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News - Other news 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 Other news items are listed below: March
2008 JNCC is looking to commission a research project to identify methods of uniquely and permanently marking tortoises (that are too small to be safely fitted with a microchip transponder) and satisfy the marking requirements in EC Wildlife Trade Regulations No. 865/2006. It is envisaged that the project will consist of two phases: the first phase will consist of a comprehensive literature review and consultation exercise to gather information on potential marking techniques and critically assess them against a number of agreed criteria; the second phase would trial selected marking techniques on live tortoises which may reveal potential problems not previously identified. When investigating potential marking techniques the consultant will be expected to look more widely than existing forms of marking reptiles or other vertebrates, for example, at innovative technological solutions used in other sectors of society which could potentially be adapted for use on reptiles. JNCC invites expressions of interest from individuals and organisations who may wish to tender for the project, to get in contact with the nominated officer by 3 April 2008 Alison.littlewood@jncc.gov.uk and provide their contact details together with a short summary of relevant experience in this field. More details about the project and invitations to tender will be sent out to selected applicants shortly after that date.January 2008 The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) aims to ensure that no species of wild fauna or flora becomes or remains subject to unsustainable exploitation because of international trade. CITES is implemented in the European Community through Council Regulation (EC) No. 338/97. Article 12 of 338/97 requires Member States to designate customs offices for carrying out checks on the introduction into and export from the Community of CITES-listed species. It also requires the Government to notify these offices to the European Commission. A consultation exercise was held between 6 July and 12 October 2007 that sought views on the following options for complying with Article 12. A summary of responses to the consultation exercise has been published on the Defra website at; http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/cites-ports/index.htm
Please note, following the general election in the UK in June 2001, the Global Wildlife Division of the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) responsible for implementing CITES in the UK was transferred to the newly created Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) On-line Coral Identification Guide A new on-line coral identification guide funded by Defra is now available at www.arkive.org/coral. The guide, which has been developed by ARKive, provides a wealth of information about corals. It will help holidaymakers abroad to avoid buying endangered corals, as well as helping customs officers and scientists to identify particular coral species. ARKive is part of the Wildscreen Trust in Bristol which, amongst other things, organises WILDSCREEN - the world's largest wildlife film festival. UK Government gives £60,000 for Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS) In January 2003, the UK Government announced that it would contribute £60,000 towards the Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS). The announcement follows decisions made at the 12th Conference of CITES parties (CoP12), in November 2002 to allow "one off" sales of ivory stocks from three southern African countries (Namibia, Botswana and South Africa). For further details on what was agreed at the Conference, please click here. ETIS uses global data on elephant product seizures, corruption and domestic ivory markets to identify trade routes, trends and methods. This will help to build up an information base, which will inform future decisions on elephant conservation. It will play an important part in monitoring trade in ivory, and the Government hopes that other countries will follow our example and lend their support. For more information on ETIS, please visit the CITES Secretariat’s website. CITES and Plants: A User's Guide The UK Scientific Authority for plants, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, has issued an updated 2nd edition of "CITES and Plants: A User's Guide", which provides an introduction to CITES and plants and a slide presentation with notes and information for use as a training aid by both presenters and students. The new version comes in two parts - a downloadable pdf file containing introductory information on the pack and links to useful resources, and an updated PowerPoint version of the slide pack presentation, containing 40 slides and accompanying notes. Both the introductory information and the presentation are available in the three languages of the Convention.Appendix III
listing for ramin From 6 August Indonesia’s CITES Management Authority will only issue export permits for timber/timber products if they can be proved to originate from the timber company Pt. Diamond Raya Timber, and its associated processing company Pt. Uniseraya, which have been granted a certification of Sustainable Forest Management. However, exports of specimens stockpiled prior to 12 April 2001 may take place without CITES documents until 5 August, and their import by other countries will be accepted where it can be proved that the export from Indonesia took place before 6 August. More information can be found on the CITES website www.cites.org/eng/notifs/index.shtml Effective date in the EU To enable implementation of the Appendix III listing in the EU, action is now being taken to place ramin in Annex C of the EC Wildlife Trade Regulations (EC Reg. 338/97). However, this process takes some time so it is unlikely that the amendment will be published in the Official Journal (and thus take effect in