CITES CoP19 left hope that the world can come together to protect wildlife

CITES CoP19 left hope that the world can come together to protect wildlife

November 25, 2022 08:26

“At this meeting, new regulations for international trade under CITES were proposed for more than 600 animal and plant species, which concludes with good news for many of them.”

Susan Lieberman, WCS Vice President of International Policy


The following statement was issued today by Dr. Susan Lieberman, WCS Vice President for International Policy, at the conclusion of the Nineteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES CoP19 ) that took place in Panama between November 14 and 25.


This is the 13th consecutive CITES CoP that Lieberman has participated in and as CoP19 concludes, he is more optimistic than ever that the 184 Parties that are members of this treaty are finding common ground to help ensure that international trade of wild animals is not a threat to wild species.

 

Lieberman declared:


"The positive results of CITES CoP19 are good news for wildlife, since this treaty is one of the pillars of international conservation, essential to guarantee the union of countries to face the global crises of the collapse of the biodiversity, climate change and pandemics, crises that are interrelated.

Many of the proposals adopted here show that there is continued overexploitation, unsustainable trade, as well as increasing illegal trade. Some are due to complex interactions of other threats that reduce populations of wildlife species, such as climate change, disease, infrastructure development, and habitat loss.

 

 

Many of the proposals adopted at CITES CoP19 were bold and radical. These landmark decisions include ensuring that international trade in all requiem sharks is now covered by CITES, so that around 95% of the world trade in shark fins will, from now on, be regulated to ensure trade is legal and sustainable. The decisions made will ensure that all requiem sharks, hammerheads and guitarfish are listed on CITES Appendix II, which allows trade only if it is legal and sustainable.


Dozens of species of freshwater turtles, including the matamata species from South America, the alligator turtle from the United States, the common snapping turtle, and more than 160 species of glass frogs, are now covered by CITES Appendix II. These turtles and frogs are threatened by illegal and unsustainable overharvesting and inclusion in the international pet and collector trade. CITES Parts also addressed the global trade in songbird species, providing greater protection for the White-rumped Shama and Yellow-headed Bulbul, species popular in song contests in Asia. In addition to this, the Parts reaffirmed their commitment to continue the global ban on international trade in elephant ivory.


CITES is not just about listing species in its Appendices, there were also extensive discussions and good results related to the implementation of the Convention and the fight against the scourge of wildlife trafficking. Topics discussed included the importance of paying greater attention to the risk of potential spread of pathogens from the wildlife trade; as well as increased attention to compliance, enforcement, and illegal trade in live animals and products from elephants, rhinos, pangolins, jaguars, cheetahs, tigers, and other Asian big cats.  


WCS will continue to work closely with governments and all of our partners, to help ensure that the decisions made here are implemented effectively and ensure that any trade is legal and sustainable.


The first paragraph of the CITES preamble states: Recognizing that wild fauna and flora in their many beautiful and varied forms are an irreplaceable part of the earth's natural systems that must be protected for this and future generations. We believe that the decisions made here in Panama truly embrace this spirit.


In two weeks the world will meet again in Montreal, for the CoP15 of the Convention on Biological Diversity and we must take this momentum from Panama to Montreal to guarantee even more successes and protection measures for biodiversity”.

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