Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 2 • Number 16 • 24th October 2002

CITES FACES NEW CHALLENGES AS IT CONSIDERS HEAVILY TRADED COMMODITIES

CITES FACES NEW CHALLENGES AS IT CONSIDERS HEAVILY TRADED COMMODITIES

The upcoming 12th Conference of the Parties (COP-12) to the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) on 3-15 November in Santiago, Chile, might mark an important milestone in CITES’ history, paving the way towards extending the Convention’s scope to increasingly regulate trade in species with high economic value. The meeting will also provide an opportunity for Parties to complement work at the WTO on clarifying the relationship between multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) and WTO rules. The COP will furthermore address the recurring question of whether conservation should primarily be achieved through restrictions or through sustainable use.

Heavily-traded commodities: mahogany and toothfish

While CITES has so far mainly dealt with rare species of limited economic interest, the scope of the Convention’s application might be significantly broadened at this year’s meetings, with several proposals on the table targeting heavily-traded commodities, such as timber and fish. The high economic value of these species, together with the welfare impacts that can be expected from implementing trade regulations, further increases the need for CITES to adopt a more holistic approach that takes into account sustainable livelihoods aspects as well as financial mechanisms.

Of particular interest is a proposal by Australia to list the Patagonian and Antarctic toothfish in Appendix II, which would strictly control the commercial trade in the fish. The proposal is opposed by Chile and Japan who do not believe that the species meets CITES criteria for listing in Appendix II. Japan also notes that the species should not be managed by CITES, but by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), a regional fisheries management organisation. This latter objection is likely to raise a number of issues that go beyond species-specific considerations to address CITES’ role in the international management of fisheries and its relationship with other relevant bodies and agreements.

Also of relevance in this context is a proposal by Guatemala and Nicaragua to include neotropical populations of bigleaf mahogany in Appendix II. While this species is not currently at risk of extinction, it is in great demand, and many populations are seriously threatened while their genetic variation has been depleted. Illegal international trade further undermines current domestic management initiatives.

CITES-WTO relationship

The possible restrictions on trade in economically valuable species are likely to step up the debate on the WTO-compatibility of CITES measures. To address this issue, the CITES Secretariat is taking a proactive role in promoting the "harmonious coexistence and mutual understanding" of the objectives of CITES and the WTO, an issue which is currently being discussed more broadly in the WTO Committee on Trade and Environment in the context of ongoing negotiations on the relationship between MEAs, such as CITES, and WTO rules (see related story, this issue).

In particular, the CITES Secretariat has put forward a draft resolution to the COP, calling on Parties to avoid the use of stricter domestic measures (SDMs, i.e. domestic legislation with trade controls stricter than those required by CITES; see BRIDGES Vol.2 No.2) and to favour instead the adoption of incentive measures at the international level. In cases where Parties decide to take SDMs, they should do so "in a manner which would not constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination between Parties, or a disguised restriction on international trade".

Also of relevance in the trade context are efforts to increase the use of economic incentives to complement the traditional command and control regulations. As set out in the background document prepared by the Secretariat (COP12 Dec. 8), these could include tradable catch and export quotas, well-defined property rights to local communities, or positive incentives such as compensation schemes. Parties might also choose to mitigate perverse incentives, such as environmentally perverse subsidies or environmental externalities.

Conservation through sustainable use or restrictions?

Countries will again discuss the listing of various elephant and whale species, and more broadly the question of whether conservation is best achieved through restrictions or also through the sustainable use of the species. The latter approach is highlighted in particular by Norway in a draft resolution submitted to the COP, which stresses the importance of conservation through sustainable use. Norway’s move was likely motivated by its interest in reopening trade in certain populations of whales, one source noted.

This difference in approach has become apparent in the discussion on trade in African elephant ivory. Botswana, Namibia, South African, Zambia and Zimbabwe are proposing to export specific quantities of ivory under controlled conditions. India and Kenya are opposed to this proposal, instead favouring to transfer all African elephant populations back to Appendix I, thereby excluding them from international commercial trade except in very special circumstances.

Countries are similarly divided over the issue of whaling, in particular a proposal submitted by Japan to transfer most northern hemisphere populations of Minke whale and the western North Pacific population of Bryde’s whale from Appendix I to Appendix II. These and other whale species are currently protected under the International Whaling Commission, which established a moratorium on commercial whaling in 1986. At the IWC, whaling nations such as Iceland, Norway and Japan have been pushing hard for a lifting of the moratorium to allow for limited whaling activities. Both Norway and Iceland hold a reservation on the moratorium, which allows them to legally resume whaling. Iceland, which has recently re-joined the IWC at a special IWC meeting on 14 October, is reportedly planning to restart whaling for scientific purposes in 2006.

Documents of COP-12 are available at http://www.cites.org/eng/cop/index.shtml.

ICTSD reporting.