Defenders' Experts
International Wildlife 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 support transferring the polar bear from Appendices, new listings of amphibians, sharks and 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.
How You Can Help Stop the Polar Bear Trade
The next Conference of the Parties meeting will take place on March 13-25, 2010.
We need your help in our campaign to give stricter international protection to the polar bear. On top of other threats, polar bears are endangered by international commercial trade. Canada is the major exporter of skins and other parts.
Take action now and join the fight! Send a message straight to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and to Canadian CITES officials urging that they halt this trade.
Visit our fact sheet for more information on the state of the polar bear and the United States proposal to transfer the polar bear from Appendix II to Appendix I.
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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