Few surprises in latest CITES Proposals, but sparks may fly

TRAFFIC 26 Oct 09;

Gland, Switzerland, 26 October 2009—the Secretariat of CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) has today revealed most of the list of just over 40 proposed changes in CITES trade rules that will be discussed along with a range of other policy and implementation issues at the forthcoming Conference of the Parties taking place next March in Qatar (CoP15).

CITES CoP meetings occur every three years and changes to trade rules, through amendments to the CITES Appendices can have profound conservation implications for affected species. The listing of a species in Appendix I effectively prevents all commercial international trade, while those listed in Appendix II can be traded under special permit conditions.

Proposals for the CoP15 include species familiar in CITES debate, like the African Elephant, some that were rejected at the previous meeting (CoP14) in The Hague, Netherlands in June 2008 and a number of new issues for consideration by member countries.

Sure to be controversial is a proposal by Kenya, supported by several other African governments, that they hope would block any attempts by other countries to gain CITES endorsement of further legal ivory sales before at least 2028. The same proposal also aims to put an end to the currently approved legal export of carved ivory items from Namibia and Zimbabwe by tourists.

In conflict with this proposal are requests from Zambia and Tanzania to transfer their African Elephant populations from Appendix I to Appendix II in order to allow one-off sale of government-owned ivory stockpiles.

“The conflicting aims of the Kenyan-led and Tanzania / Zambia proposals are certain to create tension and deep divisions,” said Steven Broad, Executive Director of TRAFFIC International. “We hope that a satisfactory conclusion can be reached that serves the best interests of conservation and that the discussion does not detract from the key problems causing the poaching of elephants, such as the lack of control over illegal domestic ivory markets.”

Also likely to be controversial are proposals to list several marine species in the Appendices.

Top of the list will be Atlantic Bluefin Tuna. Monaco is proposing an Appendix I listing, putting a stop to further commercial trade. The issue has already caused controversy within the European Union, with France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy publicly announcing his support for a commercial fishing ban, but his government then opposing it during a close vote that saw European Union Member States fail to reach the necessary majority to support Monaco’s proposed ban.

Sharks too are sure to cause a stir. At the previous CoP meeting, proposals to list Porbeagle and Spiny Dogfishes in the Appendices were narrowly defeated following strong lobbying by the fishery industry and deep divisions between the CITES Secretariat and the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization about criteria for deciding in what circumstances CITES should play a role in regulating trade in marine species. Both species are once more being proposed for Appendix II listing. The US is also proposing listing a further six shark species, including three hammerheads in Appendix II.

“We can only hope that discussion of these proposals is focused on the critical issues they involve in terms of conservation and international fisheries management,” commented Broad.

“CITES has a key role to play in complementing other conservation and management measures—at national and international levels—for commercially important marine resources.”

“The failure to list Spiny Dogfish and Porbeagle Sharks in 2007 was especially disappointing, but this time we hope that conservation arguments will prevail over institutional politics and that CITES member countries will cut through the rhetoric and look at the hard facts of the problems facing the future of these fisheries if they fail to act now.”

In a similar category are corals, used principally for making jewellery, which were initially accepted for inclusion in Appendix II in June 2007 only for the decision to be narrowly overturned in plenary.

Several Proposals relate to reptiles and amphibians, such as one to downlist certain populations of Nile Crocodile to Appendix II, to reflect the improved conservation status of this species. By contrast, Kaiser’s Spotted Newt has been put forward for Appendix II listing, because of concerns over its levels in trade, as has the Ornate Dabb Lizard, which Israel has proposed is listed in Appendix I, to end its commercial international trade.

The majority of proposals relating to plants concerns Malagasy species being put forward for Appendix II listing.

Brazil is also proposing an Endangered species of Rosewood tree—Aniba rosaeodora—is listed in Appendix II. The species has seriously declined because of over-exploitation for rosewood oil extraction.

