CITES

Background and evolution

By the 1960s, international trade in furs, skins, ivory, live animals, orchids and timber was driving many species towards extinction. Because products often passed through several countries before reaching buyers, national laws alone could not control the trade. In 1963 a resolution of the IUCN called for an international convention. The text was agreed at a meeting in Washington in 1973 and came into force two years later.

CITES does not regulate domestic trade, habitat loss or hunting within a country; its focus is trade across borders. It works by requiring permits for listed species, issued by national Management Authorities on the advice of Scientific Authorities. The anniversary of its signing, 3 March, was declared World Wildlife Day by the UN General Assembly in 2013. CITES is legally binding on its parties, but it does not replace national laws; each country must pass its own legislation to implement it.

Key features and provisions

• Appendix I: species threatened with extinction; commercial trade in wild specimens is banned, and non-commercial trade needs both export and import permits. Examples: tigers, Asian elephants, most rhinos.
• Appendix II: species not necessarily threatened now but which could become so unless trade is controlled; export permits are required. Examples: many corals, red sanders and several shark species.
• Appendix III: species protected in at least one country that has asked others for help in controlling trade.
• Non-detriment findings: scientific checks that an export will not harm the survival of the species in the wild.
• Conference of the Parties: meets about every three years to add, move or remove species from the appendices.
• Compliance: the Standing Committee can recommend suspending trade with parties that fail to implement the convention.
• Reservations: a party may enter a reservation on a particular listing and be treated as a non-party for that species.