Posted on 18-11-2002

CITES Votes Bandage For Endangered Species

SANTIAGO, Chile, November 15, 2002 (ENS) - Environmentalists have declared
major victories at the United Nations conference on trade in endangered
species. Landmark decisions today to protect mahogany and the entire genus
of the seahorse, along with a last minute decision in favor of regulating
the trade of basking and whale sharks, capped the two week conference,
which also saw a resounding defeat of Japanese efforts to increase whaling.

Although the approval of one time ivory sales and a failed effort to
protect the Patagonian toothfish disappointed some conservationists, most
believe the 12th Conference of the Parties of the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) was a positive step
forward in the protection of endangered species. "These decisions will have
significant benefit, not only for wildlife but for communities whose
livelihoods depend on sustainable trade," said Susan Lieberman, head of
WWF's delegation. "For the first time, CITES has assumed an important new
role by regulating international trade in species traditionally regarded as
commodities rather than wildlife."

The decision to list big-leaf mahogany, also known as American mahogany, on
Appendix II of CITES is clear evidence of this new role, Lieberman said.
Trade in species listed on Appendix II is regulated through the use of
export permits. The mahogany listing includes logs, sawn wood and veneer
sheets. "It is highly significant that after 10 years of discussion, the
Parties to CITES have agreed to regulate the trade in Latin American
mahogany," said CITES Secretary-General William Wijnstekers. "The well
tested control measures developed under CITES will prove invaluable for
discouraging illegal trade. Big-leaf mahogany trees take some 60 years to
mature and can reach a height of 500 feet. Worldwide demand for mahogany
furniture has caused wholesale stripping of Amazon forests, resulting in an
estimated 70 percent depletion of the world's supply. "Individual trees are
so valuable that roads are often cut through virgin forest to fell and
extract a single specimen," said Caroll Muffett, director of international
programs for the Defenders of Wildlife. "By bringing mahogany exploitation
under control, CITES rules will help slow the pace of deforestation, and
help prevent violent intrusions onto indigenous and protected lands where
much of the remaining mahogany occurs."

The United States is the world's largest importer of mahogany, but the U.S.
delegation supported the decision. "We cannot take the risk that 50 years
from now the only place anyone will see mahogany is in an old desk or
chair," said Assistant Secretary of Interior Craig Manson, one of two
leaders of the U.S. delegation to the Santiago conference. "[This] will
ensure that mahogany will be harvested in a sustainable manner and help
range states, especially Central America countries, better manage their
forests."

Exporting countries have one year to come into compliance with CITES rules
for legal and sustainable harvesting. The listing only applies to Central
and South America, where big-leafed mahogany is native. The trees grow from
the south of Mexico throughout Central and South America to Bolivia and
Brazil, including large portions of the Amazon Basin. The Appendix II
listing does not apply to Indonesia, Malaysia and other countries that grow
introduced mahogany trees.

Marine species were the source of considerable debate during the Santiago
conference, and in today's final plenary session, attendees reversed
earlier decisions and voted to list whale and basking sharks on Appendix
II. These are the first sharks to be listed by CITES. Opponents to the
listing, led by Japan, claimed there was not enough scientific evidence to
justify the proposal. In committee, the measure fell two votes short of the
two-thirds majority required for listing on Appendix II. In the plenary
session, however, the whale shark listing was approved 81 for and 37
against, and the basking shark listing approved with 82 for and 36 against.
"There is no doubt that the species meet the criteria for inclusion in
Appendix II," said Steven Broad, executive director of TRAFFIC, a wildlife
trade monitoring network. "There is clear historical evidence that
populations have declined as a result of fishing to supply international
trade." Whale and basking sharks are the world's two largest fish species,
and both are hunted for their meat and fins. The fins of whale sharks fetch
high prices in Asia, with a single fin reported to have sold for $15,000 in
1999. Both species are also highly migratory and often caught and killed
accidentally as by-catch.

Conservationists hailed the defeat of Japanese proposals to resume trade of
minke and Bryde's whales while also praising the decision to list all 32
species of seahorses on Appendix II. "This listing is a call to action,"
said Amanda Vincent, professor with the University of British Columbia's
Fisheries Centre and director of Project Seahorse. "The challenge now is
for countries to regulate the vast international trade so well that
seahorse populations begin to recover. Such an ambitious endeavor will
require all possible collaborations. The CITES decision certainly marks a
good beginning for the future of the world's seahorses." According to the
WWF, an estimated 24 million seahorses will be harvested this year, sold
for aquariums or for use in Asian medicines. Seahorses, which live in
tropical and sub-tropical waters, are also often caught as by-catch and
killed by pollution and coastal development. Trade is estimated to be
growing by eight to 10 percent per year.

