Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora ( CITES )

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The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna & Flora is an international agreement between  Governments with an aim to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals  and plants does not threaten their survival.  CITES was drafted as a result of a resolution adopted  in 1963  at a meeting of members  of IUCN (The World Conservation Union) and on July 1975, CITES entered in force.   

The Government of India signed the Convention in July 1976, which was ratified in October 1976. 

Overview of CITES 

The CITES Convention

CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement between governments and is currently signed by 180 countries. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. 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. States that have voluntarily joined CITES and agreed to be bound by the convention are known as Parties. Although CITES is legally binding on the parties, it does not replace national laws. Rather, it provides a framework to be respected by each party, which must adopt its own (domestic) legislation to ensure that CITES is implemented at the national level.

The CITES Appendices

CITES accords varying degrees of protection to more than 36,000 species of animals and plants by applying different provisions to species included in three Appendices ( Article II ):

1.  Appendix I shall include all species threatened with extinction which are or may be affected by trade. Trade in specimens of these species must be subject to particularly strict regulation in order not to endanger further their survival and must only be authorized in exceptional circumstances. 

2.  Appendix II shall include: 

(a). all species which although not necessarily now threatened with extinction may become so unless trade in specimens of such species is subject to strict regulation in order to avoid utilization incompatible with their survival; and 

(b). other species which must be subject to regulation in order that trade in specimens of certain species referred to in sub-paragraph (a) of this paragraph may be brought under effective control. 

3.  Appendix III shall include all species which any Party identifies as being subject to regulation within its jurisdiction for the purpose of preventing or restricting exploitation, and as needing the co-operation of other Parties in the control of trade. 

Proposals to list a species in CITES can only be made by a Party to CITES. Almost all countries are Parties. For Appendix III, the Party must be a range state and the proposal must be sent to the CITES Secretariat. Proposals for Appendix II can only be approved at a Conference of the Parties (which should take place every two years) and only if two thirds of the Parties present and voting agree.

CITES export permits

All trade in the species listed in Appendix I of the Convention must be accompanied by a CITES export permit issued by the exporting country and a CITES import permit issued by the importing country. Species in Appendix II must be accompanied by an appropriate CITES export permit issued by the exporting country before entry to the importing country will be allowed. For Appendix III-listed species, an export permit is required for trade from a country that has listed its populations in the Convention. A certificate of origin or a re-export certificate is required for exports from any other country.

Non-Detriment Finding

Export permits for specimens of Appendix II-listed species must be based on a scientific non-detriment finding (NDF) and, notably, a legal acquisition finding. For timber species, NDF mean that successful implementation will require descriptive knowledge of the species resource base; where it occurs, how much is there, and its ecological role. NDF further require understanding of management practices necessary to promote growth and regeneration toward future harvests and a technical capacity to implement those practices. The mandate for legal supplies means that implementation will require regulatory and enforcement capacity adequate to the task of ensuring compliance with forest legislation; the ability to track legal supplies to separate these from illegal harvests; and clear protocols for handling harvests destined for domestic markets.

Export permits for specimens of Appendix III-listed species (required where the state of export listed the species) need only legal acquisition findings, while certificates of origin require neither NDFs nor legal acquisition findings since those documents only identify the country of export as the country from which the specimen originated. They are not required to include subnational 'origin' (such as concession of harvest).

Trade records

Parties must record all trade in listed species and report it annually to the CITES Secretariat. This information is made public through the online CITES trade database, managed by the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC). In addition, the parties must designate at least one Management Authority responsible for licensing and at least one ScientificAuthority responsible for assessing the effects of proposed and actual trade on the status of the species. In order to authorize the export of a specimen of a CITES-listed species, a national Management Authority must be satisfied that the specimen has been 'legally acquired' and, in the case of species listed in Appendices I and II, that the relevant national Scientific Authority has advised that the proposed export will not be detrimental to the survival of the species.

Reference

  1. PIB
  2. The International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) 
  3. Convention on International Tradein Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora ( CITES ) - Legal Text
  4. CITES - Home

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