Doha, 12 March 2010
– Some 1,500 delegates representing more
than 170 governments, indigenous peoples,
non-governmental organizations and businesses
will attend the triennial world conference
of the Convention on the International Trade
in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and
Flora (CITES) which kicks off in Doha on
13 March.
Bluefin tuna, elephant
populations and a wide range of sharks,
corals, polar bears, reptiles, insects and
plants are top of the agenda for the two-week
meeting.
Many of the 42 proposals on the table reflect
growing international concern about the
accelerating destruction of the world's
marine and forest ecosystems through overfishing
and excessive logging, and the potential
impacts of climate change on the biological
resources of the planet.
The UN General Assembly
has declared 2010 the international year
of biodiversity and the CITES Conference
will be one of the key occasions governments
have this year to take action to protect
biodiversity.
Member States will decide
by consensus or a 2/3 majority vote for
measures to conserve and manage species
on the agenda.
Other issues on the
agenda include the adoption of urgent measures
to tackle illegal trade of tiger products,
rhinos and other species that are on the
brink of extinction.
It will also address
the potential impacts of CITES measures
on the livelihoods of the rural poor, those
on the frontlines of using and managing
wildlife.
For more information
about the procedures for media accreditation
to cover the Doha Conference – CITES CoP15,
see:
http://www.cites.org/eng/cop/15/E-CoP15_media_accreditation_form.pdf
Background information on the proposals
The listing proposals
can be viewed at http://www.cites.org/eng/cop/15/prop/index.shtml
Document 68 containing
the recommendations from the Secretariat
and the comments received from Parties,
FAO, ICCAT, ITTO and other specialized bodies
can be viewed at http://www.cites.org/eng/cop/15/doc/E15-68.pdf
Report of the Panel
of Experts on proposals to transfer populations
of the African elephant from Appendix I
to Appendix II
Tanzania: http://www.cites.org/eng/cop/15/doc/E15-68A06a).pdf
Zambia: http://www.cites.org/eng/cop/15/doc/E15-68A06b).pdf
Bluefin tuna and sharks
According to the Food
and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations (FAO), the world's capture (non-aquaculture)
fisheries produced 92 million tonnes of
fish in 2006, of which 81.9 million came
from the sea. The value of the total marine
and freshwater catch at the first point
of sale was around USD 91.2 billion. As
a result, it is estimated that some 52 %
of marine fish stocks or species groups
are fully exploited, 19 % overexploited
and 9 % depleted or recovering from depletion.
The maximum wild capture fishing potential
from the world's oceans has probably been
reached, and a more closely controlled approach
to fisheries is required (See ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/011/i0250e/i0250e.pdf)
A growing number of
commercially exploited fish have come under
CITES controls in recent years, for example:
the basking and whale sharks were included
in Appendix II in 2002, the great white
shark and the humphead wrasse in 2004, and
the European eel and sawfishes in 2007.
At the forthcoming conference,
proposals will be made to bring eight commercially
fished species under the purview of CITES.
Monaco is proposing
a complete ban on international commercial
trade in the bluefin tuna. (proposal 19).
This iconic species can reach 3 metres in
length and over 650 kg in weight. It can
swim at nearly 40 km per hour and dive to
1,000 metres deep. It is highly sought after
as a delicacy: in January 2010, a single
fish was reportedly sold for over USD 120,000.
Although it has been fished for many centuries,
its populations in the Atlantic Ocean and
Mediterranean Sea have undergone very substantial
declines in the last 40 years. Repeated
efforts have been made to ensure more sustainable
fishing, but now Monaco claims that it is
time to bring the international trade to
a halt to allow time for the species to
recover.
The scalloped hammerhead
shark (proposal 15) occurs widely in coastal
warm temperate and tropical seas and is
exploited extensively for its fins. Significant
declines in the population of the species
have been reported in many areas where it
is caught. Two other species of hammerhead
shark (great hammerhead and smooth hammerhead)
and two further sharks (sandbar shark and
dusky shark) have similar shaped fins, and
the proponents, Palau and the United States
of America, recommend that all these species
be subject to CITES trade controls.
