CONSERVATION: Win Some Lose Some for Threatened Species

By Ranjit Devraj Reprint | | Print |

Ranjit Devraj

BANGKOK, Oct 14 2004 (IPS) - The great white shark, Irrawaddy dolphin, minke whale and the ramin tree were among the big winners at the endangered species sweepstakes of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) as its 13th Conference of the Parties drew to a close in the Thai capital on Thursday.

”The Bangkok conference has crafted solutions to meet the particular needs of many wildlife species that are either endangered or that could become so if traded unsustainably,” said Willem Wijnstekers, secretary general of CITES addressing reporters at the end of 12 days of deliberations and decision-making in a conference attended by over 1,500 delegates from 166 member countries.

Wijnstekers counted among achievements at Bangkok the extension of CITES to commercially important species reversing an earlier trend to keep the convention off trade issues. ”We have the trade mechanism, commercially important or not.”

Thus CITES now has a handle on the ramin (a Southeast Asian tree that produces high-value timber) and agarwood (whch produces agar oil) by placing the trees under Appendix II requiring export permits and enabling range states to manage tree stocks.

Similarly, the great white shark and the humphead wrasse – two fish species of great commercial value – were also added to CITES and can now only be traded with permits.

Another marine species, the Irrawady dolphin, was transferred from Appendix II to Appendix I, which forbids all commercial trade while the minke whale continued to stay on Appendix I in spite of determined lobbying by Japan to down list it.

Considered the world’s most important wildlife agreement, CITES is the only global treaty that regulates trade in threatened and endangered animals and plants.

CITES subjects international trade of 30,000 species of animals and plants, including 49 tree species, to varying degrees of control through listing in its three Appendices according to the degree of threat and protection required.

Appendix I applies the most stringent controls on species threatened with extinction, Appendix II regulates trade in species that could potentially lead to extinction and Appendix III includes species listed by an ”individual” country in an effort to enlist international cooperation to control trade from their country.

Wijnstekers said the addition to CITES’ growing list of protected marine species suggested that governments were confident that the convention could help deliver on the goal agreed at the 2002 Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development for restoring fish stocks to sustainable levels by 2015.

Greenpeace International congratulated the delegates on the major steps taken to regulate the trade of commercially valuable species. According to Greenpeace the hard work is just beginning.

”The delegates go home today with a very long homework list. They must immediately begin implementing and enforcing the decisions taken here during these last two weeks,” said Nathalie Rey, a Greenpeace campaigner. ”The task is great but the goodwill shown by parties here this week should be translated into real and tangible work back home.”

But CITES also came under flak for being relatively lax on such land animals as the elephant and rhino whose products continue to be hot items for traders.

”Unfortunately, the 13th conference did not prove to be a lucky one for certain populations of both the black and white rhino which will face increased trade. This was a poor decision which may well lead to increased poaching of threatened populations,” said Peter Pueschel, programme manager of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).

Namibia and South Africa have been allowed to open up trophy hunting of the black rhino with an annual quota of five animals each while Sawaziland may also open up controlled hunting of its population of white rhino and export live animals.

The idea was to allow range states to ”manage their rhino herds more effectively and to earn income for rhino conservation,” although activists said this could send out the wrong signals to traders and buyers of rhino horns, highly prized as an aphrodisiac.

Pueschel was particularly critical of the European Union, which has emerged as the most influential group in the convention, for ”a distinct lack of leadership on key issues such as the ivory trade debate.”

”Kenya and many West and Central African countries were told on several occasions that the EU would support them in their moves to stop the ivory trade and were then sold down the river in the final vote,” Pueschel told IPS.

The withdrawal of 25 EU votes gave Namibia the numbers they needed to gain approval for trade in worked ivory for ”non commercial” purposes at the final plenary session on Thursday – a move many countries and conservationists consider a loophole for illegal trade.

”Allowing the Namibian proposal will be a setback for the Asian elephant,” said Masayuki Sakamoto, chairman of the Asian Conservation Alliance (ASA) task force that has been fighting a rear guard action against illegal ivory trade in Japan, Korea and Taiwan.

Apart from the sale of worked ivory, CITES may allow Namibia, Botswana and South Africa to continue sale of existing ivory stocks, first authorised in 2002, until 2006 depending on data on population and poaching.

Sakamoto, however, said he felt encouraged by steps taken at the 13th CITES to strengthen law enforcement through regional collaboration particularly in Asia considered the hub of much wildlife crime. ”This strong message will set the Bangkok meeting apart from the earlier conferences.”

Despite the concessions such as those made to Namibia, the ”sustainable-use lobby” led by Eugene Lapointe of the Switzerland-based IWMC World Conservation Trust recorded its protest at the addition of more species under protected categories.

”The decision to list the great white shark on CITES Appendix II was made in spite of very little data showing that this species is threatened except in one part of the world,” Lapointe said while alleging that CITES decisions were not based on scientific criteria.

”If CITES is perceived to be making arbitrary decisions, the people whose livelihoods are most affected will take matters into their own hands,” Lapointe warned.

Wijnstekers’ own view was that there was something at the 13th CITES for everyone.