Article
by: The Forestry Department
What is CITES?
CITES (the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an
international agreement between governments. Its aim is to ensure that
international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten
their survival. The CITES convention came into force on July 1, 1975 and St.
Lucia ratified this convention in 1982. Although St. Lucia is not significantly
involved in wildlife trade we recognize the need to play our part in the global
effort towards wildlife conservation.
Why is CITES Necessary?
Annually, international
wildlife trade is estimated to be worth billions of dollars and to include
hundreds of millions of plant and animal specimens. The trade is diverse, ranging
from live animals and plants to a vast array of wildlife products derived from
them, including food products, exotic leather goods, wooden musical
instruments, timber, medicines etc.
Levels of exploitation of
some animal and plant species are high and the trade in them, together with
other factors, such as habitat loss, is capable of heavily depleting their
populations and even bringing some species close to extinction. Many wildlife
species in trade are not endangered, but the existence of an agreement to
ensure the sustainability of the trade is important in order to safeguard these
resources for the future.
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.
Today, it accords varying degrees of protection to more than 30,000 species of
animals and plants, whether they are traded as live specimens, fur coats or
dried herbs.
St. Lucia as a member of
CITES is obliged to not only monitor exports of its local species and the
subsequent impacts on their populations, but must also monitor imports to
ensure that wildlife entering the country have been legally obtained and
collected in a way that does not threaten wild populations in the country of
origin.
How does CITES work?
Every two years member
countries of the convention come together to review the conservation status of
wild plants and animals. This is called the conference of parties (COP). Where
species are considered to be at potential risk of decline or extinction due to
international trade a system of licensing is introduced to help monitor,
regulate or temporarily halt trade. This licensing system remains in effect
until the risk or threat to the species is no more.
Species at risk are placed
into three (3) categories called appendices and differ according to the level
of protection that the species is considered to require.
Appendix I: include
species that are locally or globally classified as “endangered” or at “risk of
extinction”. These species are usually rare or in decline and trade of such
species is not permitted receiving full protection under the convention.
Appendix II: these species
are not yet threatened by trade but may become so if trade is not regulated.
Trading of these species is permitted only if they were legally obtained and
trading is not harmful to the species survival.
Appendix III: species
under this appendix may not be of global concern but may be of importance to
one or more countries where trading is permitted only if legally obtained and
the survival of the species is not threatened.