An Australian led effort to provide the same protection for the Patagonian
toothfish was met with stout resistance by the Chilean delegation.
Patagonian toothfish is often served in restaurants as Chilean sea bass,
and populations of the fish have sharply decreased due to increased
consumption. Pressures from legal and pirate fishing have some scientists
concerned the fish could be commercially extinct in several years. U.S.
officials have taken credit for brokering a voluntary resolution that they
have said will improve international monitoring of harvest and trade of the
toothfish. The resolution was unanimously accepted by the Parties at the
conference, but it was met with sharp criticism by some conservationists.
"If the U.S. State Department is equating the new protections for seahorses
with the toothless toothfish resolution, then they're telling one whopper
of a fish tale," said Andrea Kavanagh, manager of the Take a Pass on
Chilean Sea Bass campaign. "The end result of this backroom deal is a
toothfish resolution with no teeth, and no new protections for the species
and the fishermen who depend on them. Illegal fishermen have just gotten
the message that they can continue business as usual."

But not all conservationists see the brokered deal as a complete loss.
"This is a small, but significant step toward reducing the rampant pirate
fishing that is wiping out whole populations of this species across the
Southern Hemisphere," said Ginette Hemley, vice president of species
conservation at WWF. "Unfortunately, there were not enough countries
willing to support stronger measures to protect toothfish, but we see this
as a start."

The decision to allow three African countries to engage in a one-time sale
of ivory stockpiles also drew mixed reviews from conservationists. CITES
will allow Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa to make one-time sales of
ivory of 10, 20 and 30 tons, respectively. The stocks have been collected
from elephants that died of natural causes or as a result of government
regulated control of problem animals. The decision to allow the one-time
ivory sales has been "misrepresented in the media coverage thus far," said
Tom Milliken, director TRAFFIC's East/Southern Africa program. The sales
are strictly conditional and cannot proceed until monitoring baselines have
been established, he explained. "If this is successful, we may achieve a
significant advance in how elephant populations are managed, and in
particular, how ivory is traded in a way that limits impacts on wild
populations," Milliken said. Additional proposals to allow others to engage
in one-time sales and to set annual quotas of ivory trade were withdrawn,
but there is concern that even one-time legal trades could provide cover
for illegal poaching and smuggling of ivory. "The impacts of this decision
won't be limited to South Africa or Namibia," said Muffett of the Defenders
of Wildlife. "Neither elephants nor poachers respect international borders.
This decision will send a signal to poachers everywhere that elephants are
fair game again, putting elephants at risk wherever they occur."

Muffett faulted the Bush administration for not actively taking the lead on
the ivory trade issue. "The United States' silence on so many issues is
particularly regrettable when you consider how effective our government can
be when it speaks out," said Muffett, pointing to the positive effects of
U.S. leadership on marine issues at CITES, including its help in derailing
Japan's efforts to reopen international trade in whales. But he faulted the
Bush administration for avoiding leadership on other issues. "This
administration will be remembered more for sacrificing the elephant than
for helping save the sharks," Muffett said. U.S. officials rejected
criticism of their role at the Santiago meeting, and Manson said "emotions
run high any time you bring up the issue of elephants." "In the end, we
supported a solution that will allow Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa to
raise funds for elephant conservation through a one-time sale while
providing safeguards to ensure the sale will not hurt elephant
populations," the U.S. State Department official said. "The one-time sale
will be good for elephant conservation."

Other decisions from the conference include the transfer of the
yellow-naped parrot, the yellow-headed parrot and the blue-headed macaw,
from Appendix II to Appendix I. This means that no commercial trade will be
permitted. The three species are found in Central and South America.

Twelve proposals to include 26 species of Aisan freshwater turtles and
tortoises on Appendix II were unanimously approved by CITES delegates. A UK
proposal to permit a Cayman Islands turtle farm to sell and license the
export of shells from endangered green turtles was rejected.

Delegates also agreed to set a zero quota for commercial trade in the Black
Sea population of bottlenose dolphins, which was already listed on Appendix
II.

A number of threatened species in Madagascar will also receive stronger
protection. These are the flat-tailed tortoise, various chameleons, a
burrowing frog, and the Madagascan orchid.

Conference delegates also passed decisions to strengthen domestic
conservation of threatened or endangered species already controlled by
CITES, including bears, the tiger, Asian leopards, snow leopards, clouded
leopards, sturgeon and the Tibetan antelope.

Some 1,200 participants from 141 governments attended the conference, as
well as numerous observer organizations. COP-13 will be held in Thailand at
the end of 2004 or in the first half of 2005.