Historiographic studies of transnational environmental law (TEL) are increasingly relevant as scholars and practitioners search for ways in which to deliver more quickly and efficiently effective regulation that is responsive to global environmental issues. This article uses new and original archival research to better locate the Convention for the Preservation of Wild Animals, Birds and Fish in Africa (1900 London Convention) in its legal-scientific historical context. Most of the scholarship on this topic draws on historian John M. MacKenzie's groundbreaking analysis of what he called ‘the hunting cult’ and its role in the imperial advance into India, Africa, and elsewhere. When viewed through the dual lens of legal history and the history of science, the late 19th and early 20th centuries represented a period of transition during which a new science-based perspective advanced by evolutionary biologists was embraced by science-minded policymakers, and expressed in domestic law and foreign policy aimed at the preservation of endangered species and the protection of biodiversity. The 1900 London Convention is an early example of a modern TEL instrument informed by science and by values that today most recognize as being critically important and universal. The new history in this article also resonates as an example of how polarizing political narratives can delay law reform and the importance of maintaining focus on collaborative problem solving and science-based regulation of complex transnational environmental issues.

中文翻译：

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科学和史学在跨国环境法发展中的作用：1900 年《保护非洲野生动物伦敦公约》的新历史


随着学者和从业者寻找方法，以更快、更有效的方式提供对全球环境问题做出反应的有效监管，跨国环境法 （TEL） 的史学研究越来越重要。本文使用新的和原始的档案研究，以更好地将《非洲保护野生动物、鸟类和鱼类公约》（1900 年伦敦公约）置于其法律科学历史背景中。关于这个主题的大部分学术研究都借鉴了历史学家约翰·麦肯齐 （John M. MacKenzie） 对他所谓的“狩猎崇拜”及其在帝国向印度、非洲和其他地方进军中的作用的开创性分析。从法律史和科学史的双重视角来看，19 世纪末和 20 世纪初代表了一个过渡时期，在此期间，进化生物学家提出的基于科学的新观点被具有科学头脑的决策者所接受，并体现在旨在保护濒危物种和保护生物多样性的国内法律和外交政策中。1900 年《伦敦公约》是现代 TEL 文书的早期例子，它以科学和当今大多数人认为具有极重要性和普遍性的价值观为依据。本文中的新历史也引起了共鸣，因为它说明了两极分化的政治叙事如何延迟法律改革，以及保持对复杂跨国环境问题的协作解决问题和基于科学的监管的重要性。