CITES

CITES is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of international trade. It was drafted as a result of a resolution adopted in 1963 at a meeting of members of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The convention was opened for signature in 1973 and CITES entered into force on 1 July 1975.
Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of animals and plants included under CITES does not threaten the survival of the species in the wild. This is achieved via a system of permits and certificates. CITES affords varying degrees of protection to more than 40,900 species.
, the Secretary-General of CITES is Ivonne Higuero.

Background

CITES is one of the largest and oldest conservation and sustainable use agreements in existence. There are three working languages of the convention in which all documents are made available. Participation is voluntary and countries that have agreed to be bound by the convention are known as Parties. Although CITES is legally binding on the Parties, it does not take the place of national laws. Rather it provides a framework respected by each Party, which must adopt their own domestic legislation to implement CITES at the national level.
Originally, CITES addressed depletion resulting from demand for luxury goods such as furs in Western countries, but with the rising wealth of Asia, particularly in China, the focus changed to products demanded there, particularly those used for luxury goods such as elephant ivory or rhinoceros horn. As of 2022, CITES has expanded to include thousands of species previously considered unremarkable and in no danger of extinction such as manta rays.

Ratifications

The text of the convention was finalized at a meeting of representatives of 80 countries in Washington, D.C., United States, on 3 March 1973. It was then open for signature until 31 December 1974. It entered into force after the 10th ratification by a signatory country, on 1 July 1975. Countries that signed the Convention become Parties by ratifying, accepting or approving it. By the end of 2003, all signatory countries had become Parties. States that were not signatories may become Parties by acceding to the convention., the convention has 185 parties, including 184 states and the European Union.
The CITES Convention includes provisions and rules for trade with non-Parties. All member states of the United Nations are party to the treaty, with the exception of North Korea, Federated States of Micronesia, Haiti, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, South Sudan, East Timor, and Tuvalu. UN observer the Holy See is also not a member. The Faroe Islands, an autonomous region in the Kingdom of Denmark, is also treated as a non-Party to CITES.
An amendment to the text of the convention, known as the Gaborone Amendment allows regional economic integration organizations, such as the European Union, to have the status of a member state and to be a Party to the convention. The REIO can vote at CITES meetings with the number of votes representing the number of members in the REIO, but it does not have an additional vote.
In accordance with Article XVII, paragraph 3, of the CITES Convention, the Gaborone Amendment entered into force on 29 November 2013, 60 days after 54 of the 80 States that were party to CITES on 30 April 1983 deposited their instrument of acceptance of the amendment. At that time it entered into force only for those States that had accepted the amendment. The amended text of the convention will apply automatically to any State that becomes a Party after 29 November 2013. For States that became party to the convention before that date and have not accepted the amendment, it will enter into force 60 days after they accept it.

Governing Structure of CITES

CITES operates to support the member Parties. This support consists of the input from three Committees who are overseen by the Secretary-General. The secretariat position has been held by a variety of people from different nations.

Timeline of CITES Secretary-General Offices

1978-1981: Peter H. Sand
He was born in Bavaria, Germany and was educated in international law in Germany, France and Canada. He became a professor and an author, focusing on environmental law, holding other positions such as the Director-General of the IUCN and legal advisor for environmental affairs to the World Bank.
1982-1990: Eugene Lapointe
A Canadian native, Lapointe served in the military for many years and acted as a diplomat before governing the CITES. He is currently an author and holds the position of President of the World Conservation Trust, a non-profit organization that promotes wildlife conservation with an emphasis on a human-centered approach to natural-resources.
1991 - 1998: Izgrev Topkov
Born and raised in Bulgaria, Topkov was a diplomat before managing CITES, and was removed from that position following the misuse of permits that violated CITES guidelines.
1999 - 2010: Willem Wijnstekers
A native of the Netherlands and graduate from the University of Amsterdam, Wijnsteker held the position of Secretary-General for the longest period of time and is now an author.
2010 - 2018: John E. Scanlon
An Australian who studied environmental law, Scanlon was active in combating illegal animal trade and currently works in the effort to protect Elephants in Africa as CEO of the Elephant Protection Initiative Foundation.
2018- Current: Ivonne Higuero
The first woman to hold this position, Higuero was educated in environmental economics and is from Panama.

