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For Immediate Release
CITES Concludes in Chile
Santiago, Chile -- As delegates from 160 countries wrapped up two weeks of negotiations on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), Defenders of Wildlife applauded the meeting’s successes but sharply criticized the Bush Administration for abandoning the United States’ historic role as a conservation leader in this key treaty. CITES, which imposes strict regulations on exports and imports of listed wildlife, protects some 30,000 species of plants and animals from over-exploitation for international trade, and is widely considered the world’s most successful conservation treaty.
"On everything from elephants to parrots to mahogany, the U.S. refused to openly support protection for one species after another, or even reveal how it would vote," observed Carroll Muffett, Defenders’ Director of International Programs and a conference participant. "The Bush Administration sent 50 people halfway around the world for this meeting and refused to let most of them talk. That’s a tremendous waste of time and money, for everyone involved. Countries around the world look to the U.S. for environmental leadership at this treaty, and on far too many issues the U.S. was just silent."
In another troubling trend, Muffett noted that the U.S. delegation to CITES wavered on longstanding U.S. policies of supporting protection for several species, and in some cases, abandoned those policies entirely.
The most serious of these departures was the Bush Administration’s decision to support the resumption of commercial trade in elephant ivory. Barely a decade ago, wild elephants in Africa and Asia were hurtling towards extinction as poachers killed elephants in record numbers to feed the international demand for elephant ivory. In 1989, countries listed African elephants under CITES Appendix I, thus banning international trade in elephant ivory. An experimental trade in stockpiled ivory in 1997 revealed glaring problems in elephant conservation policies and resulted once again in dramatic increases in poaching.
News of the proposal to lift the ban at this meeting has prompted a new surge in illegal poaching in anticipation that trade in ivory will resume. Despite such concerns and a long history of opposing the trade, the US voted to allow renewed trade in ivory from South Africa and Namibia.
"The African elephant is a globally threatened species protected by U.S. law. American taxpayers invest millions of dollars every year in support of elephant conservation," said Muffett. "It’s simply remarkable that the Bush Administration would undermine that investment by voting in favor of the ivory trade. The impacts of this decision won’t be limited to South Africa or Namibia. Neither elephants nor poachers respect international borders. This decision will send a signal to poachers everywhere that elephants are fair game again, putting elephants at risk wherever they occur."
In another key vote, parties and NGOs learned that the U.S. supported the listing of bigleaf mahogany only after its vote was cast. At $1300 per cubic meter, bigleaf mahogany is the world’s most valuable timber species. Global demand for beautiful, durable mahogany wood has led to the commercial extinction of this species in much of its natural range, and to widespread illegal logging throughout South America.
The United States is the world’s biggest importer of mahogany, accounting for more than 60% of global mahogany imports. Because of the size of its market, U.S. support is considered key to efforts to protect this species. Indeed, the country has long been at the vanguard of those efforts, twice proposing bigleaf mahogany for protection under CITES and consistently supporting such protection. But when Central American range states again proposed mahogany for CITES protections at the current meeting, the U.S. refused to take a position, stunning governments and environmentalists alike.
As Muffett observed, "The United States government has been supporting mahogany at CITES since the first Bush Administration, and has repeatedly recognized that the species needs protection. Environmentalists and governments alike were looking to the U.S. to again show leadership on this species, and it just wasn’t there. After ten years of supporting this species, the government practically abandoned it. And the proposal nearly failed as a consequence. We’re ecstatic that the CITES Parties voted in favor of mahogany protection. The listing on CITES will benefit not only mahogany itself, but all of the species and indigenous peoples that are harmed by illegal and unsustainable mahogany logging. This is a landmark environmental decision, and sadly, the U.S. deserves very little credit for it."
The story repeated itself even on less controversial proposals, such as those to protect several parrot species from international trade. "The U.S. has twice proposed that CITES end trade in the critically endangered yellow-headed parrot," said Muffett, "and the proposal was twice defeated by Mexico, the primary range state for the species. When Mexico actually proposed the yellow-headed parrot itself, we thought we had a sure thing. But the U.S. refused to take a position on the species. Its like the last 10 years of policy on this bird were just thrown out the window." Similarly, the United States was one of only two countries to speak out against protection for the blue-headed macaw, even though many experts believe that only a few hundred to a few thousand of the birds remain. When it found no support from other countries, however, the U.S. withdrew its opposition.
"The United States' silence on so many issues is particularly regrettable when you consider how effective our government can be when it speaks out," Muffett observed. For example, the U.S. led the global coalition that stopped Japan's efforts to reopen the international trade in whales.
The U.S. helped block new international trade in endangered green sea turtles. And its strong and vocal support help win new protections for whale sharks, basking sharks, and sea horses, despite intense opposition from Japan and China. As Muffett said, "On a host of issues, particularly marine issues, the U.S. showed that it can still lead when it wants to. We appreciate our government's efforts on behalf of these species."
But the Bush Administration's successes have been seriously tainted by its needless silence and misguided positions in so many key debates. "This Administration will be remembered more for sacrificing the elephant than for helping save the sharks," said Muffett. "And I think that's a pity."
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