The Benefits Of The CITES Agreement
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora is an international agreement that aims to ensure that trade in species does not pose a threat to their survival. In this article, we’ll show you the benefits of the CITES agreement.
Why is the CITES agreement necessary?
Currently, it is estimated that, annually, the international wildlife trade moves billions of dollars and affects hundreds of millions of species. It is a trade that ranges from live animals to seeds and derived food products.
regulation
Since it is known that the trade in wild animals and plants exceeds the borders between countries, its regulation requires international cooperation.
This agreement was drafted as a result of a resolution passed at the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 1963, but did not enter into force until 1975. Countries and organizations that adhered to this agreement have been doing so voluntarily since then.
Benefits of the CITES agreement
Each of the states that make up the agreement are known as a ‘part’. These ‘parties’ meet regularly to make decisions about how to improve the functioning of CITES in later periods.
The last meeting held took place this year. It was the 18th meeting and was known as COP 18 of CITES, on which the latest achievements of the agreement are based.
Elephant trade has been banned
One of the benefits of the CITES agreement is that the extraction and trade of live wild elephants, including their sale to zoos, has been banned.
COP 18 prohibits the movement of elephants outside their range, but there may be exceptions. In that case, exceptions must be endorsed and guaranteed by the Animal Committee and the IUCN.
Until now, wild elephants could be exported alive to recipients defined as ‘appropriate and acceptable’. However, the lack of concreteness of this definition left open the option of animals ending up in inappropriate destinations and with little control.
Therefore, the global situation of elephant populations has become dramatic, especially considering the illegal trade in ivory and its pelts.
The African elephant is the world’s largest land animal and one of the umbrella species of wildlife. However, its density has been reduced to less than 500,000 copies.
New measures of the CITES agreement: protection of some marine species
At COP 18, a set of control and protection measures was formulated for 18 species of sharks and rays.
This decision obliges countries that trade and export these species to maintain adequate traceability of their catches and exports, ensuring that everything is done within the limits of legality and sustainability.
CITES’ new measures include:
- The mako shark, an exceptionally valuable and vulnerable oceanic species. It is at risk due to selective and accidental fishing derived from the demand for meat and fin. Therefore, the absence of limitations until now was leading to overfishing.
- Rays, which are considered the most endangered fish in the world. This is because its fins are among the most valuable in world trade.
