CITES

From UroWiki

CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, cites.org) is an international agreement between governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. When the ideas for CITES were first formed in the 1960s, international discussion of the regulation of wildlife trade for conservation purposes was something relatively new. Annually, international wildlife trade is estimated to be worth billions of dollars and to include hundreds of millions of plant and animal specimens.

The purpose of CITES

Trade is diverse, ranging from live animals and plants to a vast array of wildlife products derived from them, including food products, exotic leather goods, wooden musical instruments, timber, tourist curios and medicines. Levels of exploitation of some animal and plant species are high and the trade in them, together with other factors, such as habitat loss, is capable of heavily depleting their populations and even bringing some species close to extinction. Many wildlife species in trade are not endangered, but the existence of an agreement to ensure the sustainability of the trade is important in order to safeguard these resources for the future.

Because the trade in wild animals and plants crosses borders between countries, the effort to regulate it requires international cooperation to safeguard certain species from over-exploitation. CITES was conceived in the spirit of such cooperation. Today, it accords varying degrees of protection to more than 30,000 species of animals and plants, whether they are traded as live specimens, fur coats or dried herbs.

CITES and Uromastyx

All subspecies of the genus uromastyx are protected under Appendix II of the CITES agreement. This appendix states that:

1. An export permit or re-export certificate issued by the Management Authority of the State of export or re-export is required.
   1. An export permit may be issued only if the specimen was legally obtained and if the export will not be detrimental to the survival of the species.
   2. A re-export certificate may be issued only if the specimen was imported in accordance with the Convention.
2. In the case of a live animal or plant, it must be prepared and shipped to minimize any risk of injury, damage to health or cruel treatment.
3. No import permit is needed unless required by national law.

The text of the Convention can be seen, the relevant sections are Article III, paragraph 5 and Article IV, paragraph 6.

Signatories

CITES is an international agreement to which States (countries) adhere voluntarily. States that have agreed to be bound by the Convention ('joined' CITES) are known as Parties. Although CITES is legally binding on the Parties – in other words they have to implement the Convention – it does not take the place of national laws. Rather it provides a framework to be respected by each Party, which has to adopt its own domestic legislation to ensure that CITES is implemented at the national level. For many years CITES has been among the conservation agreements with the largest membership, currently with 175 Parties.