Convention on international trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora – cites

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY HO CHI MINH CITYHO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY CONVENTION ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN ENDANGERED SPECIES OF WILD FAUNA AND FLORA – CITES Supervisor :

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY HO CHI MINH CITY

HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

CONVENTION ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE

IN ENDANGERED SPECIES OF WILD FAUNA

AND FLORA – CITES

Supervisor : Dr Lê Văn Khoa

Course code : EN2033

Group: 09 Members:

WHAT IS CITES?

Definition of CITES 5

The history of CITES 5

The purpose of CITES 5

Summary of CITES 6

WHAT ARE CITIES APPENDICES?

Appendix 1 10

Appendix 2 10

Appendix 3 11

WHY CITES IS IMPORTANT?

Problems 12

Importance of CITES 12

ANIMALS IN CITES

Land animals 15

Elephant 15

Sun Bear 16

Saola 17

Pangolins 18

Slow loris 19

Underwater animals 20

Requiem sharks 20

Hammerhead sharks 21

Sea cucumbers 23

CONCLUTION

REFERENCES

The Convention on the Conservation of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)recognizes that the conservation of wild fauna and flora is of global importanceand that the countries where they occur have the first responsibility for theirprotection However, international cooperation is essential for the protection ofcertain species of wild fauna and flora against over-exploitation throughinternational trade Poaching and smuggling of animals and plants is often driven

by demand and prices in consumer countries, and the shared responsibility ofproducer and consumer countries for the conservation of the world’s fauna andflora goes without saying It is physically impossible for any country to police thetaking of every animal and plant and the export thereof, and measures are doomed

to fail unless consumer countries complement the efforts of producer countries byalso enforcing strict controls The 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment andDevelopment also recognizes this shared responsibility The Convention onInternational Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) establishes in Principle 7 thatStates shall cooperate in a spirit of global partnership to conserve, protect andrestore the health and integrity of the Earth’s ecosystem It also establishes thenecessary international legal framework for the prevention of trade in endangeredspecies and for an effective regulation of trade in others It gives producer andconsumer countries their share of the joint responsibility and provides thenecessary tools for the international cooperation that is essential for fulfilling thisresponsibility CITES has proven very flexible and the Parties have been able toadapt its instruments to the ever-changing circumstances and new challenges ofregulating international wildlife trade However, understanding all the different

rules, or even finding them, is not easy.

in endangered state, which researchers has discovered that they are also in CITESappendices The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of WildFauna and Flora provides the safe protection for endangered species to not beextinct in last 46 years, including Vietnamese rare species, which are alsoprotected since 1994.

WHAT IS CITES?

Definition of CITES

CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of WildFauna and Flora) is “an international agreement between governments Its aim is toensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does notthreaten the survival of the species”

The history of CITES

The history of CITES dates back to the early 1960s, when concerns about theimpact of international trade on certain species of wildlife began to emerge Inresponse to these concerns, the United States passed the Endangered SpeciesPreservation Act in 1966, which provided protection for certain endangered speciesand their habitats

The following year, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)called for an international agreement to regulate the trade in endangered species.This led to the signing of the Convention on International Trade in EndangeredSpecies of Wild Fauna and Flora in Washington, D.C., on March 3, 1973.The treaty entered into force on July 1, 1975, and currently has 183 parties,including 182 countries and the European Union The parties meet every threeyears at the Conference of the Parties (CoP) to review the implementation of theConvention and make decisions on the listing of species and other issues

The purpose of CITES

Over the years, CITES has played a critical role in regulating internationaltrade in endangered species, with its listings of species helping to prevent theiroverexploitation and extinction It has also been instrumental in raising awareness

about the importance of conserving wildlife and their habitats, and has encouragedcooperation between countries to address common conservation challenges.Annually, international wildlife trade is estimated to be worth billions ofdollars and to include hundreds of millions of plant and animal specimens Thetrade is diverse, ranging from live animals and plants to a vast array of wildlifeproducts derived from them, including food products, exotic leather goods, woodenmusical instruments, timber, tourist curios and medicines Levels of exploitation ofsome animal and plant species are high and the trade in them, together with otherfactors, such as habitat loss, is capable of heavily depleting their populations andeven bringing some species close to extinction Many wildlife species in trade arenot endangered, but the existence of an agreement to ensure the sustainability ofthe trade is important in order to safeguard these resources for the future.