Member States) until late September or early October. An update on the effective date in the EU will be issued when confirmed. (Jul-01) There has always been subsistence hunting for bushmeat but it now increasingly involves both local cross-border and inter-continental trade. For many species it is believed to be beyond sustainable levels. Primate populations - notably gorillas, chimpanzees and bonobos (pygmy chimpanzees) - all listed on Appendix I of CITES - are considered to be particularly at risk. However, many other CITES listed species such as forest elephants and leopards are also threatened by the bushmeat trade. Concern about the increasingly unsustainable nature of the trade and its effects on endangered species led to the UK raising the issue at the 11th Conference of CITES Parties in April 2000. This resulted in the establishment of a CITES Bushmeat Working Group to address the problem, focussing on the trade in the Central and West African countries where it is most severe. Defra has contributed £70,000 to the Working Group, and has also funded research to analyse existing knowledge on the bushmeat trade, highlight gaps in data and understanding, and recommend further action. This research reported in early 2002 and has been made available to the CITES Bushmeat Working Group, which we hope will find it of particular help in prioritising future actions.Defra has also contributed £135,000 to the Great Apes Survival Project (GrASP), launched in late 2001 by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). With a £375,000 contribution from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office this brings the total UK Government contribution for GrASP to over £1/2million. GrASP brings together the international wildlife conventions with conservation bodies, industry and individuals to bring worldwide attention to the ape crisis, raise funds for conservation, and develop a global conservation strategy for great ape populations. Unsustainable trade in bushmeat will be one of the issues to be addressed by GrASP. Defra is also acting to stop bushmeat being illegally imported into the UK. Border controls are enforced by HM Customs and Excise, who are very aware of the concerns raised by this trade, both in its effects on human or animal health and on endangered species. In response, Customs have mounted exercises at Heathrow Airport targeting passengers from countries known to supply meat from endangered species. Over 300 kgs of meat from both domestic and non-domestic species were seized by Customs in February 2002. There have also been two bushmeat prosecutions in the UK. Recognising that there exists links between the bushmeat trade and forestry operations, Defra encouraged the Tropical Forest Forum (consisting of UK Government Departments, members of the timber industry, conservation NGOs and others) to establish a UK Bushmeat Working Group. This meets regularly to ensure that information on actions and opportunities for addressing the bushmeat problem is pooled and disseminated as widely as possible. You may be tempted to buy exotic souvenirs such as reptile skin handbags and ivory carvings on holiday, but you should remember that trade in many animals, plants and products made from them, is controlled internationally to safeguard endangered species. The trade in tourist souvenirs can threaten the most endangered species and you may also be breaking the law. If you are thinking of bringing back exotic souvenirs from abroad, you should check with Defra which items you can bring back before you leave as you may need a CITES permit. CITES goods imported without valid permits may be seized by Customs on your return and you could face an unlimited fine and/or imprisonment. Over 800 species of animals and plants are currently banned from international trade and a further 30,000 strictly controlled by CITES and EU legislation including many corals, reptiles, orchids and cacti as well as tigers, rhinos, elephants and turtles. It is not easy to know which souvenirs or gifts to avoid buying and Defra's 'Souvenir Alert' campaign - in co-operation with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) - aims to raise awareness of the CITES controls amongst travellers. Please visit our travellers section for further information on this campaign and a brief guide to some of the products you are most likely to come across. Remember, trade controls exist to protect these animals and plants. Your shopping decisions can help them survive. CITES Technical and High Level Tiger Missions The 10th CITES Conference directed the CITES Standing Committee to undertake Technical and High Level Missions to tiger range and consumer countries to encourage increased enforcement efforts and focus attention on centres for illegal trade. The Missions were launched at London Zoo in January 1999 by Environment Minister Michael Meacher and Foreign and Commonwealth Minister the late Derek Fatchett. Technical Missions – led by the CITES Secretariat’s Head of Enforcement, accompanied by representatives of TRAFFIC – visited the UK, USA, Canada, the Netherlands and Japan (consumer countries), and range states Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, India, China and Russia. The Technical Missions’ report was discussed at by the CITES Standing Committee at its 42nd meeting, when it was decided that a subsequent High Level Mission should visit India, Japan and China. This High Level Mission - led by the then UK Chair of the CITES Standing Committee accompanied by the CITES Secretary General and Head of Enforcement - took place in early 2000. The High Level Missions’ recommendations were discussed at the 11th CITES Conference, held in Nairobi in April 2000, where they were endorsed with only slight modifications. Since then, a further Tiger Technical Mission has visited Thailand and its report was considered by the 12th Conference of Parties, in Chile in November 2002. UK Tiger Initiatives The Government actively supports tiger conservation in the