Defenders' Experts
International Wildlife and Timber Trade
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), adopted in 1973, is one of the oldest and most effective international environmental agreements. Defenders works to establish stronger protections under CITES. We are proposing new listings of amphibians and possibly other species for the CITES Conference of the Parties in 2010 in Qatar.
Defenders’ CITES efforts, in collaboration with the global Species Survival Network, have helped protect numerous exploited animal and plant species, particularly bigleaf mahogany, elephants, parrots, sharks, whales and sea turtles.
CITES Appendices
CITES regulates international trade in plant and animal species by establishing specific lists under its three appendices, each with different restrictions on trade in those species.
Appendix I: Species most in danger of extinction. Commercial trade in these species is generally banned;
Appendix II: Species that may be in danger of extinction in the near future if trade is not strictly regulated. Any commercial trade in these species requires certification from government authorities that such trade is legal and sustainable; and
Appendix III: Species that are protected in at least one country, which has requested help from other CITES members to ensure that its wildlife protection laws are properly enforced, and that any trade in the species is legal.
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