About CITES
What is CITES?
The international trade in wild animals and plants is worth billions of dollars every year. Levels of exploitation and rates of wild capture can have a serious detrimental impact on the future survival of thousands of animal and plant species across the globe.
The United Nations Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) is an international agreement between Governments, which provides varying levels of protection for species that are or may be in danger of extinction from international trade.
175 countries (or ‘Parties’) are members of CITES. It is viewed by many as the world's most important Multilateral Environmental Agreement, and is legally binding upon the Parties. Contraventions of the Convention can lead to trade suspensions and can have a serious economic impact on the countries involved.
How does CITES work?
CITES has more than 30,000 species of plants and animals listed on three Appendices:
Appendix I includes species that are threatened with extinction and that are or may be affected by international trade. Commercial international trade in species listed on Appendix I is prohibited.
Appendix II includes species that, although not necessarily threatened with extinction, may become so unless trade is strictly regulated. Species may also be listed on Appendix II if their parts or products cannot be readily distinguished from those of other species listed on CITES Appendix I or II. Commercial international trade in Appendix II species is permitted, but is subject to strict controls. Parties may only grant a permit to export such species, or their products, after it has determined that the export will not be detrimental to the survival of the species.
Appendix III includes species that any Party has identified as requiring regulation within its jurisdiction, and that needs the cooperation of other Parties to monitor international trade in the species. No legal restrictions on trade are implemented for these species. Parties may unilaterally add species to Appendix III at any time.
What is the CoP?
The Conference of the Parties (CoP) is a bi or tri-annual event. At each CoP, Parties submit Proposals to add or amend the listing of species in Appendix I and II based on a set of biological and trade criteria. These Proposals are discussed and then, if no consensus is reached, submitted to a vote. .CoPs also provide an opportunity for Parties to consider and vote on resolutions that interpret the language of the treaty.
The next CoP is the Sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP16), which is scheduled to take place in the Kingdom of Thailand in early 2013.
Further information on CITES can be found at cites.org and on the Species Survival Network site.
What African Elephant Proposals are being discussed at CoP15?
CoP15 Proposal 4 by the United Republic of Tanzania is to transfer their elephant population from Appendix I to Appendix II and for a one-off sale of 89,848.74kg of ivory from registered government-owned stocks.
CoP15 Proposal 5 by Zambia is seeking CITES approval to transfer the elephant population of Zambia from Appendix I to Appendix II and for a one-off sale of 21,692.23 kg of ivory from registered government-owned stocks.
CoP15 Proposal 6 by Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Rwanda and Sierra Leone is to amend the annotation governing the nine-year resting period (or moratorium) so that it applies to ALL elephant populations, to extend the resting period to twenty years and to eliminate export of worked ivory products from Namibia and Zimbabwe.