The IUCN/SSC Shark Specialist Group
CITES and FAO International Plan of Action (IPOA) for Sharks
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What is CITES?
Key CITES Documents, Papers and Reports
Recent CITES News
What is CITES and how does it work?
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.
Widespread information nowadays about the endangered status of
many prominent species, such as the tiger and elephants, might
make the need for such a convention seem obvious. But at the
time when the ideas for CITES were first formed, in the 1960s,
international discussion of the regulation of wildlife trade for
conservation purposes was something relatively new. With
hindsight, the need for CITES is clear. Annually, international
wildlife trade is estimated to be worth billions of dollars and to
include hundreds of millions of plant and animal specimens. The
trade is diverse, ranging from live animals and plants to a vast
array of wildlife products derived from them, including food
products, exotic leather goods, wooden musical instruments,
timber, tourist curios and medicines. Levels of exploitation of some
animal and plant species are high and the trade in them, together
with other factors, such as habitat loss, is capable of heavily
depleting their populations and even bringing some species close
to extinction. 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 it requires international
cooperation to safeguard certain species from over-exploitation.
CITES was conceived in the spirit of such cooperation. Today, it
accords varying degrees of protection to more than 30,000
species of animals and plants, whether they are traded as live
specimens, fur coats or dried herbs.
CITES was drafted as a result of a resolution adopted in 1963 at a
meeting of members of IUCN (The World Conservation Union).
The text of the Convention was finally agreed at a meeting of
representatives of 80 countries in Washington DC., United States
of America, on 3 March 1973, and on 1 July 1975 CITES entered
in force.
CITES is an international agreement to which States (countries)
adhere voluntarily. States that have agreed to be bound by the
Convention ('joined' CITES) are known as Parties. Although
CITES is legally binding on the Parties - in other words they have
to implement the Convention - it does not take the place of
national laws. Rather it provides a framework to be respected by
each Party, which has to adopt its own domestic legislation to
make sure that CITES is implemented at the national level.
Not one species protected by CITES has become extinct as a
result of trade since the Convention entered into force and, for
many years, CITES has been among the largest conservation
agreements in existence, with now 164 Parties.
CITES works by subjecting international trade in specimens of
selected species to certain controls. These require that all import,
export, re-export and introduction from the sea of species covered
by the Convention has to be authorized through a licensing
system. ('Re-export' means export of a specimen that was
imported.)
The species covered by CITES are listed in three Appendices,
according to the degree of protection they need. (For additional
information see CITES Species.)
- 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 contains species that are protected in at least
one country, which has asked other CITES Parties for
assistance in controlling the trade.
Each Party to the Convention must designate one or more
Management Authorities in charge of administering the licensing
system and one or more Scientific Authorities to advise them on
the effects of trade on the status of the species.
A specimen of a CITES-listed species may be imported into or
exported (or re-exported) from a State party to the Convention
only if the appropriate document has been obtained and
presented for clearance at the port of entry or exit. There is some
variation of the requirements from one country to another and it is
always necessary to check on the national laws, but the main
conditions that apply for each Appendix are described here.
Key CITES Documents, Papers and Reports
Recent CITES News
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