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

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

Subject – Environment

Context – Forests Minister Bhupender Yadav Friday introduced in Lok Sabha the Wildlife Protection (Amendment) Bill to ensure that the original 1972 Act complies with the requirements of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)

Concept –

• CITES is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered species. One of its main aims is to regulate the international trade of animals and plants so that it does not threaten their survival.
• Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) is part of a multilateral treaty that includes plant, animals and birds under varying categories of threat of extinction and which will be jointly protected by members of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
• India is a signatory to CITES.
• CITES entered into force in July 1975. Currently there are 183 Parties (include countries or regional economic integration organizations).
• Aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.
• The CITES Secretariat is administered by UNEP (The United Nations Environment Programme) and is located at Geneva, Switzerland.
• The Conference of the Parties to CITES, is the supreme decision-making body of the Convention and comprises all its Parties.
• Although CITES is legally binding on the Parties, 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 ensure that CITES is implemented at the national level.
• Appendices I, II and III to the Convention are lists of species afforded different levels or types of protection from over-exploitation.

Appendix I

• It lists species that are the most endangered among CITES-listed animals and plants.
• Examples include gorillas, sea turtles, most lady slipper orchids, and giant pandas. Currently 931 species are listed.

Appendix II

• It lists species that are not necessarily now threatened with extinction but that may become so unless trade is closely controlled.
• Most CITES species are listed in this Appendix, including American ginseng, paddlefish, lions, American alligators, mahogany and many corals. Currently 34,419 species are listed.

Appendix III

• It is a list of species included at the request of a Party that already regulates trade in the species and that needs the cooperation of other countries to prevent unsustainable or illegal exploitation.
• Examples include map turtles, walruses and Cape stag beetles. Currently 147 species are listed.