed by twenty one Member States of OAS and ratified by eighteen of them.

The Western Hemisphere Convention was a visionary instrument, well ahead of its time in terms of the concepts it espouses. The protection of species from man-induced extinction, the establishment of protected areas, the regulation of international trade in wildlife, special measures for migratory birds and the need for international cooperation are all elements of wildlife conservation which are covered by the Convention – many of them for the first time by an international treaty – and which have reappeared time and again in other conventions concluded since 1940.