30 MARCH 2010
- The Department of Environmental Affairs
today, 30 March 2010 briefed the media on
the outcomes of the recently held 15th Conference
of Parties to the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna
and Flora (CITES CoP15), which took place
in Doha Qatar from 13 – 25 March 2010.
CoP15 drew together
some 1500 participants representing more
than 170 governments, intergovernmental
and non-governmental organizations. The
meeting considered 68 agenda items and 42
proposals to amend the CITES appendices.
CoP15 adopted resolutions
and decisions directed to parties/signatory
countries, the Secretariat and Convention
bodies on a wide range of topics including:
electronic permitting, Asian big cats, rhinoceroses,
Bigleaf mahogany and Madagascar plant species
South Africa submitted two plant proposals
for consideration at COP15. The submissions
were for the proposed delisting of two Protea
species namely Protea odorata, (Swartland
Sugarbush) and Orothamnus zeyheri, (Marsh
Rose), as they do not fulfil the CITES’
listing criteria. Marsh Rose is not harvested
in the wild and is not subject to international
trade. The Swartland Sugarbush population
size is small and confined to a single locality
and international trade does not represent
a threat. National protection protocols
seem to be more sufficient to protect these
species; hence the proposal for delisting
that is also scientifically supported.
These proposals were
subjected to proper scrutiny by the National
Scientific Authority. Subsequently the same
species were subjected to the CITES periodic
review process within the CITES Plants Committee
where a decision was taken to support the
de-listing proposals.
The CoP Secretariat
announced that South Africa published national
CITES regulations on 05 March 2010 and that
they will do the evaluation of the legislation
to determine whether South Africa now fulfils
the requirement to be included in Category
I of the CITES legislation project which
will mean that SA has adequate national
legislation for implementation of the Convention.
SA currently features in Category II of
the CITES legislation project due to the
use of provincial legislation for the implementation
of CITES. The national CITES regulations
designates management and scientific authorities,
ensures that a permit system is in place
to facilitate trade, and to ensure that
penalties are in place for non-compliance
as well as making sure that permits are
issued in line with the text of the Convention.
The regulations will come into effect on
01 May 2010.
At COP 15 the illegal
killing of rhinos came under the spotlight,
with a report on the status Conservation
and Trade in African and Asian Rhinoceroses
being tabled for consideration. Due to the
recent spate of illegal killing of rhinos
in South Africa, SA was required to inform
the CITES Parties on steps taken by the
country to curb the illegal killing of rhino
and actions to conserve the rhino population.
SA reported on the steps that have been
undertaken, including: • The publishing
of the National CITES regulations (final
publishing for implementation in process)
• Establishment of National Wildlife Crime
Reaction Unit (the process of which is at
advanced stages), • Establishment of an
intergovernmental National Wildlife Investigator’s
Forum, comprising of national, provincial
wildlife investigators, SANParks, members
of the South African Police Service’s organized
crime and Interpol units.
• Moratorium on the
internal sale of rhinoceros horns and its
products have been instituted and published
for implementation
• Publication of national norms and standards
for the marking of rhinoceros horns and
the trophy hunting of white rhinoceros,
• South Africa continues to play an active
role in international forums including Interpol
Wildlife Crime meetings, Rhinoceros Task
Force of the CITES and
the regional Rhino and Elephant Security
Group.
At COP 15 it was the
first time that commercial fisheries issues
were extensively discussed with the North
Atlantic bluefin tuna proposed for listing
on Appendix I.
Several member states
opposed the proposal arguing that regional
fisheries management organisations such
as International Commission for Conservation
of Atlantic Tuna’s (ICCAT) were best placed
for tackling the decline of the bluefin
tuna. The CoP rejected the proposal.
Tanzania introduced
a proposal to transfer the population of
the African elephant of the United Republic
of Tanzania from Appendix I to Appendix
II for specific purposes. The proposal was
presented in two parts namely whether to
allow the transfer for the exclusive purpose
of allowing trade in hunting, trophies,
trade in raw hides and trade in live animals
under the conditions set forth in the proposal
(first part); and trade in registered ivory
subject to the conditions set forth in the
proposal (second part).
Tanzania cited the acknowledgment
by the Panel of Experts and the Secretariat
that the elephant populations in this country
no longer meet the criteria for Appendix
I. Deliberations ensued on a number of issues
around this proposal including concerns
raised by others on perceived inadequate
anti-poaching efforts, processes around
verification of ivory stocks and cross-border
trafficking.
Notwithstanding Tanzania’s
motivation and clarification of perceived
concerns, the proposal was unable to attract
the required votes and was subsequently
rejected.
Zambia introduced an
amended proposal (CoP15 Prop.5) to transfer
the elephant population to Appendix II for
the exclusive purpose of allowing trade
in hunting trophies, trade in raw hides
and trade in live animals under the conditions
set forth in the proposal. This proposal
was also rejected.
Other issues for discussions beyond proposals
for amendment of appendices include that
interpretation and implementation of the
Convention, compliance and enforcement,
trade control and marking, exemptions and
special trade provisions, species trade
and conservation, cooperation with other
multilateral agreements, CITES and livelihoods
as well as capacity building.
The conservation of
wild animals and plants especially where
trade is involved remains a global challenge
that requires the involvement of all affected
stakeholders. It requires the integration
of scientific and technical information,
management of diverse expectations, capacity
and constant monitoring of trends.
South Africa’s participation
in the deliberations at the 15th Conference
of Parties was invaluable given its status
as one of the mega-diverse countries in
the world.
South Africa focussed
on supporting proposals and working documents
which were in line with the principle of
sustainable utilisation of natural resources
as enshrined in Article 24 of the Constitution.
Decisions and resolutions adopted at the
Conference of Parties have a bearing on
national implementation and parties are
expected to comply and report accordingly.
FACT SHEET
CITES (the Convention on International Trade
in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and
Flora) is an international agreement between
governments. Its aim is to ensure that international
trade in specimens of wild animals and plants
does not threaten their survival. Many wildlife
species in trade are not endangered, but
the existence of an agreement to ensure
the sustainability of the trade is important
in order to safeguard these resources for
the future. Because the trade in wild animals
and plants crosses borders between countries,
the effort to regulate requires international
cooperation to safeguard certain species
from over-exploitation. CITES was conceived
in the spirit of such cooperation.
South Africa ratified
the Convention on 15 July 1975. The Convention
came into force on 13 October of the same
year. South Africa, as a megabiodiverse
country, views sustainable utilisation of
its natural resources as a key component
of its development strategy. On this account,
CITES is one of the critical platforms for
multilateral engagement. The 15th Conference
of Parties to CITES
was held in Doha, Qatar from 13 to 25 March
2010.
Further information on CITES and CoP 15
can be obtained from www.cites.org