TRAFFIC and programme partner IUCN will undertake full analyses of each of the proposals, to investigate whether they meet the appropriate biological and other criteria. Based on these analyses, TRAFFIC will be preparing its Recommendations on Proposals to Amend the Appendices, which will be made available prior to the Meeting.

This will be the first CITES CoP to be held in the Middle East, and TRAFFIC hopes that an additional outcome of the meeting will be greater attention to the need for enhanced regional enforcement co-operation in the region.

The proposals are not the only items on the CoP meeting agenda. There will also be important discussions based on documents submitted in advance of the meeting relating to Tigers, elephants, rhinos and species like the Humphead Wrasse.

Treaty partners learn of 40 proposed wildlife trade rule changes
WWF 26 Oct 09;

Gland, Switzerland - Proposals for tighter trade controls for species such as the Atlantic Blue Fin tuna, sharks and corals have been submitted for the next meeting of parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES).

The meeting, which will have changes to trade rules for an unusual proportion of marine species on its agenda, will be held in Quatar in March. Controversy is also expected over conflicting proposals concerning elephants.

WWF especially welcomes the proposal by the Principality of Monaco to list Atlantic bluefin tuna on Appendix I to the convention, which would ban international trade for commercial purposes and was submitted as Atlantic bluefin tuna stocks are declining dramatically because of uncontrolled overfishing.

“An Appendix I listing for Atlantic Bluefin Tuna has become imperative if we are to save the species,” said Amanda Nickson, Director of the WWF International Species Programme.

“If we act now we can secure the future of this species and guarantee that fishing can be resumed in the future, but at a sustainable level.”

WWF was also encouraged to see that proposals to list several shark species on Appendix II, which allows for international trade but imposes strict regulations and requires proof that trade is sustainable and legal, were submitted. Threats such as bycatch and shark finning and illegal fishing and overfishing have caused serious declines in shark populations.

Also proposed for an Appendix II listing were red and pink coral, which are used to make jewellery. Red and pink corals are found throughout the world’s tropical and temperate seas but the absence of effective international trade controls has led to overharvesting.

Elephant debate expected to be controversial

Elephants, one of WWF’s priority species, will be a topic of debate at the CITES meeting as potentially conflicting proposals were submitted for elephants. Kenya submitted a proposal – together with a group of west African countries - that would impose a 19 year ban on other countries seeking permission for one-off ivory sales, such as the one that took place under CITES supervision in 2008, and that would suspend the legal sale of ivory souvenirs in Namibia and Zimbabwe.

One the other hand, Zambia and Tanzania submitted proposals that would have elephant populations within their borders moved from Appendix I to Appendix II in order to ease the permitting rules for trophy hunting and allow for the sale of government-owned ivory stockpiles.

“WWF recognizes that some southern African Elephant range States have successfully demonstrated that their populations should be placed on Appendix II," said Nickson.

"However, Tanzania and Zambia have yet to prove their case by demonstrating that their management of ivory stockpiles is adequate enough to prevent laundering of poached ivory.

“And while we acknowledge the concerns that have motivated Kenya’s proposal, we must focus not forget to address what WWF sees as the main issue driving elephant poaching – that is, unregulated domestic markets in central and West Africa.”

Two other of WWF’s priority species that were not the subject of listing proposals but that will be discussed at the meeting are tigers and rhinos, which are both critically endangered and are being poached in order to feed the illegal market for their parts and derivatives. Tiger numbers could now be as low as 3,200 and rhino poaching has reached a 15 year high according to new research released this summer.

WWF will now engage with its partners TRAFFIC and IUCN, which will do a full analyses of the proposals in order to assess whether or not they meet the criteria required for a species to be listed in the CITES appendices. WWF will formulate its position on each proposal based on this analysis.

“WWF looks forward to the CITES meeting,” said Ms Nickson. “There has never been a meeting where marine animals featured so prominently. Now is an opportunity to show that CITES has the capacity to address the pressing issues concerning the trade in these species.”