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CITES CoP 15

Position papers

Doha, Qatar, 13-25 March 2010

The 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES COP15) will take place in Doha, Qatar, March 13-25, 2010.

CITES regulates the international trade in animals and plants to ensure that it does not threaten the survival of species in the wild. It is one of the most successful international wildlife conservation treaties.

WWF has taken twelve positions for CITES CoP 15. They are a combination of proposals and agenda items for key species that will be discussed at the CoP.

CITES CoP 15 includes an unprecedented six proposals for commercially exploited aquatic species. This is unusual because in the past CITES has focused mainly on terrestrial species.

Particularly important for WWF at CITES CoP 15 will be encouraging CITES Parties to list the Atlantic bluefin tuna  on CITES Appendix I as well as getting them to commit to take actions to end all tiger trade during this Year of the Tiger and beyond. 

WWF's full position booklet is available in English, French, Spanish and Arabic.
The 2007 quota for Mediterranean bluefin tuna is more than double that recommended by scientists to avoid the high risk of collapse.

Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus)

Agenda Item: List on CITES Appendix I

SUPPORT: Atlantic bluefin tuna is in urgent need of international conservation measures, having experienced a historical decline of over 85% as a result of overfishing driven by high-value international commercial trade.  An Appendix I listing would eliminate the driver of overfishing and give stocks time to recover.  An Appendix I listing, by controlling international trade, would also greatly assist with reducing the illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing which has plagued the fishery.

Documents to support the Atlantic bluefin tuna position

Hammerhead shark (Sphyrna zygaena), Fiji

Hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna lewini) and look-alike species

Agenda item: List on CITES Appendix II

SUPPORT: Catch rates of scalloped hammerhead sharks or a combination of hammerheads including two other species (S. mokarran and S. zygaena) indicate declines of 75–80% from the historical baseline.  The significant and continuing population decline of this species is driven by the international fin trade, therefore inclusion of the hammerhead sharks (as well as the look-alike species) in Appendix II is needed to regulate trade, which will allow the species time to recover.

Oceanic whitetip shark (Carcharhinus longimanus)

Agenda item: List on CITES Appendix II

SUPPORT: Once among the more abundant pelagic sharks, available catch data indicates that the species has undergone severe historic and recent declines.  In the Northwest Atlantic and Central Pacific oceans, declines of 90–99% in catch-per-unit effort and biomass have been observed since the 1950s, while catch declines of 90% have been recorded in the Eastern Pacific Ocean over a 10 year period. This species is heavily exploited when caught incidentally in many pelagic fisheries across the world, with fins removed and retained because of their high value in international trade. Inclusion of the species in Appendix II is needed to help stop the significant and continuing declines driven by the international fin trade.

Porbeagle shark.

Porbeagle (Lamna nasus)

Agenda item: List on CITES Appendix II

SUPPORT: International demand for, and trade in, the high-value meat and fins is causing massive declines in porbeagle populations. Stock assessments in 2009 identified historical population declines of up to 94% from historical baseline levels (1926) in the Northeast Atlantic. This fishery collapsed in 1960 leading to redirected effort in the Northwest Atlantic, which in turn collapsed within six years. Population declines in the Northwest Atlantic are between 73–78% of 1961 levels; despite catch restrictions, only limited stock recovery has occurred.  Inclusion of this species in Appendix II is needed due to the scale of declines in some stocks and international demand for the species.

Spiny dogfish.

Spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias)

Agenda item: List on CITES Appendix II

SUPPORT: As many as half of the stocks of spiny dogfish have undergone sharp declines due to international demand for spiny dogfish meat, which is driving unsustainable fisheries in several parts of the species’ range. Inclusion of the species in Appendix II is needed to help ensure that international trade is supplied by sustainably managed fisheries that are not detrimental to the status of the wild populations.

Red coral (Corallium rubrum)

Red and pink coral (Coralliidae)

Agenda item: List on CITES Appendix II

SUPPORT: Due to high international demand, Coralliium colonies have been overfished and have diminished dramatically in size; in the Mediterranean, colonies of Corallium rubrum of up to 50cm in height were once common and now more than 90 percent of colonies in fished areas are only 3 to 5cm tall and less than half are sexually mature.  Data in the Pacific shows that landings have declined from 100-400 tons a year to less than five tons.  An Appendix II listing is therefore needed for the Mediterranean species (C. rubrum) in order to regulate trade and give the species time to recover.  Listing of the entire family is needed on look-alike grounds (once in trade it is difficult to distinguish between the different species of Coralliium).

Indochinese tiger (Panthera tigris corbetti) is only found in the Greater Mekong region of Southeast Asia, including Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.

Asian big cats (ABCs)

Agenda items: Discuss the report of the Secretariat; Discuss Resolution Conf. 12.5 on conservation of and trade in tigers and other Appendix-I Asian big cat species.

