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CITES

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Animal & Human Rights;
Law

   CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of
   Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement between
   Governments, drafted as a result of a resolution adopted in 1963 at a
   meeting of members of the World Conservation Union (IUCN). Its aim is
   to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and
   plants does not threaten their survival and it accords varying degrees
   of protection to more than 33,000 species of animals and plants.

   Not one species protected by CITES has become extinct as a result of
   trade since the Convention entered into force in 1975 (but see case
   studies in and Stiles 2004 for more nuanced discussions of the role
   CITES has played in the fate of particular species).

The Convention: background and operation

   CITES is one of the largest conservation agreements in existence.
   Participation is voluntary, and countries that have agreed to be bound
   by the Convention are known as Parties. Although CITES is legally
   binding on the Parties, it does not take the place of national laws.
   Rather it provides a framework to be respected by each Party, which has
   to adopt its own domestic legislation to make sure that CITES is
   implemented at the national level. Often, domestic legislation is
   either non-existent (especially in Parties that have not ratified it),
   or with penalties incommensurate with the gravity of the crime and
   insufficient deterrents to wildlife traders . As of 2002, 50% of
   Parties lacked one or more of the four major requirements for a Party:
   designation of Management and Scientific Authorities (see below); laws
   prohibiting the trade in violation of CITES; penalties for such trade;
   laws providing for the confiscation of specimens

   The text of the Convention was concluded at a meeting of
   representatives of 80 countries in Washington, D.C., United States, on
   3 March 1973. It was then open for signature until 31 December 1974. It
   entered into force after the 10th ratification by a signatory State, on
   1 July 1975. States that signed the Convention become Parties by
   ratifying, accepting or approving it. By the end of 2003, all signatory
   States had become Parties. States that were not signatories may become
   Parties by acceding to the Convention. As of August 2006, 169 States
   had become Parties to the Convention.

   Funding for the activities of the Secretariat and COP meetings comes
   from a Trust Fund derived from Party contributions. Trust Fund money is
   not available to Parties to improve implementation or compliance. These
   activities, and all those outside Secretariat activities (training,
   species specific programs such as MIKE) must find external funding
   (often from NGOs and bilateral aid)

   Although the Convention itself does not provide for arbitration or
   dispute in the case of noncompliance, 30 years of CITES in practice has
   resulted in several strategies to deal with infractions by Parties. The
   Secretariat, when informed of an infraction by a Party, will notify all
   other parties. The Secretariat will give the Party time to respond to
   the allegations and may provide technical assistance to prevent further
   infractions. Other actions (not provided for in the Convention itself,
   but derived from subsequent COP 11 resolutions) which may be taken
   against the offending Party include: mandatory confirmation of all
   permits by the Secretariat; suspension of cooperation from the
   Secretariat; a formal warning; a visit by the Secretariat to verify
   capacity; recommendations to all Parties to suspend CITES related trade
   with offending party (see ); the dictation of corrective measures to be
   taken by offending Party before Secretariat will resume
   cooperation/recommend resumption of trade. Bilateral sanctions have
   been imposed on the basis of national legislation (e.g. the USA used
   the Pelly Amendment to deal a blow to Japanese tortoiseshell exports in
   1991).

   Infractions may include negligence with respect to permit issuing,
   excessive trade, lax enforcement, and failing to produce annual reports
   (the most common)

CITES Appendices

   CITES works by subjecting international trade in specimens of selected
   species to certain controls. These require that all import, export,
   re-export and introduction of species covered by the Convention has to
   be authorized through a permitting system.

   Each Party to the Convention must designate one or more Management
   Authorities in charge of administering the licensing system and one or
   more Scientific Authorities to make judgements about the effects of
   trade on the status of the species. Species are proposed for listing at
   COPs, the next of which will be held in the Hague in June of 2007.
   Species may be proposed for listing by Parties other than the range
   states and may be listed despite objections by range state nations if
   there is sufficient (2/3 majority) support for the listing. These
   discussions are usually among the most contentious at COP meetings.

   Roughly 5,000 species of animals and 28,000 species of plants are
   protected by CITES against over-exploitation through international
   trade. The endangered species are grouped in the Appendices according
   to how threatened they are by international trade and the measures that
   apply to their trade. Species may be split-listed meaning that some
   populations of a species are on one Appendix, while some are on
   another. Some people argue that this is risky as specimens from a more
   protected population could be ‘laundered’ through the borders of a
   Party whose population is not as strictly protected. The African
   elephant (Loxodonta africana) is currently split-listed, with all
   populations except those of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and
   Zimbabwe listed in Appendix I. Those of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa
   and Zimbabwe are listed in Appendix II. Listing the species over the
   whole of its range would prevent such ‘laundering’ but also restricts
   trade in wildlife products by range states with good management
   practices.

