DOHA 13-25 Mar 2010 Qatar hosts meeting of parties to Endangered Species Convention

The 15th meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species brings together experts from participating countries to consider proposals for tighter trade controls on Atlantic bluefin tuna, polar bears, sharks, corals and elephant ivory. CITES meets every three years to change trade rules through amendments to the CITES Appendices. Controversially, Monaco wants the large tunas on Appendix 1, the category that prevents all commercial international trade in the species.

Species listed in Appendix II can be traded only under special permit conditions.

Monaco submitted the tuna proposal for Appendix 1, according to the Environmental News Service, because Atlantic bluefin tuna populations are declining from uncontrolled overfishing. Prized for the lucrative sushi market, bluefin tuna are being caught faster than they can reproduce. Several European Union countries oppose the transfer to Appendix 1.

The United States has proposed to transfer the polar bear from Appendix II to Appendix I for greater protection from extinction. In 2008 the United States listed the polar bear as threatened on the US Endangered Species Act, and proposed in October to protect much of Alaska's north coast as critical habitat for the bears.

New and emerging issues on the conference agenda included the need to protect the livelihoods of poor communities dependent on wildlife trade and the growth in wildlife trade via the Internet.

Several proposals cover threatened species of timber, which is now included in CITES' issues. Others proposals call for more protection for sharks, which have declined in numbers due to bycatch and shark finning, illegal fishing and overfishing. Nov/09

RELATED READING:

CITES web
http://www.cites.org/

International Trade Bans Proposed for Bluefin Tuna, Polar Bears (ENS 29 Oct 2009)
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/oct2009/2009-10-29-02.asp

Data shows illegal ivory sales on the rise (WWF 16 Nov 2009)
http://www.panda.org/?180702/Illegal-ivory-trade-rising

WWF on logging
http://www.panda.org/what_we_do/where_we_work/amazon/problems/amazon_deforestation/logging_amazon/