24 proposals accepted,
10 rejected and 7 withdrawn. Next meeting
to be held in Bangkok in 2013
Doha, 25 March 2010 - An intense two-week
meeting of the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna
and Flora (CITES) closed here today without
agreeing on new trade measures to protect
marine species. Over 150 Governments voting
at the meeting adopted, however, decisions
to strengthen wildlife management for several
reptiles, combat illegal trafficking in
tigers and rhinos and update the trade rules
for a wide range of plant and animal species.
"The Doha conference
is an important step in the long journey
for the conservation of commercial marine
species. The quality of the debate and the
simple majority reached by three sharks
and the red and pink coral proposals sends
a strong signal to the international community
on the urgent need to stop overexploitation.
The results do not reflect well the real
impact of this meeting, which will be only
seen and understood when other international
regimes discuss the fate of bluefin tuna
and sharks in the coming months," said
Secretary-General Willem Wijnstekers of
CITES, whose secretariat is administered
by the UN Environment Programme.
"CITES will be
closely watching the progress made on the
adoption of conservation measures to protect
marine species in other fora. To say that
the Conference was a disaster is simply
an exaggeration. I am convinced that governments,
NGOs and businesses have learnt a good lesson:
the solutions to conserve the earth's rich
heritage of biological diversity cannot
be incompatible with the sustainable development
of local communities and national economies,"
he said.
Four proposals to include
sharks in CITES Appendix II were rejected.
The scalloped hammerhead, Oceanic whitetip,
porbeagle and spiny dogfish - four fish
species of great commercial value - were
not added to CITES and can therefore continue
to be traded without CITES permits.
"In recent years
CITES has started to list commercially valuable
fish species such as sturgeon, seahorses,
and the basking and whale sharks. The rejection
of more listings this week reflects a transitional
process to adjust existing regimes managing
depleted fishery stocks towards something
more robust and coherent," said Mr.
Wijnstekers.
CITES trade controls
would enter into force in 90 days for The
holywood (Bulnesia sarmientoi), Brazilian
rosewood (Aniba rosaeodora), several plants
from Madagascar, some lizards and frogs
from Central America, a salamander from
Iran and other animals and plants.
Last week the polar
bear proposal was rejected by a majority
of Governments, led by Canada. They recognized
insufficient scientific evidence to support
an Appendix I listing and the role of polar
bears in the culture and economy of indigenous
people living in the harsh conditions of
the Arctic sea.
The African elephant
was the subject of extensive debate. Requests
by Tanzania and Zambia for downlisting their
elephants populations to the Appendix II
were also rejected. A Kenyan proposal for
a 20-year moratorium was withdrawn.
The Mexican population
of Crocodylus moreletti was transferred
from Appendix I to Appendix II with a zero
quota for wild specimens. The Egyptian population
of the Nile crocodile was similarly downlisted.
Decisions that will
promote the practical implementation of
the Convention were taken on synergies with
other Biodiversity-related Conventions,
livelihoods of the rural poor, effective
wildlife trade policies and a 6% increase
in the core budget.
The 15th Meeting of
the Conference of the Parties to the Convention
was held from 13 - 25 March. It was attended
by some 1,200 participants from 150 governments
and numerous observer organizations. COP
16 will be held in 2013 in Thailand.
Note to journalists:
All the results on the 42 proposals are
attached here. For more information, contact
Juan Carlos Vasquez