   There has been increasing willingness within the Parties to allow for
   trade in products from well-managed populations. In particular, sales
   of the South African white rhino have been able to generate revenues
   which were later applied to conservation. While listing the species on
   Appendix I not only increased the price of rhino horn (which fueled
   more poaching) in South Africa, where there was adequate on-the-ground
   protection, the species survived. The survival of the white rhino is
   attributed more to increased levels of field protection than
   exclusively to CITES listing, but it is likely that field protection
   might not have increased without CITES protection.

Appendix I - about 800 species

   These species are threatened with extinction if trade is not halted.
   Trade in wild-caught specimens of these species is illegal (permitted
   only in exceptional licenced circumstances). Trade of captive bred
   animals or cultivated plants of Appendix I species are considered
   Appendix II specimens, with concomitant requirements (see below and
   Article VII). The management authority of the exporting country must
   make a non-detriment finding, assuring that export of the individuals
   will not adversely affect the wild population. Any trade in these
   species requires export and import permits; the Management Authority of
   the exporting state is expected to check that an import permit has been
   secured and that the importing state will be able to care for the
   specimen adequately. Notable animal species include the gorilla
   (Gorilla gorilla), the chimpanzee species (Pan spp.), tigers (Panthera
   tigris subspecies), Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica), leopards
   (Panthera pardus), Jaguar (Panthera onca), Asian elephant (Elephas
   maximus), some populations of African Elephant (Loxodonta africana),
   the dugong and manatees ( Sirenia), and all Rhinoceros species (except
   some Southern African subspecies populations) .

Appendix II - about 32,500 species

   These species are not necessarily threatened with extinction, but may
   become so if they are not listed. In addition, species similar in
   appearance and easily confused with Appendix I species may be listed in
   Appendix II. A non-detriment finding and export permit are required by
   the exporting Party.

Appendix III - about 300 species

   These are species listed after one member country has asked other CITES
   Parties for assistance in controlling trade in a species. The species
   are not necessarily threatened by extinction globally. In all member
   countries trade in these species is only permitted with an appropriate
   export permit and a certificate of origin.

Amendments and Reservations

   Amendments must be supported by a two-thirds majority and can be made
   during an extraordinary meeting of the COP if one-third of the Parties
   are interested in such a meeting. The Gaborone Amendment (1983) allows
   regional economic blocs to accede to the treaty. Reservations (Article
   XXIII) can be made by any Party with respect to any species, which
   considerably weakens the treaty (see for current reservations). Trade
   with non-Party states is allowed, although permits and certificates are
   recommended to be issued by exporters and sought by importers.

Shortcomings of and Concerns with CITES

   General concerns about the structure and philosophy of CITES include:
   it remains focused on species and does not address habitat loss,
   ecosystem approaches and the effect poverty can have on its
   effectiveness; it seeks to prevent unsustainable use, not promote
   sustainable use (which generally conflicts with the Convention on
   Biological Diversity), although this has been changing (see e.g. Nile
   Crocodile, African elephant, South African white rhino case studies in
   Hutton and Dickinson 2000) it does not explicitly address market demand
   ; and funding does not provide for increased on the ground enforcement
   (must apply for bilateral aid for most projects of this nature

   Specific weaknesses in the text include: it does not stipulate
   guidelines for the 'non-detriment' finding required of national
   Scientific Authorities; non-detriment findings require copious amounts
   of information; the 'household effects' clause is often not rigid
   enough/specific enough to prevent CITES violations by means of this
   Article (VII); non-reporting from Parties means Secretariat monitoring
   is incomplete; and it has no capacity to address domestic trade in
   listed species.

   Suggestions for improvement in the operation of CITES include: more
   regular missions by the Secretariat (not reserved just for high profile
   species); improvement of national legislation and enforcement; better
   reporting by Parties (and the consolidation of information from all
   sources-NGOs, TRAFFIC and Parties); more emphasis on
   enforcement-including a technical committee enforcement officer; the
   development of CITES Action Plans (akin to Biodiversity Action Plans
   related to the Convention on Biological Diversity) including:
   designation of Scientific/Management Authorities and national
   enforcement strategies; incentives for reporting and timelines for both
   Action Plans and reporting. CITES would benefit from access to GEF
   funds-although this is difficult given the GEFs more ecosystem
   approach-or other more regular funds. Development of a funding
   mechanism similar to that of the Montreal Protocol (developed nations
   contribute to a fund for developing nations) could allow more funds for
   non-Secretariat activities.

Links to the official CITES website

     * CITES homepage

   Member countries (Parties)
     * Chronological list of Parties
     * Alphabetical list of Parties

   The lists of species included in Appendices I, II and III (i.e. species
   protected by CITES)
     * Explanation of the Appendices
     * Number of species on the Appendices
     * Species lists (Appendices I, II and III)

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CITES"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