Because the trade in wild animals and plants crosses borders betweencountries, the effort to regulate it requires international cooperation to safeguardcertain species from over-exploitation CITES was conceived in the spirit of suchcooperation Today, it accords varying degrees of protection to more than 37,000species of animals and plants, whether they are traded as live specimens, fur coats

or dried herbs

Summary of CITES

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Faunaand Flora (CITES) covers 25 articles and 3 appendices (Appendices I, II and III)

Article 1 covers about definitions of these term: Species, Specimen, Trade,

Re-export, Introduction from the sea, Scientific Authority, Management Authority andParty

Article 2 covers about Fundamental Principles of Trading.

Article 3, 4, 5 are about Regulation of Trade in Specimens of Species included in

every appendix attached.

Article 6 is about Permits and Certificates If they are granted under the provisions

of Articles III, IV, and V, they shall be in accordance with the provisions of thisArticle

Article 7 tells people about Exemptions and Other Special Provisions Relating to

Trade

Article 8 is about the measures to be taken by the Parties, such as, “The Parties

shall take appropriate measures to enforce the provisions of the present Conventionand to prohibit trade in specimens in violation thereof” and “As far as possible, theParties shall ensure that specimens shall pass through any formalities required fortrade with a minimum of delay”

Article 9 is basically the management and scientific authorities To apply this,

“each Party shall designate for the purposes of the present Convention: one ormore Management Authorities competent to grant permits or certificates on behalf

of that Party; and one or more Scientific Authorities.”

Article 10 covers about Trading with States not Party to the Convention.

Article 11 is about Conference of the Parties They instruct that, “the Secretariat

shall convene regular meetings at least once every two years, unless theConference decides otherwise, and extraordinary meetings at any time on thewritten request of at least one-third of the Parties” Not only that, “at meetings,whether regular or extraordinary, the Parties shall review the implementation of thepresent Convention and may make such provision as may be necessary to enablethe Secretariat to carry out its duties, and adopt financial provisions; consider andadopt amendments to Appendices I and II in accordance with Article 15; reviewthe progress made towards the restoration and conservation of the species included

in Appendices I, II and III; receive and consider any reports presented by theSecretariat or by any Party; and where appropriate, make recommendations for

improving the effectiveness of the present Convention.”

Article 12 will tell people about the Secretariat, and their role of it Upon entry into

force of the present Convention, a Secretariat shall be provided by the ExecutiveDirector of the United Nations Environment Programme

Article 13 is about the International Measures It says that, “When the Secretariat

in the light of information received is satisfied that any species included inAppendix I or II is being affected adversely by trade in specimens of that species

or that the provisions of the present Convention are not being effectivelyimplemented, it shall communicate such information to the authorizedManagement Authority of the Party or Parties concerned.”

Article 14 is basically the Effect on Domestic Legislation and International

Conventions

Article 15 covers about Amendments to Appendices I and II Similarly, article 16

and 17 covers about Appendix III and Amendments thereto; Appendix III andAmendments thereto

Article 18 is about the Resolution of Disputes It shows that, “any dispute which

may arise between two or more Parties with respect to the interpretation orapplication of the provisions of the present Convention shall be subject tonegotiation between the Parties involved in the dispute.”

Article 19 gives people the information of signature “The present Convention shall

be open for signature at Washington until 30th April 1973 and thereafter at Berneuntil 31st December 1974”

Article 20 will explain about Ratification, Acceptance and Approval.

Article 21 represents the Accession of the Convention “The present Convention

shall be open indefinitely for accession Instruments of accession shall bedeposited with the Depositary Government” And not only that, “the presentConvention shall be open indefinitely for accession Instruments of accession shall

be deposited with the Depositary Government.”

