Posted on 26 October
2009 - Gland, Switzerland - Proposals for
tighter trade controls for species such
as the Atlantic Blue Fin tuna, sharks and
corals have been submitted for the next
meeting of parties to the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species
of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES).
The meeting, which will
have changes to trade rules for an unusual
proportion of marine species on its agenda,
will be held in Quatar in March. Controversy
is also expected over conflicting proposals
concerning elephants.
WWF especially welcomes
the proposal by the Principality of Monaco
to list Atlantic bluefin tuna on Appendix
I to the convention, which would ban international
trade for commercial purposes and was submitted
as Atlantic bluefin tuna stocks are declining
dramatically because of uncontrolled overfishing.
“An Appendix I listing
for Atlantic Bluefin Tuna has become imperative
if we are to save the species,” said Amanda
Nickson, Director of the WWF International
Species Programme.
“If we act now we can
secure the future of this species and guarantee
that fishing can be resumed in the future,
but at a sustainable level.”
WWF was also encouraged
to see that proposals to list several shark
species on Appendix II, which allows for
international trade but imposes strict regulations
and requires proof that trade is sustainable
and legal, were submitted. Threats such
as bycatch and shark finning and illegal
fishing and overfishing have caused serious
declines in shark populations.
Also proposed for an
Appendix II listing were red and pink coral,
which are used to make jewellery. Red and
pink corals are found throughout the world’s
tropical and temperate seas but the absence
of effective international trade controls
has led to overharvesting.
Elephant debate expected
to be controversial
Elephants, one of WWF’s
priority species, will be a topic of debate
at the CITES meeting as potentially conflicting
proposals were submitted for elephants.
Kenya submitted a proposal – together with
a group of west African countries - that
would impose a 19 year ban on other countries
seeking permission for one-off ivory sales,
such as the one that took place under CITES
supervision in 2008, and that would suspend
the legal sale of ivory souvenirs in Namibia
and Zimbabwe.
One the other hand,
Zambia and Tanzania submitted proposals
that would have elephant populations within
their borders moved from Appendix I to Appendix
II in order to ease the permitting rules
for trophy hunting and allow for the sale
of government-owned ivory stockpiles.
“WWF recognizes that
some southern African Elephant range States
have successfully demonstrated that their
populations should be placed on Appendix
II," said Nickson.
"However, Tanzania
and Zambia have yet to prove their case
by demonstrating that their management of
ivory stockpiles is adequate enough to prevent
laundering of poached ivory.
“And while we acknowledge
the concerns that have motivated Kenya’s
proposal, we must focus not forget to address
what WWF sees as the main issue driving
elephant poaching – that is, unregulated
domestic markets in central and West Africa.”
Two other of WWF’s priority
species that were not the subject of listing
proposals but that will be discussed at
the meeting are tigers and rhinos, which
are both critically endangered and are being
poached in order to feed the illegal market
for their parts and derivatives. Tiger numbers
could now be as low as 3,200 and rhino poaching
has reached a 15 year high according to
new research released this summer.
WWF will now engage
with its partners TRAFFIC and IUCN, which
will do a full analyses of the proposals
in order to assess whether or not they meet
the criteria required for a species to be
listed in the CITES appendices. WWF will
formulate its position on each proposal
based on this analysis.
“WWF looks forward to
the CITES meeting,” said Ms Nickson. “There
has never been a meeting where marine animals
featured so prominently. Now is an opportunity
to show that CITES has the capacity to address
the pressing issues concerning the trade
in these species.”
