News - Plants Committee

CITES Plants Committee

The Plants Committee provides advice to CITES Parties on biological and trade information relating to plant species. It advises when certain species are subject to unsustainable trade and recommends remedial action (known as the Significant Trade Process), undertakes periodic reviews of plant species listed on the appendices, drafts resolutions on plant matters for consideration at Conferences and performs other functions entrusted to it by the Conference of Standing Committee. The Committee consists of members from each CITES region elected at the Conferences and also observers.

2^nd Joint Meeting of the Plants & Animals Committee – West Virginia 1-9 December 2000

This meeting was convened to discuss the revision of the criteria for listing species on the CITES appendices, currently defined in Conference resolution 9.24. A report from the criteria working group formed the basis for the Committees and other observers to comment on the proposed amendments. The UK had submitted written comments but were also represented in the discussions by Noel McGough of the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew and Vin Fleming from the Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Whilst the debate was wide-ranging, no firm conclusions were reached at the meeting. The two Committee Chairs will produce a report based on their consideration of the various views presented.

10^th Plants Committee – West Virginia, 11-15 December 2000

A relatively small meeting of the Plants Committee (PC) with only 51 participants from some 22 countries and 10 NGO groups. The meeting concentrated on setting up mechanisms to carry out tasks resulting from the CITES Conference of the Parties in Nairobi in April 2000. The UK was represented by Noel McGough of the UK Scientific Authority for Plants.

The meeting was professionally chaired by Prof. Margarita Clemente of Spain, one of the two European Representatives- the other being Dr Jan de Koning of the Netherlands. The Plants Committee nominated Margarita to represent the PC at the meeting of the Mahogany Working Group to be held later this year. This Working Group, established at the last COP, will also include all range states and ‘principal importing countries’. The Committee also considered priorities for review under the Significant Trade process and recommended that projects be carried out to review trade in Cycads and all CITES plant trade from Madagascar. The USA tabled a list of taxa that they were reviewing to establish if they were suitable for CITES listing- for the most part medicinal plants. The USA sought comments and data from countries and observers to help them in their decision making. The Plants Committee also set up an inter-sessional working group to address the next stage of the review of the Appendices- assessing what orchid groups are suitable for deletion. The group is co-ordinated by the Plants Officer of the CITES Secretariat and will report on options to the next PC Meeting. The group includes Ned Nash of the American Orchid Society as a trade representative. The next meeting of the Plants Committee will take place in Malaysia in early September 2001.

A fuller account of these technical meeting, with photos and recordings, is available on the Earth Negotiations Bulletin web site, as follows: www.iisd.ca/vol21/enb2117e.html

European Newsletter CITES Plants Committee. Issue 7, July 2000.

Report of 9th Plants Committee Meeting, 7-11 June 1999, Darwin, Australia

Over 70 participants from 25 countries and 12 observer organisations attended the 9th meeting of the CITES Plants Committee, hosted in a friendly and efficient fashion by the Australian Parks and Wildlife Service. As usual the agenda was packed but the meeting was run to perfect time by the Chair, Prof. Margarita Clemente Muñoz of Córdoba Botanic Gardens, Spain. Europe was also represented on the Committee by Jan de Koning, Director of Lieden Botanic Gardens in the Netherlands. Noel McGough and Marianne Sandison represented the UK Scientific Authority for Plants. The report of the meeting is available on the CITES website.

Possible proposals, tabled by parties, for the next CITES Conference included, exemption of some rainsticks (species of Echinopsis and Eulychnia) by Chile, listing (roots only) of Panax ginseng on Appendix II by Russia, Appendix II listing of the medicinal plants Camptotheca acuminata and Cistanche deserticola by China. A number of de-listings and down-listings are also likely as a result of the Plants Committees Review of the Appendices. The next group to be considered in the review process will be orchids. Full COP Proposal Results.

The Netherlands tabled a comprehensive 440 page report prepared by the World Conservation Monitoring Centre - Contribution to an evaluation of tree species using the New CITES Listing Criteria. The Plants Committee agreed to use it as a reference document.

Reports were also given on a range of Significant Trade Projects (i.e. reviewing the trade in selected Appendix II species) including, Orchid Trade in Thailand, Trade in Chinese Orchids, A General Survey of Trade in CITES Medicinal Plants, Implementation of Trade controls for Nardostachys, Picrorhiza and Aquilaria malaccensis and A review of trade in Prunus africana. The Netherlands also presented information on the status of sustainable use of bulbs in Turkey and Georgia.

A slide pack, “CITES and Plants - A Users Guide” was launched at the meeting. This was prepared in English, French and Spanish. Produced with the co-operation of the CITES Scientific Authorities of Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK, the pack was funded by the Global Wildlife Division of the then DETR and CITES. The pack includes 40 colour slides, speaker/participant notes covering the aims, mechanisms and organisation of CITES, plant groups controlled and enforcement.


www.jncc.gov.uk Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Monkstone House, City Road Peterborough, PE1 1JY United Kingdom.	www.defra.gov.uk/animalhealth/ Wildlife Licensing and Registration Service Defra, 1/17 Temple Quay House, 2 The Square,Temple Quay, Bristol BS1 6EB United Kingdom.	www.rbgkew.org.uk Conventions and Policy Section, Herbarium, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Richmond, Surrey, TW9 3AE United Kingdom.