CITES Celebrates 35 Years
Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2010, 4 p.m. EDT
 The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was established in 1975 to prevent the overexploitation of wild animals and plants. Now, as the international treaty celebrates its 35th anniversary, CITES’ secretariat said wildlife trade regulation is needed more than ever.
“While not a single one of some 34,000 CITES-listed species has become extinct as a result of international trade until now, growing pressures on biological resources make regulating global wildlife trade even more relevant today than it was in 1975 when countries brought this unprecedented global treaty to force,” said CITES secretary-general John Scanlon. An average of 850,000 permits to trade in a CITES-listed species are issued annually by CITES participating countries, according to Scanlon, which is based in Geneva, Switzerland. With the forthcoming accession of Bahrain, announced on June 30, CITES will have 176 participating countries, compared to 10 countries 35 years ago.
“This treaty was visionary because it was able to put practical trade rules in place for the use of terrestrial and marine species before the global boom created by the liberalization of trade and the acceleration of transactions via the Internet,” said Achim Steiner, executive director of the United Nations Environment Program, which administers the CITES secretariat. “CITES is thus part of the transition to a resource efficient 21st century green economy.”
CITES launched its Trade Data Dashboards online on July 1. The dashboards use the trade data from participating countries to provide an overview of the magnitude of wildlife trade per country and per species group, such as mammals, birds or fish. For example, the dashboards provide users with general trends, such as “trade volume over time,” “top 10 trading partners,” “top 5 items” and “trade by source” (e.g., wild or captive breeding).
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CITES Celebrates 35 Years
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