[...]... wild species The convention is founded on the mi EndangeredSpecies,Threatened Convention assumption that the international trade in wildlife is an important threat to their continued existence Indeed, it is the only threat it addresses.The prescription that CITES offers is a mixtureof bans on international trade the most endangered for species, and regulation of the trade in less seriously threatened species. .. University of Cambridge This Page Intentionally Left Blank Introduction Jon Hutton and Barnabas Dickson The Convention on InternationalTrade in Endangered Species Wild of Fauna and Flora (CITES) was originally signed1973 and came into in force two years later.The aim of the convention was to save wild species from extinction andthe means adopted to achieve this werethe regulation and restriction of the... response Jenkins focuses on the problems associated with Appendix I1 of the convention The treaty stipulates that an Appendix I1 species can only be traded when the trade will not be detrimental the to species Inpractice this condition has frequently been violated, with the consequence that Appendix I1 species frequently become more endangered Jenkins suggests that, with the emergence of the significant... far from being unanimous on all the issues The differences become most pronounced when the implications of these developments for the futureof the convention are considered Some would see a large role for a suitably reformed miii EndangeredSpecies,ThreatenedConvention CITES in ensuring that all trade is sustainable,while others would put a much greater emphasis on institutional changes at the local level... for many species international tradeis not the primary threat It has gradually been recognized that other processes, in particular the loss of suitable habitat, much moresignificant.Thus, for numerous is species, the CITES remedy will be quite inappropriate Indeed, there is an argument that the policies offered by the convention have actually exacerbated the problem By restricting tradein wild species, ... internationaltrade So international trade does not seem to be an important factor in species loss Despite this, much of the concern behind the creation of CITES was that species would indeed become extinct as a result of this factor An additional concern was the issue of species depletion (ie the significant reduction of the population of a species) although the significance of this element was apparently not great... this legislation, in the form of the Dingell Bill, failed to pass By 1969, however, the pressure was such that its successor, the Endangered Species Conservation Act, became law This Act sought: ‘to protect the threatened species of the world by banning all imports of such species whether or not they can be taken legally in their country of origin’ (Oryx, 1 70) 9 CITES:The Vision 7 This approach was... meeting around 1,100 species were placed on the appendices The appendices reflected fairly closelythe species listed in the IUCN Red Data Books By July 1975, the ten state ratifications needed for CITES to enter intoforce had beendeposited and CITES became a reality The main thrust of the convention was the establishment of a setof import, export and re-export controls on the species listed in the... addition of a species to theappendices, especially to Appendix I, to beregarded as, in itself, a positive conservation measure Western non-governmental organizations (NGOs) found they could use the convention as a fund-raising tool Crises could be announced, campaigns embarked on and large sums of money raised to ‘save’ species whole The process culminated in the successful ‘saving’ ofthe species through... longevity of species is illuminating.Although such estimates are highly tentative, particularly for terrestrial organisms, a range of longevity between 1 and 10 million years for most species seems broadly acceptable.This marked turnover in species signifies that an enormous amount of taxa has 14 Backpound become extinct Indeed, there is general agreement that more than99 per centof all the species that . class="bi x0 y0 w0 h1" alt="" ENDANGERED SPECIES THRELITENED CONVENTION This Page Intentionally Left Blank ENDANGERED SPECIES CONVENfiON THE PAST,. CONVENfiON THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora Edited by JON