The same two countries
are also proposing that trade CITES controls
be applied to another shark, the oceanic
whitetip (proposal 16), which, in spite
of its wide range in tropical and subtropical
waters, has declined in numbers wherever
it has been harvested for its fins.
In total, several million
sharks of these two species are estimated
to be fished annually to supply the demand
for fins.
The porbeagle shark
(proposal 17) has equally experienced population
declines, notably in the northern Atlantic
and the Mediterranean, owing to unsustainable
fishing for its high-value meat and fins.
Palau and Sweden, on behalf of the European
Community Member States, note the lack of
consistent data on the global catch of this
species. They argues that requiring CITES
export permits will ensure that international
markets are supplied by fish from sustainably
managed fisheries that keep accurate records.
The spiny dogfish (proposal
18) is a small shark that was once abundant
in temperate waters. It is now overexploited
for its meat, which is highly valued in
Europe (often sold in 'fish and chips' shops
in the British Isles) and elsewhere. As
many other sharks, it is particularly vulnerable
to excessive fishing because of its slow
reproductive rate. It also tends to travel
in large schools of hundreds or thousands,
which are easier for fishing boats to harvest
them in large quantities. Palau and Sweden,
on behalf of the European Community Member
States , propose listing the spiny dogfish
in Appendix II (which manages trade through
a permit system) and establishing a sustainable
fishery management programme for the species.
Corals
The most valuable of
all the precious corals, red or pink corals
(proposal 21) have been harvested for over
5,000 years and used for jewellery and other
decorative items. Their tree-like colonies
provide protection and habitat for other
marine species and occur in the tropical,
subtropical and temperate oceans, often
at great depths. Overharvesting for international
trade and the destruction of colonies by
bottom trawls and dredges have greatly affected
their capacity to reproduce and regenerate.
The United States and Sweden, on behalf
of the European Community Member States,
propose adding the red or pink corals to
Appendix II to control the trade therein.
The long-running debate
on elephants and ivory
The long-running global
debate over the African elephant has focused
on the benefits that income from ivory sales
may bring to conservation and to local communities
living side by side with these large and
potentially dangerous animals versus concerns
that such sales may encourage poaching.
This year's proposals (proposal 4, proposal
5 and proposal 6) again reflect opposing
views on how best to improve the conservation
and sustainable use of the world's largest
land animal.
CITES banned the international
commercial ivory trade in 1989. In 1997
and 2002, recognizing that some southern
African elephant populations were healthy
and well managed, it permitted Botswana,
Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe to sell
some stocks of ivory to Japan totalling
over 150 tons. The sales took place in 1999
and 2008 and earned some USD 20 million
for elephant conservation and community
development programmes within or adjacent
to the elephant range.
At this year's conference,
the United Republic of Tanzania and Zambia
are seeking similar approval to sell government-owned
stocks that have accumulated over the years.
The United Republic of Tanzania has nearly
90 tons of such stock, and Zambia just over
21 tons.
Taking the opposite
view, the Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia,
Mali, Rwanda and Sierra Leone are proposing
a halt to the limited international trade
in African elephant ivory currently permitted
and a 20-year moratorium on any proposals
to relax international trade controls on
African elephants.
Polar bear and other
proposals
The potential threat
to the polar bear from climate change has
been much discussed recently, and the United
States is seeking to increase its protection
in CITES by completely prohibiting international
commercial trade in the species (proposal
3). Mexico and Egypt are seeking to reduce
CITES controls on the Morelet's crocodile
and the Nile crocodile, respectively, as
they believe that the status of these species
in the wild has improved (proposal 8 and
proposal 9). In contrast, Honduras and Guatemala
are seeking to apply CITES controls to four
species of spiny-tailed iguanas that are
increasingly sought by hobbyists in other
countries. (proposal 11 and proposal 12).
The Plurinational State of Bolivia proposes
that similar measures be adopted for the
spectacular Satanas beetle (proposal 20),
which is also sought by collectors.
