Across the Apocalypse on Horseback: Imperfect Legal Responses to Biodiversity Loss

Abstract

The most significant drivers of biodiversity loss can be described by HIPPO, the Greek word for horse. Habitat destruction, Invasive species, Population, Pollution, and Overkill - in that order - are causing species losses on a magnitude worthy of one of geological history's great extinctions. Unfortunately, existing legal tools for addressing biodiversity loss are aimed precisely where human agency hurts least. The Endangered Species Act, for instance, more clearly punishes overkill than either habitat destruction or the introduction of alien invasive species. This brief article describes the predicament and prescribes a modest agenda for improving the law of biodiversity conservation.

Keywords: Biodiversity, Endangered Species Act, habitat destruction, invasive species