No upcoming event is more anticipated by international conservationists than CITES CoP19, scheduled for November 14-25 in Panama. The CoP is the Conference of the Parties, an assembly of member countries that are signatories to CITES (usually pronounced site-eez) – the Conference on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
Who Belongs to CITES and What Does CITES Do?
The European Union and 183 countries currently belong to the Convention. CITES’ purpose is to protect wild animals and plants from becoming endangered, or extinct, because of international demand for them, their parts, or derivatives, thus protecting international trade in wild animals and plants by preventing their extinction. Whether it is considered to be a conservation or a trade convention, both CITES, and the need for it, have increased enormously since it was first formed in 1973.
How Does CITIES Work?
CITES works through lists called Appendices. Species on Appendix I cannot be traded for “primarily commercial” purposes. Non-commercial trade for scientific research, conservation, or education, must be approved by both the country of origin and the receiving country, and accompanied by documentation assuring trade will not further endanger the species.
Appendix II allows commercial trade if it has been determined by the country of origin’s “Scientific Authority” that the trade won’t harm the species – what is called a Non-Detriment Finding (NDF). Many Appendix II species are so listed because they resemble one or more Appendix I species.
Appendix III species are unilaterally listed individually by one or more country of origin, helping it to monitor numbers leaving the country.
CITES does not address domestic use of animals or plants within any country.
How Are Decisions Made in CITES?
Decisions on what species are added or deleted to any Appendix is determined by votes by member parties at the CoP, each decision requiring a two thirds majority. While only Parties can vote, both the representatives of wildlife exploitation and of conservation and animal protection groups, collectively called Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), including Born Free, provide data and concerns, often before the CoP, normally held once every two or three years.
Tensions exist between various stakeholders with varying interests, and between governments with their own political agendas, as often complex, technical issues are debated; questions like:
- What to do about stockpiled ivory?
- What about animal products derived from the open seas?
- What about something derived long ago from a then common, but now listed, species?
- What about captive bred or artificially cultivated specimens?
- Is a zoo primarily commercial, scientific, or educational?
- What role might CITES play in preventing spread of zoonotic (animal-derived) disease?
- How can customs agents identify the species of such parts and derivative as tanned leather, shell, bone, scale, meat and so on, that might come from listed species?
- What decisions can be made to prevent poaching, illegal trade, document forging – low risk high profit crimes worldwide?
It is all complex, important, and keeping organizations like ours in a frenzy of virtual meetings, research, reports, strategy sessions, fact-finding, educating, and much else as we head into CITES CoP19.
Follow Born Free USA on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, and keep an eye on our CITES hub, for updates from the Conference!
Keep Wildlife in the Wild,
Barry