Madagascar is seeking
to include 12 endemic plants in Appendix
II (proposals 22-24, 26, 27, 30, 32-36 and
39-41), while Brazil and Argentina propose
the the same listing for the Brazilian rosewood
(proposal 29) and the Palo Santo (proposal
42), respectively, two tree species that
produce essential oils extensively used
in perfumery and cosmetics.
Other proposals call
for lifting all trade restrictions on certain
species on the grounds that they no longer
require such protection. These include the
Marsh rose (proposal 37) and the Swartland
sugarbush (proposal 38) from South Africa,
and the North American bobcat or lynx (proposal
2).
Backgrounder: understanding
CITES
Thousands of species
of wild fauna and flora are used by people
in their daily lives for food, housing,
health care, cosmetics or fashion. CITES
recognizes that commercial trade in these
plants and animals may be beneficial both
to conservation and to the livelihoods of
local people.
However, unregulated
wildlife trade can seriously affect species
populations, especially those that are already
vulnerable as a result of other factors,
such as habitat loss. Governments responded
to this concern by adopting CITES in 1973
to regulate international wildlife trade
and ensure that it remains at a sustainable
level. With 175 Parties, CITES remains one
of the world's most powerful tools for biodiversity
conservation through the regulation of trade
in wild fauna and flora.
Even setting aside commercial
fishing and the timber industry, international
trade in wildlife remains a very lucrative
business, estimated to be worth billions
of dollars annually and to involve more
than 350 million plant and animal specimens
every year. Unregulated international trade
can push threatened and endangered species
over the brink, especially when combined
with habitat loss and other pressures.
CITES provides three
regulatory options in the form of Appendices.
Animals and plants listed in Appendix I
are prohibited from international commercial
trade except in very special circumstances.
Appendix I contains about 530 animal species
and a little more than 300 plant species,
including all the great apes, various big
cats such as cheetahs, the snow leopard
and the tiger, numerous birds of prey, cranes
and pheasants, all sea turtles, many species
of crocodiles, tortoises and snakes, and
some cacti and orchids.
Commercial international
trade is permitted for species listed in
Appendix II, but it is strictly controlled
on the basis of CITES permits. This Appendix
II covers over 4,460 animal species and
28,000 plant species, including all those
primates, cats, cetaceans, parrots, crocodiles
and orchids not listed in Appendix I.
Finally, Appendix III
includes species that are protected within
the borders of a member country. By including
a species in Appendix III, a country calls
on others to help it regulate trade in the
said species by making the issuance of a
certificate of origin necessary to enter
into trade. This Appendix lists over 290
species.
CITES, then, does much
more than regulating trade in large charismatic
mammals. It sets up a green certification
system for non-detrimental wildlife trade
(based on CITES permits and certificates),
combats illegal trade and related wildlife
offences, promotes international cooperation,
and helps establish management plans so
that range States can monitor and manage
sustainably CITES-listed species.
CITES requires each
member State to adopt the necessary national
legislation and to designate a Management
Authority that issues permits to trade.
Governments must also designate a Scientific
Authority to provide scientific advice on
imports and exports. These national authorities
are responsible for implementing CITES in
close cooperation with Customs, wildlife
enforcement, police or similar agencies.
As the impact of trade
on a population or a species increases or
decreases, the species can be added to the
CITES Appendices, transferred from one Appendix
to another, or removed from them. These
decisions are taken at the triennial CITES
conferences and must be based on the best
biological information available and on
an analysis of how different types of protection
can affect specific populations.
It is worth noting that
when a species is transferred from Appendix
I to Appendix II, its protection has not
necessarily been 'downgraded'. Rather, it
can be a sign of success that a species
population has grown to the point where
trade may be possible with strict oversight.
In addition, by allowing a species to be
commercially traded at sustainable levels,
an Appendix-II listing can actually improve
protection by giving local people a greater
incentive to ensure the species' survival.
The CITES Secretariat
produces recommendations on the proposals
described above after analysing them against
the various listing criteria. These criteria
relate to: trade (is the species being actively
traded? Is trade really the problem rather
than, say, habitat destruction?); biology
(what is the scientific evidence that populations
are declining or increasing?); and other
technical matters (e.g. has the proponent
consulted thoroughly other range States?).
