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Appendix I includes species that are in danger of extinction because of international trade. Permits are required for import and export, and trade for commercial purposes is prohibited. American alligators are listed on Appendix II, for example. They were overhunted through the s for their skin, but their numbers are now on the rise.

Appendix III includes species that are protected in at least one country, when that country asks others for help in regulating the trade. Regulations for these species vary, but typically the country that requested the listing can issue export permits, and export from other countries requires a certificate of origin.

The purpose of this two-week meeting is to consider new proposals for listing or removing species from appendices, to debate other decisions and resolutions about implementation of regulations, and to review conservation progress.

Appendix changes, the main event at the CoP, are proposed if a species is thought to need more—or less—protection from trade. CITES has plenty of critics. Some say conservationists flock to the two-week meeting every few years, fiercely debate the fate of endangered animals, and then go home, patting themselves on the back for a job well done. A analysis in the journal Science found that in nearly two-thirds of cases, CITES protections lag after a species is determined to be threatened by international trade.

For example, while pangolins were finally added to Appendix I in , an estimated million were trafficked between and Of the eight species of pangolins, half are endangered or critically endangered.

But countries are rarely sanctioned and the process can become highly politicized. Still, some say regulations are an important first step. Before CITES existed, international wildlife trade was largely a free-for-all —while individual countries tried to restrict the trade of threatened species, illegally exported products could be legally imported into many countries.

In the midth century, populations of the once-abundant llama relative had dwindled to about 10, animals because commercial demand for its fur led to widespread poaching. All rights reserved. Share Tweet Email. Read This Next Wild parakeets have taken a liking to London.

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CITES is increasingly being used to regulate international trade in commercially harvested marine and timber species, with the Convention now regulating trade in over timber species, up from just 18 in , and trade in many new commercially harvested shark and ray species, in addition to corals and other marine species.

The treaty entered into force in and now has Parties. The Convention places a joint responsibility on producer and consumer Parties for managing wildlife trade sustainably and preventing illegal trade. CITES regulates international trade in over 36, species of plants and animals, including their products and derivatives, ensuring their survival in the wild with benefits for the livelihoods of local people and the global environment. CITES has taken in the lead raising awareness of the surge in illegal trade in wildlife and in taking a coordinated approach to the fight against illegal wildlife trade, including though the establishment of the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime ICCWC , a collaborative effort of five inter-governmental organizations CITES, INTERPOL, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the World Bank and the World Customs Organization working to bring coordinated support to the national wildlife law enforcement agencies and to the sub-regional and regional networks that, on a daily basis, act in defence of natural resources.

CITES protects these species from being excessively traded and exploited illegally and unsustainably in the wild as their extinction would have irreversible ecological consequences and negative economic and social effects. The CITES permit system seeks to ensure that international trade in listed species is sustainable, legal and traceable.

Implementation of the Convention depends on three sets of actors at the national level: the Scientific Authority tasked with determining the level of trade that would not be detrimental for a species; the Management Authority tasked with ensuring traceability by providing adequate legal documentation for trade to take place; and the Enforcement Authority focusing on the fight against illegal trade.

Trade can only happen if it meets the following three conditions. First, the trade will not be detrimental to the survival of that species.

Second, the traded animal or plant was not obtained in contravention of the laws of the exporting State for the protection of fauna and flora. Third, for any living specimen, the transport is organized so as to minimize the risk of injury, damage to health or cruel treatment. For these conditions to be met, all actors at the national level need to work together.

With human population and economic activity set to expand over the next few decades, the threats facing wild animals and plants will only become greater. Further, the CITES Parties have committed to strengthen the contribution of the Convention to the relevant Sustainable Development Goals and their targets as demonstrated by this submission.

Thousands of species are internationally traded and used by people in their daily lives for food, housing, health care, ecotourism, cosmetics or fashion. The main challenge for CITES, within the broader framework of the SDGs, is to make species conservation and the promotion of prosperity mutually supportive. After more than forty years of implementation of the Convention, it seems that when the global international trade affects the local, especially rural communities and local youth, the local is often left behind — i.

This was specifically recognized by the CITES Parties at CoP17, with decisions being taken on livelihoods and rural communities, as is elaborated upon below. At country level, CITES is driven by the concerns of its Parties that include range States, and consumer and transit States for more than 36, species. As such, it is governed by the experience of its Parties and responds to their needs to ensure that none of its Parties is left behind. Low-income countries are often the ones that have some of the most diverse and sought after wildlife.

The Convention is implemented in a way to ensure that these countries can make legal and sustainable use of their wildlife resources to eradicate poverty and promote prosperity in harmony with nature.

At the community level, while Parties to the Convention are either States or regional economic integration organizations, significant efforts have been made in recent years to ensure that local and rural communities are not left behind and benefit from international trade. Resolution Conf. Recent initiatives aim at maximizing the benefits of CITES implementation and trade for rural communities, in particular to support poverty eradication. This entails more specifically recognizing resource tenure and ownership, and traditional knowledge of or in rural communities associated with CITES-listed species, subject to any applicable national or international law.

Recent initiatives also focus on strengthening community voices, actively supporting them to be involved in decision-making to derive benefits from conserving wildlife.

The Conference of the Parties is also exploring the possibility of better engaging directly in CITES processes, including through the possible establishment of a committee of rural communities. Like local and rural communities, youth is yet another constituency that risks being left behind even though, according to the United Nations Population Fund, some 1.

Public surveys conducted in some countries show that youth in those countries are spending more time online and less time outdoors exploring nature. The future of wildlife depends on engaging, educating, and connecting the next generation of conservation leaders with animals and plants that they are increasingly unlikely to encounter on their own.

Chosen from a pool of nearly 1, candidates, these youth delegates represent some of the best and brightest of the next generation of wildlife conservationists. During the forum, delegates engaged in skill-building workshops, and explored conservation and wildlife issues, including the impacts of wildlife trade.

To avoid that possible disconnect between youth and wildlife, CITES Parties have called for an increased participation of youth in its decision-making processes and in wildlife management and trade in general. An important area that requires urgent attention is illegal trade in wildlife that is perpetuating poverty. Rather than lifting people out of poverty it puts them into a poverty spiral.

The United Nations and its Member States recognized that illegal wildlife trade contributes to damage ecosystems and rural livelihoods, including those based on ecotourism, undermines good governance and the rule of law and, in some cases, threatens national stability. The SDGs specifically address tackling illegal trafficking in wildlife through specific Targets under Goal 15, as follows:. The changing scale and nature of illegal wildlife trade is well known.

Today we are not confronting small scale subsistence poaching; rather we are dealing with industrial scale poaching. While legal and sustainable wildlife trade is a multi-billion dollar legitimate business, the CITES Secretariat does not place a value on illegal wildlife trade, but it notes that some estimate it is worth at least USD 5 billion annually excluding timber and marine wildlife and up to 20 billion. Illegal logging is also particularly problematic and lucrative. Some of the other most lucrative illegal wildlife commodities include tiger parts, elephant ivory, rhino horn and exotic birds and reptiles.

Illegal trade in wildlife has become a sophisticated transnational form of crime, comparable to other serious organized crimes, such as trafficking of drugs, persons, arms and counterfeit goods.

It is driven by rising demand, and is often facilitated by corruption and weak governance. There is strong evidence of the increased involvement of organized crime groups and non-State armed groups. Illegal wildlife trade undermines the rule of law, threatens national security, and degrades ecosystems.