International nature protection law has developed without a coherent plan, with disparate governance instruments each largely evolving within their own separate sphere. Yet, many other issues are closely linked to the challenges of nature degradation, such as developmental challenges, climate change, food security and food safety, disease prevention, and rural poverty. These interconnections have partly been recognized in Agenda 21 and more recently in the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. This response commentary draws on and extrapolates further the conclusions of Patricia Farnese in ‘The Prevention Imperative’, published in this issue of Transnational Environmental Law, and argues for a more coherent approach and effective leadership in this area of global regulation, along with a more flexible and holistic approach to governance responses.
