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Conference of Parties | Standing Committee | Plants Committee | Animals Committee | EC CITES Committee | EC CITES Scientific Review Group | CITES notifications | SUN meetings | Link meetings | Other news | Research projects | Parliamentary Questions | Biennial Report COP14 The 14th Conference of CITES Parties (CoP14) was hosted by the Netherlands in the Hague from 3 to 15 June 2007. Outcomes of the 14th Conference of the Parties Outcomes of COP 13 - 2-14 October, Summary outcomes from CITES COP 13
include:
The agreement reached at CoP12
approving one-off sales of ivory stock-piles from Botswana, Namibia and South Africa still
stands and the sale will go ahead once the CITES
Standing Committee has confirmed that the strict conditions attached to the agreement have
been met . It has been delayed pending further baseline
information from MIKE (Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants). Kenya withdrew its proposal to ban all
commercial trade in African lions in the face of stiff opposition from southern African
countries. Instead a series of regional
workshops are planned to discuss the African lion management. The 3.
Great White Shark The Australian and Madagascan
proposal to list the great white shark on Appendix II was adopted. The EU, US and Fijian proposal to
put the humphead wrasse (an extremely valuable fish, in demand in East Asian restaurants)
on Appendix II was adopted by consensus. The potentially controversial
proposal from 6.
Great Apes An EU proposal on the conservation
of, and trade in great apes which included calls to work closely with GRASP (Great Ape
Survival Project) was adopted, as was an EU proposal inviting FAO to convene an
international workshop to examine the bushmeat issue. The UK also pledged £20,000 to set
up a pilot project to help combat the smuggling of great apes in central Africa, which will be jointly managed by GRASP and CITES.
Japan’s proposal to loosen
restrictions on trade in 3 populations of minke whales was defeated. It was felt that such a proposal would undermine
the International Whaling Commission’s moratorium on commercial whaling. 9. Hoodia spp The CITES listing notes that all parts
and derivatives of Hoodia are controlled except those bearing a label stating
‘produced from Hoodia spp. material obtained through controlled harvesting and
production in collaboration with the CITES Management Authorities of Botswana/Namibia/ COP12 Psittacine up-listings effective from 30 August 2003 At the 12th Conference of the Parties a new standard classification was adopted for several sub species of South American Amazons and those listed below were up-listed from Appendix II to Appendix I. Amazona ochrocephala auropalliata Amazona ochrocephala belizensis Amazona ochrocephala caribaea Amazona ochrocephala oratrix Amazona ochrocephala parvipes Amazona ochrocephala tresmariae The remaining four sub species (namely ochrocephala, nattereri, panamensis and xantholaema) remain on Appendix II. Also up-listed to Appendix I was the Blue-Headed Macaw (Ara couloni). The new Official Journal will be published on 30 August 2003 and from that date the seven up-listed species / sub species will be listed on Annex A. From that date Article 10 certificates will be required to use specimens of these species / sub species for commercial use. If you are unfamiliar with the procedure please see our General Guidance Note for Commercial Use at : http://www.ukcites.gov.uk/license/GN%202%20Commercial%20Use%20Jan02.doc or if you have any questions please contact us on 0117 372 8749 or Email wildlife.licensing@defra.gsi.gov.uk The 12th Conference of Parties to CITES was held in Santiago, Chile from 3-15 November 2002. Full details of the Conference, including proposals to amend the appendices and summaries of the outcomes, are available on the CITES Secretariat web site The Conference was hailed by many commentators as a great success – both for the Convention itself and for the species it aims to protect. Decisions based on sound science were taken on many difficult issues, and the outcome did much to support the UK Government’s sustainable development agenda. 130 Parties attended plus observer States, NGOs and trade
organisations. For the first week of the Conference the UK delegation was led by Martin
Brasher, Head of the Global Wildlife Division of the Department for Environment, Food and
Rural Affairs (Defra), and for the second week by Elliott Morley MP, UK Minister for
Wildlife. The delegation included representatives from many areas of Defra as well as from
the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), HM Customs and Excise, the UK CITES Scientific
Authorities (the Joint Nature Conservation Committee and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew)
and personnel from the Cayman Turtle Farm. For the first time, wildlife conservation and
sustainable use NGOs were also represented on the UK delegation. 1. Proposal to list basking shark on Appendix II Other Countries Species Proposals 3. Whale shark 4. Black Sea bottlenose dolphin 5. Minke whales and Bryde’s whales 6. Mahogany 7. Seahorses Other Key Issues 10. Asian big cats 11. UK application to register the Cayman Turtle Farm 12. Time Sensitive Biological Samples 13. Bushmeat Other matters 1. Basking shark. The UK’s second attempt to list basking shark on Appendix II (the first was narrowly defeated at COP11) this time was a resounding success. The proposal initially narrowly failed to secure during the Committee stage the necessary two-thirds majority. However, the UK re-submitted the proposal at the final Plenary session and managed to obtain the small number of votes needed to secure adoption. The final vote was 82 in favour, 36 against and 3 abstentions. The UK was keen to achieve listing on Appendix II in order to help arrest the species’ decline from over-fishing and address the lack of effective management measures. 