Committee II completed their work by making some important decisions.
These decisions including a definition of "hunting trophy," an update on bushmeat trade, approval of U.S. captive breeding facilities for falcons, financing and budgeting for CITES, and Asian turtle and snake conservation are summarized below. For a complete report on the work of the Committee and other business of CITES, visit the CITES Secretariat website at www.cites.org.
Definition of “hunting trophy”
On Monday, March 22 during the business of Committee II, the Parties reviewed Resolutions, including developing a definition for “hunting trophy” which is not defined under the Convention. This is important to allow Parties to implement the Convention consistently when allowing imports of sport hunted trophies for species covered by the convention. The Parties agreed to a definition that clarified what items could be imported as a trophy. This decision will facilitate the legal imports of trophies. Properly regulated sport hunting where revenues generated to support conservation of the species in the wild are allowed under the Convention. The U.S. played an active role in facilitating a definition that the Parties approved by consensus.
Bushmeat Trade
Another topic of discussion at Committee II concerned bushmeat which is the illegal killing of protected species such as gorillas and other primates for human consumption. The Parties discussed a document from the Central Africa Bushmeat Working Group recommending ways that the Parties could work with the Great Ape Survival Project and Gorilla Agreement of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals to address the bushmeat trade issue and continue to make it a priority for CITES. The non-governmental organization TRAFFIC discussed the successes of a workshop on sustainable management of bushmeat convened by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 2009 and a workshop to develop a national bushmeat strategy and action plan in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where significant bushmeat is produced. TRAFFIC urged the Parties to continue to place a high priority on the bushmeat issue and continue to work with other organizations to address this important issue.
Approval of U.S. Captive Breeding Facilities for Falcons
The U.S. delegation arrived at CoP15 determined to break the logjam over registration of commercial captive-breeding operations for Appendix I species. Under Appendix I, no commercial trade is allowed, but there is a process agreed to by the Parties to allow the breeding of certain Appendix I species in captivity as long as the species was not taken from the wild and is a few generations removed. Each captive breeding facility must be registered and approved by the Parties.
The United States has already registered several breeding operations for Appendix I falcons and has been attempting to register additional breeders who qualify. However, these additional facilities were blocked from registration by the Philippines, who objected based on questions about documentation submitted by the U.S. At CoP15, the Parties agreed to override their objections and allow the U.S. facilities to be registered.
During the meeting, the U.S. chaired a working group that posed amendments during the meeting, which were agreed to by the Parties, to streamline and shorten the registration process. Most importantly, if objections are raised for future registrations, these can be resolved by the CITES Standing Committee which meets annually and do not need to be deferred to the next CoP, which might be 2-3 years away. Also at CoP15, the U.S. had submitted three proposals to register breeding operations and these were supported by the Parties and will become registered following CoP15. All of these facilities breed peregrine falcons and/or gyrfalcons as well as hybrids of the two.
Financing and budgeting of CITES
On March 24, the CITES Parties approved the budget for the CITES Secretariat for 2012-2013. The CoP approved a 5.98% increase in the voluntary contributions of the Parties, bringing the total operating core budget of the Secretariat to $5.22 million for 2012 and $5.72 million for 2013. (As a country with a large economy, the United States generally pays about 22% of the CITES core budget through our voluntary contribution – the largest of any CITES Party. The 2012-2013 voluntary contribution for the United States is listed as $2.408 million for the total two-year period, which is based on calculations from the United Nations which covers all of the CITES Parties). The United States took a major role at CoP15 advocating for an increase in voluntary contributions, the hiring of a second law enforcement officer for the Secretariat, and the maintenance of the current funding level for capacity building, enforcement support, and analysis of wildlife trade data which supports the decision-making of the CITES Parties and Committees. The United States makes additional voluntary contributions to the CITES Secretariat each year for high priority implementation and enforcement activities, and a variety of U.S. Federal agencies also provide funding for conservation projects affecting CITES-listed species and other species impacted by international trade. The Secretariat, in order to implement many activities and projects approved by the Parties, relies heavily on extra voluntary contributions from the Parties, non-governmental organizations and other donors. The United States is pleased to be able to make such contributions, and to also fund a wide variety of CITES support activities by so many other organizations around the world. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will continue to provide grants through such laws as the Asian and African Elephant Conservation Act, Great Ape Conservation Act, Rhino and Tiger Conservation Act, Marine Sea Turtle Conservation Act, and programs such as Wildlife Without Borders.
Turtle and snake conservation
The CITES Parties took significant steps at CoP15 to address the conservation and trade management of tortoises and freshwater and terrestrial turtles and snakes in Asia. These often overlooked reptile species compromise a significant portion of the wildlife trade in Asia and other parts of the world, and impacts on wild populations may be significant. The decisions taken on tortoises and turtles will encourage the Parties to carefully evaluate their national efforts to conserve these species and better manage their trade, and direct the CITES Animals and Standing Committees to review a technical tortoise and turtle report prepared by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and make recommendations for better CITES implementation and enforcement actions. The United States provided the funding for the preparation of this report and will continue to remain a strong advocate for the conservation of these species and their protection from over-exploitation for international trade.
The U.S. delegation is also pleased to report that its recommendations to CoP15 – jointly submitted with China – on the conservation and trade management of snakes in Asia were adopted by the Parties. This initiative with China serves as the springboard to convene a major international technical workshop, which will be organized by the CITES Secretariat. Snakes are heavily harvested in Asia from the wild for food, traditional medicine products, skin for the leather trade, and other uses, and population declines in the wild appear to have impacted a number of species. Snakes are also raised on farms in some countries in Asia, and the workshop will work to determine the impact of such farming operations on wild populations. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will provide funding to support this workshop and looks forward to significant progress on this issue over the next three years – leading up to CoP16.
 | Craig Hoover, FWS, leads discussions in Committee II |
