从个体保护到栖息地保护——美国濒危物种保护政策的演变

From Species Protection to Habitats Conservation——The Evolution of U.S. Endangered Species Protection Policy

为了避免濒危物种的灭绝,美国联邦政府于1973年通过了里程碑式的《濒危物种法》。但该法侧重对濒危物种的个体保护,忽视了对濒危物种栖息地的保护,使保护效果大打折扣。于是美国联邦政府通过了一系列修正案,对私人土地上的濒危物种栖息地进行保护,将濒危物种保护的重点由个体保护转向了栖息地保护。对栖息地的保护在一定程度上侵犯了土地权利人的财产权,遭到了后者的强烈抵制,美国联邦政府因此继续调整保护政策以适当照顾私人利益,并取得了较好的效果。美国濒危物种保护政策的演变对中国濒危物种保护实现生态平衡、经济发展和社会和谐三重目标具有一定的借鉴意义。

In order to avoid the extinction of endangered species, the U.S. federal government passed the landmark law—Endangered Species Act(ESA)of 1973. But the ESA of 1973 focused on the individual protection of endangered species, and neglected to protect its vital habitats, so the protective effect of the ESA was greatly reduced. And then the U.S. federal government passed a series of amendments to protect the habitats of endangered species on private lands. Thus, the emphasis of endangered species protection shifted from individual protection to habitats preservation. But habitats preservation violated the property rights of land owners and met with fierce resistance from the latter. As a result, the U.S. federal government constantly revised its protection policies to give due consideration to private interests. So the new policies hand gotten better results.The evolution of the U.S. endangered species protection policy has certain reference significance for China’s endangered species protection to achieve the triple goals of ecological balance, economic development and social harmony.