1. Building Capacity on Protected Areas Law & Governance
Module 7
Exercise 1
Domestic Implementation of
International Law
Picture - Marsh in the Doñana National Park, Spain [IUCN Picture Library no. 488]
International Law and PAs

2. Background Purpose Structure
Enhance understanding of selected international agreements relevant to protected areas.
Promote awareness of the relationship between international law and domestic protected areas law.
Develop critical legal analytical skills for evaluating the translation of international law into domestic legislation.
Encourage understanding of implementation arrangements in creating an effective protected areas regime.
Structure
Introduction to Exercise (15 minutes)
Small Group Work (75 minutes)
De-briefing and Exchange (30 minutes)
NOTES FOR EDUCATOR
Briefly explain the Purpose of the Exercise.
Briefly explain the Structure of the Exercise.
As indicated in the instructions for this Exercise, reading materials are extensive in comparison with other Exercises and it will be advantageous to hand them our or assign them to Learners ahead of time.
Note carefully that the instructions for this Exercise have identified several alternative ways to engage the students, depending on the composition of the class and your preferences as Educator. If you have chosen to orient the Exercise around the experience of a particular country, it will be important to have identified relevant reading resources in advance.

3. Invitation to the World
The Case Study
Invitation to the World
Domestic Implementation
of CBD obligations
Assess national action
against international requirements
NOTES FOR EDUCATOR
Introduce the Case Study to the Learners as it appears in Annexure A.
Indicate to the Learners that they have been given extracts from relevant instruments (either in generic form as provided in the instructions, or as selected by the Educator according to specific background of the Learner participants).
Indicate to Learners that in this Exercise they will need to assess applicable domestic legislation against obligations assumed in connection with the Convention on Biological Diversity.

4. The Task
In respect of the CBD and selected country each group is expected to:
Identify provisions of the Convention that deal with protected areas and ascertain the obligations arising in connection with these
Identify obligations arising from the Aichi Targets, notably Nos. 11 and 17
Assess the extent to which the domestic legal framework of the country gives effect to these provisions and commitments
Reflect upon the effectiveness of implementation based on administrative and operational information respecting the designated protected area
NOTES FOR EDUCATOR
Indicate to Learners that in their groups they must specifically:
Review the international documentation and resources that have been provided.
Read carefully through the extracts from the relevant national legislation (generic or as designated by the Educator).
Undertake the following tasks with respect to the CBD:
International Law Obligations: Prepare an inventory of relevant obligations that you believe must be satisfied by the successful host country in order to demonstrate that it has conducted itself in a manner that conforms with international law respecting protected areas.
Translation into Domestic Legislation: With reference to the domestic legislation provided to you [in Annex 3 or as otherwise assigned by the Instructor], assess the extent to which international obligations respecting protected areas have been incorporated into the legal framework of the applicant country.
Implementation: With reference to the national report in the Annex or to reports assigned by the Instructor, prepare a point form memo to indicate whether or not you believe existing arrangements satisfy the obligations you have previously identified.

5. Last Few Things Consider the nature of international obligations
respecting protected areas in the CBD
Time permitting, consider law reform
initiatives to enhance compliance
Time permitting, inventory other relevant
international conventions in the context
of the case study
NOTES FOR EDUCATOR
Emphasise that the case study and the selected legislation are intended to serve the purpose of highlighting relationships between international obligations and domestic implementation
As Educator you may wish to circulate amongst the small groups during the course of their discussions and deliberations for the purpose of guiding the collective analysis. This may be particularly useful where Learners have limited prior exposure to international law