More than 180 countries at CITES conference in Colombo in May
The 18th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) will be held from May 23 to June 3 at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) in Colombo.
Over 3,000 foreign delegates and media personnel from 183 different countries are expected to participate in what is the largest UN Conference to be hosted in Sri Lanka, the organisers said in a media release.
CITES is an international agreement between governments whose primary aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten the relevant species survival. The signatories to the CITES convention, are collectively referred to as the Conference of the Parties and meets two to three years, to review the implementation of the Convention. The meetings of the Conference of Parties lasts for about two weeks and are usually hosted by one of the
Parties.
The reason the conference is hosted by Sri Lanka is because according toConservation International (CI),Sri Lanka is one of 34 ‘biodiversity hotspots’ in the world, with a large proportion of endemic species and a high dependence on its biodiversity for tourism and other social and economic activities
Despite its small size, Sri Lanka boasts of one of the highest rates of biological endemism in the world.
Although less celebrated, Sri Lanka has one of the richest diversity of amphibians in the world, containing over 119 species of amphibians of over 106 of which are endemic. The country has long claimed to have the highest amphibian species density in the world.
Wildlife advocates of Sri Lanka have urged and advocated the Sri Lankan authorities to introduce required legislation followed by regulations to implement CITES at a national level. Having local regulation in place to implement CITES in Sri Lanka will help not only to protect its own wildlife smuggled out of the country but also join hands with the international community to apprehend wildlife trafficking taking place at Sri Lankan ports, airports and in Sri Lankan waters.
“It is vital to note that national laws will always supersede any CITES regulation. This means that existing laws would not be weakened while CITES would help close loopholes that enable Sri Lanka to be used as a wildlife trade route. CITES would also better regulate trade for species from other countries (eg. Blood ivory from Africa), trade of orchids, timber and marine products (like shark fins); all of which have management controls in place at present but are still being traded in large volumes,” the release said.
Sri Lanka’s Fauna and Flora Protection (Amendment) Act, No. 22 of 2009 and Customs (Amendment) Act. No. 2 of 2003 or other legal instruments do not provide adequate legal provisions for apprehending illicit wildlife trafficking that is taking place in Sri Lanka, in transiting and beyond the Sri Lankan waters. In the recent past most of the illicit wildlife trafficking cargos that transited via Sri Lanka were detected and detained by other East Asian countries. At the same time, in recent years, wildlife specimens are being taken in and out of Sri Lanka at a very high rate.
The release said hosting CITES CoP 18 will be a major and significant international gathering in Sri Lanka, with 183 Parties, consisting of 182 countries attending. India hosted CoP 3 of the CITES in 1981. After 38 years, Sri Lanka will host CITES in the South Asian region once again.
Sri Lanka’s Fauna and Flora Protection (Amendment) Act, No. 22 of 2009 and Customs (Amendment) Act. No. 2 of 2003 or other legal instruments do not provide adequate legal provisions for apprehending illicit wildlife trafficking that is taking place in Sri Lanka, in transiting and beyond the Sri Lankan waters.