Article 22 is about Entry into Force For each State, “The present Convention shall

enter into force 90 days after the date of deposit of the tenth instrument ofratification, acceptance, approval or accession, with the Depositary Government.”

Article 23 illustrates about the Reservations “Any State may, on depositing its

instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, enter a specificreservation with regard to: any species included in Appendix I, II or III; or anyparts or derivatives specified in relation to a species included in Appendix III.”

Article 24 gives readers information about Denunciation, that, “Any Party may

denounce the present Convention by written notification to the DepositaryGovernment at any time The denunciation shall take effect twelve months after theDepositary Government has received the notification.”

Article 25 is about the Depositary of this convention, whereas, “The original of the

present Convention, in the Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanishlanguages, each version being equally authentic, shall be deposited with theDepositary Government, which shall transmit certified copies thereof to all Statesthat have signed it or deposited instruments of accession to it.”

And finally, this convention text was done at Washington this third day ofMarch, One Thousand Nine Hundred and Seventy-three

WHAT ARE CITIES APPENDICES?

An international treaty between countries is known as CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) Its goal is to make sure that the survival of wild creatures and vegetation is not endangered by foreign commerce in their specimens

CITES functions by imposing restrictions on the international commerce in specimens of particular species A registration mechanism must be used to approveany import, export, re-export, or entry from the country of species protected by the Convention

According to the level of protection required, the species protected by CITES are enumerated in three Appendices

Appendix 1

Fauna and flora that are the highest endangered species Only extraordinary conditions enable the trade in specimens of these species, as an illustration for scientific research In these special cases, trade can take place provided it is permitted by the issuance of both an import license and an export license (or a re-export certificate)

Appendix 2

Species that are not strictly in danger of extinction, but whose commerce needs to

be controlled to prevent usage that is detrimental to their survival Additionally, it contains what are known as "look-alike species," or species whose specimens sold

in trade resemble those of species listed for conservation The issuance of an export permit or re-export certificate may authorize international commerce in specimens of Appendix-II species Under CITES, these animals don't need import

permits (although a permit is needed in some countries that have taken stricter measures than CITES requires) Only when certain conditions are fulfilled and, most importantly, that trade will not be detrimental to the survival of the species in the wild, should permits or certificates be issued.

Appendix 3

Species that are protected in at least one nation and have requested assistance from other CITES Parties in regulating commerce International trade in specimens of the species listed in this Appendix only upon presentation of the appropriate license or certificate

Only the Conference of the Parties may add or remove species from Appendix I or

II, or move species between them, either in person or through postal processes (see Article XV of the Convention) However, any Party may unilaterally add or remove species from Appendix III at any moment (although the Conference of theParties has recommended that changes be timed to coincide with amendments to Appendices I and II).According to the terms of Articles XV, XVI, or XXIII of the Convention, Parties may make reservations with regard to any species mentioned

in the Appendices

WHY CITES IS IMPORTANT?

Problems

Today, international wildlife trade is popular and happens in both legal and illegalways because this has grown with improved transport systems due to moderntechnology in the world In addition, with increasing human populations, thedemands create Hence the trade is extensive, anything from live animals andplants to a wide range of wildlife-derived products such as food, exotic leathergoods, wooden musical instruments

 People gain much from effectively regulating trade in wildlife goods

 CITES IS CRUCIAL

 The goal of CITES is to guarantee that international trade in wild animalsand plants is legal, sustainable, and traceable and that it does not threaten theexistence of wild species as described earlier

Importance of CITES

CITES was referenced in the outcomes document of Rio+20, The Future We

Want, which recognised "the important role of the Convention on International

Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, an international agreement that stands at the intersection between trade, the environment and development, promotes the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, should contribute to tangible benefits for local people, and ensures that no species entering into international trade is threatened with extinction".

Brings together law enforcement officers from wildlife authorities, nationalparks, customs, and police agencies to collaborate on efforts to combat wildlifecrime targeted at animals such as elephants and rhinos