WWF POSITION: Estimates of tiger numbers suggest there are possibly as few as 3,200 in the wild. Alarmingly, recent years have seen a continued, and even increased, trend in illegal poaching across their range.  WWF urges the CITES Parties to take strong, decisive action at CoP15, which falls during the Year of the Tiger in the Chinese lunar calendar, to support efforts to ensure the continued survival of wild tigers.  WWF supports the proposal by the EU to amend resolution 12.5 on ABC’s, aimed at increasing regional cooperation, improving enforcement controls and procedures, ensuring tiger-breeding operations are consistent with the conservation of wild populations, improving reporting, improving compliance and encouraging an expansion of a database.

An African elephant family roaming through high grass.

African elephant (Loxodonta africana)

Agenda item: Transfer elephant populations in Tanzania and Zambia from Appendix I to Appendix II; Place an 18 year moratorium on any trade in raw or worked ivory; Repeal the annotation that permits Namibia to export ekipas for non-commercial purposes and allows Zimbabwe to export ivory carvings for noncommercial purposes; Discuss ETIS and MIKE findings.

WWF POSITION: Position for Proposals 4&5 will be determined pending the decision of the CITES convened panel of experts.

WWF opposes Proposal 6 as there is no provision in the Convention for an 18 year moratorium.

WWF believes that it is premature to take any decisions about future legal ivory sales at CoP15. It is not yet completely clear whether the last legal ivory sale in 2008 stimulated further demand. More information over longer time period is needed to clarify supply dynamics.  It would also be premature to take any decisions on this against a background of increasing illegal ivory trade, caused mainly by the failure to implement the action plan for the control of ivory trade agreed at CoP 13.

A black rhinoceros (<i>Diceros bicornis</i>) in Zimbabwe.

Rhinoceros

Agenda items: Discuss both the IUCN/TRAFFIC report on rhinos and the CITES Secretariat report on rhinos.; Discuss Kenya’s suggested revisions to Resolution Conf. 9.14 (Rev. COP14) on Conservation of and Trade in African and Asian Rhinoceroses.

WWF POSITION: Rhino poaching worldwide has hit a 15 year high and is currently exacerbated by increasingly sophisticated poachers who are now using veterinary drugs, poison, cross bows and high-calibre weapons to kill rhinos.  There is also a marked increase in demand in Asia, particularly in Vietnam, fueled by claims that rhino horn cures cancer.  Vietnam, South Africa and Zimbabwe, which have been implicated in increased poaching and trade by the TRAFFIC/IUCN SSC, must take steps to: improve law enforcement (including prosecution where appropriate) and increase collaboration between law enforcement bodies in Asia and Africa.  WWF supports both the CITES Secretariat report and the IUCN/TRAFFIC report and the recommendations therein.

  • Position paper: Rhinos 170 KB pdf
Pukapuki local, Ismael, in a traditional dug-out canoe, on the April River, a tributary of the mighty Sepik River. WWF is developing a model for river basin management across New Guinea. The framework will protect important freshwater and forest resources in the Sepik that offer significant habitat for threatened species such as the harpy eagle and cassowary, as well as providing subsistence livelihoods for local communities. To this end we are supporting a range of activities in the Sepik river basin, including the establishment of protected areas, the sustainable harvest of freshwater and forest products, and the development of ecotourism, healthcare and community education. East Sepik province, Papua New Guinea.December 2004

CITES and Livelihoods

Agenda item: Discuss the outcomes of a working group of the CITES Standing Committee.

WWF POSITION: WWF strongly believes that properly implemented policies on species conservation and poverty alleviation should be mutually reinforcing. The carefully crafted draft Resolution on CITES and Livelihoods, which is the outcome of a very inclusive consultation process, is fully in line with that view.

The cod stocks of the Grand Banks, Canada, once seemed inexhaustible. But in 1992 the cod fishery was finally deemed to have collapsed - and some 40,000 people lost their jobs overnight, including 10,000 fishermen. More than 10 years later, the cod have still not recovered.

Introduction from the Sea

Agenda item: Seek consensus on an interpretation of how to implement Introduction from the Sea for CITES-listed species.

WWF POSITION: Introduction from the Sea (IFS) is an important CITES provision for many marine species. However there are issues that the Parties have yet to finalize when it comes to IFS, including whether IFS certificates should be issued by the flag State or the port State. WWF believes that IFS certificates should be issued by the flag State. However, in order for the system to work, it will also rely on Port State accepting that they are obliged only to accept catches that are covered by an IFS certificate which must comply fully with CITES and with all relevant fisheries law.

Threatened polar bear mother and cubs in Hudson Bay.

Polar bear (Ursus maritimus)

Agrenda item: Transfer from CITES Appendix II to Appendix I

OPPOSE: Polar bears are in need of conservation attention to address the main threats to their survival - the retreat of sea ice habitat driven by global climate change, industrial development (such as offshore oil and gas, shipping, and mining), toxic pollution and conflict with humans.  However international trade is not a significant threat to the species, and the species is not considered to meet the criteria for listing on Appendix I.  Therefore WWF is unable to support this proposal, but urges all polar bear range states to take action to address the main threats to polar bears, and urges the international community to urgently make deep and long-term cuts to greenhouse gas emissions.

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