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Wildlife Trade
CITES - The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
Our only hope to save the tiger - and other Asian big cats - is a large-scale effort to stop wildlife trade.
© WWF-Canon / Vladimir FILONOV
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, or CITES, is the largest, and perhaps most important wildlife conservation agreement in the world, and a vital tool to combat the threat to plants and animals posed by the international wildlife trade.
WWF and TRAFFIC - the wildlife trade monitoring network of WWF and the World Conservation Union (IUCN) - work with governments, industry and communities to ensure that wildlife trade is sustainable and that CITES is effective in regulating and protecting wild animals and plants sold in the international marketplace.
The 14th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP14) to CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) took place in The Hague, Netherlands, from the 3rd to 15th June 2007, with over 1200 representatives from CITES Parties and intergovernmental, international and national organizations in attendance.
Every two to three years, Parties to the Convention meet to review its implementation and progress towards ensuring that international trade is not a threat to wildlife. Decisions are made at these CoPs to determine if species should be added or delisted from Appendices I and II. The TRAFFIC delegation, including four staff from TRAFFIC North America, witnessed a range of successes and disappointments over those two weeks.
- Asian Big Cats: Tigers were high on the priority list for many delegations, including TRAFFIC and the 35 member International Tiger Coalition. CITES Parties adopted by consensus a decision to end large-scale captive tiger breeding and to not allow breeding of tigers for trade in their parts. The decision was formally adopted in the final session of the CoP, however the delegation from China was aggressive in its rejection of the will of the Parties and stated it would continue its “scientific policy review” into whether to reopen domestic tiger trade despite global opposition.
Photo gallery of the unveiling of the award winning Tiger mosaic, which sat on the lawn in front of the CITES convention for the duration of the two-week meeting - June 2007
- European eel: Germany’s proposal on behalf of the European Union (EU) Member States to list the European eel Anguilla anguilla in Appendix II, was overwhelmingly adopted. The large scale use of European eels has caused dramatic population declines, and many Parties stressed the need for strong and effective fisheries management within the EU. The Appendix II listing, with delayed implementation of 18 months, will help ensure that harvest and international trade in European eels is sustainable.
- Elephants and Ivory: As has been the case at previous CoPs, discussions concerning elephants dominated much of the CoP, as negotiations carried on through-out its duration. A deal was eventually reached, with African elephant range states agreeing to a nine-year suspension of ivory trading (after the completion of a one-off sale that was agreed several years ago at CoP12) and four Southern African countries — South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe — were given permission to sell stocks of ivory registered before 31 January 2007, thus expanding the one-off sale.Immediately prior to CoP14, the CITES Standing Committee agreed that a scientific system to monitor elephant poaching (MIKE — Monitoring Illegal Killing of Elephants) had compiled sufficient baseline data, one of the criteria for moving forward with the one-off sale. Japan was approved by the CITES Standing Committee as a “trading partner” for this limited sale of ivory. China proposed that it also obtain this status, but was rejected. The ivory for the one-off sale will be sourced only from registered, government-owned stocks that originate from natural mortality or problem animals. All revenues from the sale will be reinvested in elephant conservation and community development. It has not yet been announced when the sale will take place.
- Coral: TRAFFIC supported the proposal to list red and pink coral species from the genus corallium in Appendix II, as proposed by the United States. Though the proposal was initially adopted in Committee, debate was re-opened in Plenary, where the listing was narrowly defeated
- Timber: The EU submitted proposals to include Cedrela spp, Dalbergia retusa, D. granadillo and D. stevensonii in Appendix II. The proposals were withdrawn after significant opposition from South and Central American range states. These range states were concerned about possible impacts on livelihoods and that they lack the capacity to implement an Appendix II listing. Despite withdrawal of the timber proposals, both proponents and range states agreed that action is needed to reverse the decline in these species, and potential Appendix III listings
were discussed.
- Mahogany: Because of concerns about the sustainability of Bigleaf Mahogany Swietenia macrophylla exports from Peru, WWF and TRAFFIC and several Peruvian civil society organizations signed a letter just prior to the CoP to the President of Perú. The letter called upon the Peruvian government to take immediate action to effectively implement the Appendix II listing of Bigleaf Mahogany by reducing the Peruvian export quota and addressing illegal logging. A net quota volume of 4,983 m3 of verified and approved mahogany was agreed with the potential for Peru to increase this quota in 2007 if approved by the CITES Secretariat.For 2008 and onwards, a more restrictive method of establishing export quotas was agreed which does not include leftovers from harvesting and exports of previous years. Peru committed to strengthen the execution of a national policy of zero tolerance of illegal trade and develop mechanisms of participation, particularly of native communities, for the formulation and implementation of the strategic plan on mahogany.At the CoP, Parties agreed on Decisions directing the CITES Plants Committee to develop criteria and indicators for making non-detriment findings for high priority taxa such as timber. Additionally the Parties adopted the annexed Action Plan for the Control of International Trade in Bigleaf Mahogany which contains a variety of measures.
- Spiny Dogfish and Porbeagle: TRAFFIC was a strong proponent of the listing proposals to include Spiny Dogfish Squalus acanthias and Porbeagle Lamnanasus in Appendix II. However the propsals were rejected with most opposition to the listings stemming from FAO’s conclusion that the species did not meet the listing criteria.Opposing Parties also referenced fisheries management plans which they claimed regulate the two species; however, these management plans have yet to remediate population declines. A draft decision submitted by the European Union related to trade measures regarding Porbeagle shark and Spiny Dogfish failed to gain approval while the CoP did pass Resolution Conf. 14.10 urging improved catch reporting schemes for sharks and further attention to the linkages between the trade in shark fins and meat and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
- Sawfish: A U.S. and Kenyan proposal to list all species of sawfish Pristidae spp. on Appendix I was adopted, with an exception for Pristis microdon, which was listed in Appendix II. The P. microdon Appendix II listing allows Australian exports to aquariums for conservation purposes.
CITES CoP15
CITES Parties will reconvene for CoP15 in Qatar in 2010. This will be the first CITES CoP held in the Middle East, and it is likely proposals rejected at CoP14, such as Corallium, spiny dogfish, and porbeagle, will be resurrected in Qatar.
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