Cites As A Tool For Sustainable Development Despite Progress In Tackling International Trade In Tropical Tree Species More Needs To Be Done

Reviews the key legal and policy innovations along endangered flora and fauna value chains for CITES to promote more sustainable development.

A comprehensive examination of the way in which the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) is implemented and policed. CITES is one of the oldest international environmental agreements and has been responsible for some striking conservation successes. But, given the way it has evolved, there are also some critical weaknesses that unscrupulous countries and commercial interests can exploit, especially regarding information, institutions and enforcement. The convention needs reform and this book gives a trenchant critique, including practical and effective recommendations for change.

This scoping paper analyzes the governance of trade in timber-producing species regulated by CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) in light of the Convention’s increasing relevance as a tool to control transnational timber trade. The CITES regulatory framework is outlined as it relates to tree species, along with the compliance mechanisms developed to build range state capacity for implementing trade controls in relation to tropical timber species and to apply sanctions to countries that fail to take recommended action to resolve implementation problems. The study describes stricter domestic measures developed by consumer countries, most notably the EU, to control imports of CITES-listed species, including trees, as well as additional regulatory frameworks designed by importing countries to exclude illegal timber from their markets. It also examines the implications for CITES of regional economic integration given the Convention’s dependence on national border controls, with a focus on experience in the EU and trends in Asia. Key findings from three case studies of how CITES has approached governance of trade in valuable timber-producing species – ramin (Gonystylus spp.) from Asia, afrormosia (Pericopsis elata) from Central and West Africa and bigleaf mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) from Latin America – are presented and other potential case studies identified. The study concludes by identifying priority areas where further research could contribute towards catalyzing positive change to strengthen the governance of transnational timber trade, and ultimately towards the survival of tree species traded illegally and unsustainably.

This document contains the report of the regional training workshop on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), fisheries, and legal acquisition findings (LAFs) for 13 Latin American and Caribbean countries, jointly organized by the Development Law Service of the FAO Legal Office and the CITES Secretariat, in collaboration with the FAO Offices for Ecuador and Latin America and the Caribbean. [Author] The workshop was held in Spanish and in-person only from 8 to 11 May 2023. [Author] The workshop aimed to raise awareness and strengthen the understanding of CITES requirements and their implementation in the fisheries sector; introduce and train participants on the use of the FAO-CITES Legal Study and Guide; train participants on the use of the Rapid Guide for the Making of LAFs, available at Annex 3 of Resolution 18. [Author]7 (Rev. [Author] CoP19); and identify countries’ needs and interests for a better implementation of CITES in the fisheries sector. [Author] A total of 50 participants joined the workshop from 13 countries in the Latin American and Caribbean region (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Peru and Venezuela [Bolivarian Republic of]), regional organizations (the Central American and Dominican Republic Wildlife Enforcement Network and Permanent Commission for the South Pacific), non-governmental organizations (Defenders of Wildlife and World Fund for Nature), the private sector (fishing enterprises), as well as the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, in addition to the CITES Secretariat and FAO. [Author] The four-day programme included presentations on CITES key principles and requirements and their applicability in the fisheries sector; clarifications on commercially exploited aquatic species listed in CITES Appendix II, opportunities for collaboration between CITES and fisheries authorities, correlations between CITES and fisheries management; introduction on how to use the FAO-CITES Legal Study and Guide; the relevance to CITES of the Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing, Catch Documentation Scheme, and associated technical guidelines. [Author] Additionally, the workshop promoted the use of the Rapid Guide for the Making of LAFs. [Author] This is the third of a series of legal training workshops on CITES and fisheries organized by the CITES Secretariat and FAO. [Author] The first and second workshops were held at the subregional level, respectively, for Pacific Island countries (November 2021) and English-speaking Caribbean countries (May–June 2022). [Author]

Provides an assessment of the international forest regime, in reponse to calls from many quarters, including the UN Intergovernmental Forum on Forests (IFF) and the World Commission on Forests and Sustainable Development, as well as several NGOs. The focus is mainly on action taken by countries at the global level, in the framework of legally binding instruments and institutions. It builds on previous analyses of the international forest regime by looking beyond the legal mandates to begin exploring the actual performance of the components against their mandates. With the Intergovernmental Panel on Forests (IPF) Proposals for Action as the point for departure, the effectiveness and impact of individual legal instruments and global instutions are analyzed, as is the potential for synergy between them.

An increasing number of commercially exploited and managed aquatic species has been listed in the Appendices to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), triggering the attention from the fisheries sector of States on how listing would impact on the management of the relevant fisheries. CITES regulates international trade in certain aquatic species, including those which are, and can be, commercially exploited and which are being managed by the fisheries sector. The fisheries sector legal frameworks will have to recognize and enable the various requirements provided for in CITES, including the making of non-detriment findings and ensuring that there is a designated management authority and scientific authority to take certain decisions in respect of listed commercially exploited and managed aquatic species. This sourcebook provides clarifications on the relationship of CITES with the fisheries sector and provides guidance on how national fisheries legal frameworks can optimize the implementation of CITES. The realisation of this sourcebook in 2020, designated as a “super year” for nature and biodiversity, represents a timely and useful contribution to fisheries management, by (i) raising awareness of CITES; (ii) enhancing comprehension of the CITES regime and its relationship with the fisheries sector and (iii) where a deliberate decision is made by a country to implement CITES through its national fisheries legal frameworks, providing guidance as to what do it and how to do it.

This output from a symposium on community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) for the conservation of CITES-listed species aims to provide the necessary knowledge base for broad policy discussions within the European Union on the relevance of local conservation programmes for CITES to achieve the goals as set out in its current Strategic Vision 2008-2013 (Res. Conf. 14.2). Case studies from Africa, Central Asia and South America, address a range of issues including characteristics of successful CBNRM programmes; income generation and conservation implications of CITES species listings for CBNRM; impacts of trade restrictions; and the relevance to CBNRM of international biodiversity goals, policies and initiatives. The symposium conclusions should be helpful in identifying options to enhance CITES Strategic Vision post-2013.