This week you might have seen the postings on our facebook page, our website, or the news in general about CITES and proposals to include species in CITES Appendix I, II or III, but do you know what this means?
So what is CITES?
“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.” Currently there 177 countries member of CITES.
Every two to three years, there a CITES meeting is held, this year the meeting is held in Bangkok where 67 proposals submitted by 50 countries are discussed. A proposal means import, export, down grade or upgrade a particular species to one of the appendices.
Appendices you say? Yes, the species covered by CITES are listed in three Appendices, according to the degree of protection they need.
• Appendix I includes species threatened with extinction. Trade in specimens of these species is permitted only in exceptional circumstances.
• Appendix II includes species not necessarily threatened with extinction, but in which trade must be controlled in order to avoid utilization incompatible with their survival.
• Appendix III This Appendix contains species that are protected in at least one country, which has asked other CITES Parties for assistance in controlling the trade. Changes to Appendix III follow a distinct procedure from changes to Appendices I and II, as each Party’s is entitled to make unilateral amendments to it.
So how does it work, during the CITES meetings the proposals are being discussed, and the members will vote. If 2/3 or more vote in favour of the proposal it means the proposal in accepted. This year there were many successes, the hammerhead, Porbeagle shark, and the oceanic white tip are among the species being recognized to be moved into Appendix II. Many more other successes can be celebrated.
So is CITES the Holy Grail?
Well my personal opinion? It’s the best we have. One of the weak spots of CITES is that any member state can make a reservation against any of the inclusions of the list. The official text says this:
1. The provisions of the present Convention shall not be subject to general reservations. Specific reservations may be entered in accordance with the provisions of this Article and Articles XV and XVI.
2. Any State may, on depositing its instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, enter a specific reservation with regard to:
(a) any species included in Appendix I, II or III; or
(b) any parts or derivatives specified in relation to a species included in Appendix III.
3. Until a Party withdraws its reservation entered under the provisions of this Article, it shall be treated as a State not a Party to the present Convention with respect to trade in the particular species or parts or derivatives specified in such reservation.
Here you can see which countries have made reservations for specific species, I don’t think you will be surprised which countries they are, but then again there were some surprises for me.
So Holy Grail? Don’t think so but at least we are talking and moving forward, at least there is a platform. There are so many cultural and economical hurdles to take; it will take years, generations. The only hope we can have is that it will not be too late for many species. And do you have a better idea? If so what is stopping you from executing it?
CITES has our full support, not only directly but also indirectly, as an example last year we have been collecting signature for shark protection, PADI’s project AWARE among many others has been lobbying for years, and have used these signatures to make a strong point, and looking at the results so far, very, very successful.
So yeah, maybe there will be 3 or 4 countries making reservations, it’s still 173 countries which will provide better protection in trade of these species.
The pressure is building and one day.... they will snap
If you would like to read more about CITES, please visit their website http://www.cites.org or facebook page https://www.facebook.com/cites
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