UK through its’ support for enforcement initiatives aimed at stopping illegal trade in tigers and tiger products. A key recommendation of the CITES Tiger Missions was for the setting up of a Tiger Enforcement Task Force (TETF) co-ordinated by the CITES Secretariat and consisting of officials from law enforcement agencies and Customs authorities of CITES Parties. The UK contributed £40,000 to the CITES Secretariat to help get the TETF underway, and has offered practical help to the TETF and to tiger range states through the expertise of our Partnership for Action Against Wildlife Crime (PAW). The UK Government also supports tiger conservation overseas through the work of the Global Tiger Forum and 21st Century Tiger. The Global Tiger Forum is a Regional Agreement, based in India, between tiger range states in Asia. It aims to eliminate the illegal trade in tiger parts, increase the protected area network of tiger habitats, and promote training, awareness building and scientific research. The UK has supported the Global Tiger Forum since its formation in 1995, helping to fund, with a £50,000 grant, several projects which it has identified. The UK joined the Forum - the first non-range state to do - so in January 2000. We hope our membership will encourage other countries around the world to also join, providing further commitment to tiger conservation. 21st Century Tiger is a UK initiative involving a partnership between London Zoo and Global Tiger Patrol which aims to raise funding for tiger conservation and channel it to projects on the ground. The UK Government has been associated with 21st Century Tiger from the outset, helping to fund conservation projects in the Russian Far East, Sumatra and India. Since 1999 the UK Government has provided funding to 21st Century Tiger amounting to £130,000. CITES and the Channel Islands and Isle of Man Since the current regulations implementing CITES in the European Union came into force in 1997 the European Commission has been questioning our treatment of trade to and from the Channel Islands and Isle of Man. We had regarded the Channel Islands and Isle of Man as being covered by the regulations which meant that there was free movement of CITES specimens to and from Europe. A long awaited legal ruling from the Commission was announced at the 13th EC CITES meeting. It confirms their view that the regulations in question (European Wildlife Regulations - 338/97) are not applicable in the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man, none of whom are full members of the European Union. Despite this we still hope to reach an agreement with the Commission to facilitate free movement, provided the Channel Islands and Isle of Man can operate the full EU regime. However this is a very complex legal area and it could take some time to reach an understanding. Unfortunately as a consequence of this ruling all movements of CITES specimens between the Channel Island or the Isle of Man and the UK or any other member of the EU will, for the time being, be treated as third country import/exports. This means that:
The Jersey CITES Management Authority is: Department of Agriculture and Fisheries Tel: 44 (0)1534 866200 The Guernsey CITES Management Authority is: States Committee for Horticulture Tel: 44 (0)1481 36501 The Isle of Man CITES Management Authority is: Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Tel: 44 (0)1624 842335 Traditional Medicine - UK InitiativesResearch Defra has commissioned research to identify plant substances as alternatives for four animal species used in traditional medicine – tigers, Asiatic black bears, white rhinos and black rhinos – all of which are listed on Appendix I of CITES. The research will determine plant substitutes for these animals, and develop a strategy for encouraging their use. The project started in November 2000 and is expected to last three years. Defra has contributed £67,500 towards the total project costs, with matching funding from IFAW (the International Fund for Animal Welfare). Operation Charm In 1995 London’s Metropolitan Police joined forces with police forces in Birmingham and Manchester and with HM Customs and Excise and this Department in Operation Charm, a series of raids on shops selling oriental medicines which contained, or claimed to contain, illegal parts of endangered species such as the tiger. Many products were seized and shop owners prosecuted and this was backed up with follow-up raids. In London, the Metropolitan Police developed Operation Charm into an ongoing campaign of information, education and enforcement. These efforts are being rewarded - a survey of traditional medicine shops in Japan, the USA, the Netherlands and the UK showed that the UK was the only one of the four where researchers were unable to buy tiger parts or products containing them. CITES poster In early 1999 the UK Government financed and designed a new poster for use by CITES Parties world-wide. The poster reinforces the message that while the tiger is particularly threatened, traditional medicine offers many alternative remedies that do not use endangered species. It has been produced in each of the official languages of CITES (English, Spanish and French) with all three also translated into Chinese, for distribution by the CITES Tiger Missions and through the CITES network. It is hoped that the posters will be used by as many countries as possible and displayed at traditional medicine practices and shops throughout the world. TV advert The UK has produced a television advertisement, for use on Chinese language cable and satellite channels, with the co-operation of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners. It is aimed at the ethnic Chinese community in the UK and Europe, encouraging traditional medicine users and practitioners to avoid using endangered species (particularly tigers) in traditional medicines, and it emphasises that there are herbal alternatives that are equally effective.
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