Regulation of trade

CITES works by subjecting international trade in specimens of listed taxa to controls as they move across international borders. CITES specimens can include a wide range of items including the whole animal/plant, or a product that contains a part or derivative of the listed taxa such as cosmetics or traditional medicines.
Four types of trade are recognized by CITES - import, export, re-export and introduction from the sea. The CITES definition of "trade" does not require a financial transaction to be occurring. All trade in specimens of species covered by CITES must be authorized through a system of permits and certificates prior to the trade taking place. CITES permits and certificates are issued by one or more Management Authorities in charge of administering the CITES system in each country. Management Authorities are advised by one or more Scientific Authorities on the effects of trade of the specimen on the status of CITES-listed species. CITES permits and certificates must be presented to relevant border authorities in each country in order to authorize the trade.
Each party must enact their own domestic legislation to bring the provisions of CITES into effect in their territories. Parties may choose to take stricter domestic measures than CITES provides.
File:HMRC seized wildlife items - 3.jpg|thumb|Illegally traded wildlife items seized by HM Revenue and Customs in the United Kingdom

Appendices

Over 40,900 species, subspecies and populations are protected under CITES. Each protected taxa or population is included in one of three lists called Appendices. The Appendix that lists a taxon or population reflects the level of the threat posed by international trade and the CITES controls that apply.
Taxa may be split-listed meaning that some populations of a species are on one Appendix, while some are on another. The African bush elephant is currently split-listed, with all populations except those of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe listed in Appendix I. Those of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe are listed in Appendix II. There are also species that have only some populations listed in an Appendix. One example is the pronghorn, a ruminant native to North America. Its Mexican population is listed in Appendix I, but its U.S. and Canadian populations are not listed.
Taxa are proposed for inclusion, amendment or deletion in Appendices I and II at meetings of the Conference of the Parties, which are held approximately once every three years. Amendments to listing in Appendix III may be made unilaterally by individual parties.

Appendix I

Appendix I taxa are those that are threatened with extinction and to which the highest level of CITES protection is afforded. Commercial trade in wild-sourced specimens of these taxa is not permitted and non-commercial trade is strictly controlled by requiring an import permit and export permit to be granted by the relevant Management Authorities in each country before the trade occurs.
Notable taxa listed in Appendix I include the red panda, western gorilla, the chimpanzee species, tigers, Asian elephant, snow leopard, red-shanked douc, some populations of African bush elephant, and the monkey puzzle tree.

Appendix II

Appendix II taxa are those that are not necessarily threatened with extinction, but trade must be controlled in order to avoid utilization incompatible with their survival. Appendix II taxa may also include species similar in appearance to species already listed in the Appendices. The vast majority of taxa listed under CITES are listed in Appendix II. Any trade in Appendix II taxa standardly requires a CITES export permit or re-export certificate to be granted by the Management Authority of the exporting country before the trade occurs.
Examples of taxa listed on Appendix II are the great white shark, the American black bear, Hartmann's mountain zebra, green iguana, queen conch, emperor scorpion, Mertens' water monitor, bigleaf mahogany, lignum vitae, the chambered nautilus, all stony corals, Jungle cat and American ginseng.

Appendix III

Appendix III species are those that are protected in at least one country, and that country has asked other CITES Parties for assistance in controlling the trade.
Any trade in Appendix III species standardly requires a CITES export permit or a certificate of origin to be granted before the trade occurs.
Examples of species listed on Appendix III and the countries that listed them are the Hoffmann's two-toed sloth by Costa Rica, sitatunga by Ghana and African civet by Botswana.