180 nations discussing vulnerable species
From guitars to traditional medicines and from tusk to tail, mankind’s exploitation of the planet’s fauna and flora is putting some of them at risk of extinction. Representatives of some 180 nations are meeting in Geneva to agree on protections for vulnerable species, taking up issues including the trade in ivory and the demand for shark fin soup.
The World Wildlife Conference on trade in endangered species, known as CITES, which takes place every three years, aims to make sure that global trade in specimens of wild animals and plants doesn’t jeopardise their survival.
The conference runs until August 28, and key decisions are expected to be finalised in the last two days. It had originally been due to take place in Colombo in May and June, but was moved to Geneva after terror attacks in the Sri Lankan capital.
Three months ago, the first comprehensive UN report on biodiversity warned that extinction is looming for more than 1 million species of plants and animals. There are growing concerns that policymakers aren’t acting quickly enough to stop it.
“Business as usual is no longer an option . . . The rate of wildlife extinction is accelerating,” said CITES Secretary-General Ivonne Higuero in her opening remarks to the conference.
“The assessment confirms that nature’s dangerous decline is unprecedented,” Higuero said.
The meeting comes just days after the Trump administration announced plans to water down the US Endangered Species Act — a message that could echo among attendees at the CITES conference, even if the US move is more about domestic policy than international trade.
Alain Berset, head of the home affairs department of host Switzerland, noted that sustainable management of threatened species “of course requires taking into account the interests and the needs of the countries where these species live”.
CITES bans trade in some products entirely, while permitting international trade in other species provided it doesn’t hurt numbers in the wild.
Business as usual is no longer an option . . . The rate of wildlife extinction is accelerating. The assessment confirms that nature’s dangerous decline is unprecedented. CITES Secretary-General Ivonne Higuero (pictured)
Demand is diverse for animal and plant products, prized for their medicinal properties or as pets, culinary delicacies, and products for knitwear and handbags — among many other uses.
Customs officials around the world know to be on the lookout for the CITES logo on shipments of plants and animals across borders: It amounts to a highly respected seal of approval that trade in such species is legitimate.
The meeting’s agenda contains 56 proposals to change — mostly strengthen — the level of protection among vulnerable or endangered species. But some argue that protections should be downgraded because the relevant populations have stabilised or even increased. Officials say the decisions are to be based on science, not political or other considerations.
“The new wildlife trade rules . . . cover an array of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, trees and other plants. Twenty listing proposals are inspired by concern over the growing appetite of the exotic pet trade for charismatic amphibians and reptiles,” CITES says.