The World Assembly,
Praising this august body's long and storied commitment to the protection of endangered species,
Noting that maintaining high levels of biodiversity has a multitude of financial benefits for all member nations, both indirectly, for example through water purification, flood control, maintaining clean air and atmospheric health, and preventing soil erosion; as well as directly through tourism, providing the inspiration for medicinal compounds and industrial inventions, and being sources of food and water,
In addition, firmly believing that sapient beings have a moral obligation to avoid causing the extinction of non-sapient species,
Aware that when species are lost due to extinction, the loss is permanent and irreversible,
Therefore, in addition to any existing resolutions' regulations with regards to endangered species, hereby:
- Charges the WA Endangered Species Committee (WAESC) with:
- Documenting all known species and genetically distinct sub-species which are native to the territories of member nations;
- Assessing threats to the continued survival of the above species and subspecies;
- Creating a list of all species and subspecies threatened with extinction by non-natural causes, hereafter referred to as at-risk species, and a species by species assessment of the short-term risk of extinction;
- Charges member nations to develop and faithfully implement WAESC-approved conservation plans to protect all at-risk species within their own jurisdiction; the plan shall:
- Provide protections designed to prevent the probability of at-risk species becoming extinct from increasing; depending on the risk of extinction, the protections can range from the continued monitoring of the at-species' population level, at the low end of risk, to preventing all possible actions that are likely to negatively impact the at-risk species in any manner, at the high end of risk, or any level of protection in between;
- If possible, include WAESC-supported actions that will be undertaken by the member nations such that the at-risk species can recover to the point where active protections are no longer needed, these actions might include captive breeding programs, the restoration of destroyed habitats, and/or the removal of pollution, among others;
- Encourages member nations to seek conservation actions that allow the local populace and other people negatively impacted by these plans to become positively economically invested in species conservation, as long as these actions are consistent with conservation goals and existing WA legislation;
- Charges member nations to work with property owners impacted by these actions to compensate them for the partial or complete loss of relevant property rights;
- Charges member nations to periodically update conservation plans, with the approval of WAESC, based on new information, conditions, or novel findings of the best available science;
- Notes that WAESC may determine that one or more of the following conditions apply, in which case member nations' conservation responsibilities will be partially or wholly lifted for the purposes of this resolution:
- The endangered species presents a public health risk, such as through infection or parasitism;
- The endangered species is outside of its native range and invasive in its present location;
- The clearly needed protections for the species would present a serious public health emergency;
- The clearly needed protections for the species would negatively impact another species also at risk for extinction;
- Clarifies that proactive protection is not required when the risk of extinction is not caused or exacerbated by the actions of sapient species;
- Clarifies that member nations may enact more stringent national regulations on the impacts of endangered species, at their own discretion, so long as they are compliant with all other World Assembly resolutions.