2. African elephants. CoP12 considered proposals from Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe to establish trading quotas for their Appendix II elephant populations; as well as from Zambia who wanted to transfer its elephant population from Appendix II to Appendix I. At the same time, Kenya and India proposed that all elephant populations should be returned to Appendix I. The UK was unable to support the Kenyan and Indian uplisting proposal as not all elephant populations meet the strict biological criteria for inclusion in Appendix I. We, together with other EU Member States, were also unwilling to agree to a resumption in commercial ivory trade by Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe unless we could first be satisfied that there would be no resulting increase in the illegal killing of elephants, and no unfavourable impact on the conservation of elephant populations. After extensive discussion between elephant range states, Kenya and India agreed to withdraw their uplisting proposal. It was also agreed that the present ban on the commercial trade in ivory will remain for at least another 18 months until May 2004. After this date, the Conference agreed that a one-off sale of ivory stocks from Botswana, Namibia and South Africa can take place if the CITES Secretariat and the CITES Standing Committee are satisfied that strict conditions agreed at COP12 relating to trade controls, monitoring, and the use of the funds raised for elephant conservation have been met. The Conference rejected the proposals submitted by Zimbabwe and Zambia due largely to concerns about the inadequacy of enforcement measures. Parliamentary Questions 200, 227 and 354 set out the UK’s position on the outcome of the African elephant proposals. 3. Whale shark. A joint proposal from the Philippines and India to include Whale shark on Appendix II initially failed during the Committee stage. However, discussion was reopened by the Philippines in Plenary when, as with the UK’s basking shark proposal, they managed to obtain the necessary majority to be adopted. The final vote was 81 in favour and 37 against with 3 abstentions. 4. Black Sea bottlenose dolphin. Georgia’s proposal to transfer Tursiops truncatus ponticus from Appendix II to I was rejected. However, an amended proposal to maintain the species on Appendix II but with a zero export quota for live specimens from the Black Sea was adopted in the final Plenary session. 5. Minke whales and Brydes’ whales. Japan’s proposals to transfer northern hemisphere stocks of Minke and north Pacific stocks of Bryde’s whales from Appendix I to II were both rejected. 6. Mahogany. A joint proposal from Nicaragua and Guatemala to include Bigleaf mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) in Appendix II was adopted, but implementation of the listing will be deferred for one year to allow range states sufficient time to adjust to the more stringent regulatory requirements. 7. Seahorses. A proposal from the US to include seahorses in Appendix II was adopted with 75 in favour, 24 against and 19 abstentions. China tried to reopen the debate in Plenary but failed to gain sufficient support. The proposal was adopted subject to an amendment that Appendix II listing would take effect 18 months after CoP12, to allow range states time to adjust to the stricter regulatory requirements. 8. Monkey Puzzle Tree. Argentina’s proposal to include the Monkey Puzzle tree in Appendix I was adopted. 9. Patagonian toothfish. Australia withdrew this proposal to list the species on Appendix II. Australia’s associated resolutions were also withdrawn. However, a resolution urging greater co-operation between CITES and CCAMLR (Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources) was agreed . 10. Asian big cats species. The Conference adopted an amended resolution from India to address conservation of and trade in tigers as well as all other Appendix I Asian big cat species (such as leopard, snow leopard, clouded leopard and Asiatic lion). The resolution urges range and consumer States to adopt legislation and enforcement methods and controls, and participate in international conservation programmes. It recommends:
The CITES Standing Committee is also asked to review and report at COP13 on progress in range and consumer States; and Parties are directed to communicate details of illicit shipment seizures and encourage participation of local communities in Asian big cat conservation. 11. UK application to register the Cayman Turtle Farm. Defra, as UK CITES Management Authority, submitted an application to the CITES Secretariat on behalf of the Cayman Islands (a UK Overseas Territory) to register the Cayman Turtle Farm as a captive breeding operation for Chelonia mydas (Green Sea turtle, Green turtle) under Res. Conf. 11.14 of CITES. Please click here to view the proposal. A summary of an independent inspection of standards of husbandry and care at the Cayman Turtle Farm is also available. As two Parties (Israel and the US) objected to the application, the proposal was put to COP12 for debate and decision. Despite support from the Secretariat and many CITES Parties, concerns from some Parties about the origin of founder stock and possible mixing with and contamination of wild stocks meant that the proposal failed to gain the two-thirds majority needed for approval. The votes were 38 in favour, 24 against and 48 abstentions. The Cayman Islands Government and Cayman Turtle Farm will now seek to address the concerns which emerged in debate at COP12. 12. Time Sensitive Biological Samples. The Conference rejected a proposal by Switzerland to exempt synthetically derived material from the requirements of CITES, but adopted a resolution outlining simplified procedures for issuing permits and certificates for time sensitive biological samples which will reduce the administrative burden on those importing or exporting DNA or other diagnostic samples. 13. Bushmeat. The creation of a CITES Bushmeat Working Group was recommended by the UK and approved at COP11. The Working Group includes Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Republic of Congo (Brazzaville), which form the case-study region for underpinning the scope of work and possible solutions for the bushmeat crisis. It also includes a wider range of dissemination group countries, including: Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Republic of Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, Togo, and Zambia. The primary objectives of the CITES BWG are to:
The original mandate of the CITES Bushmeat Working Group expired at COP12. The Conference in Chile therefore agreed to maintain the Bushmeat Working Group at least until COP13 - with its existing mandate and membership - and instructed it to carry on its work until then. 14. Apes in war zones. A draft decision from Kenya on enabling the rescue of dependent apes from war zones was amended to extend it to cover all "CITES-listed species in special circumstances, such as war or civil unrest" and this was adopted. 15. CITES Standing Committee. The UK was elected alternate member (for Germany) on the CITES Standing Committee. The Committee’s next meeting will be in Geneva in April 2003. 16. Click here for a full listing of the outcome of the species proposals at the Conference. You can access the papers referred to on the CITES Secretariat web site www.cites.org.
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