CITES Trade Controls Shouldn't Increase Poverty

THE World Conservation Union (IUCN) says they are encouraging parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) to make international trade controls on endangered species contribute to the development of poor communities.

A major conference on the international trade of endangered wildlife is meeting from June 3-15, in The Hague, The Netherlands.

"We believe that CITES can and should understand that international trade in wildlife does have an impact on local communities. Parties should promote trade measures that provide income opportunities from sustainable species trade to those communities," says Dr. Sue Mainka, Head of the IUCN delegation to the CITES conference.

CITES is first and foremost a conservation tool: it limits or halts the trade in endangered species, and thereby helps to rescue them from the brink of extinction. Yet, banning or limiting trade in threatened species can also hurt the communities that have used or traded these species for years.

"What we do not want is that banning or limiting trade in a species drives people further into poverty. What we do want is effective measures that discourage illegal trade in wildlife, while allowing sustainable use of healthy species populations that generates income and opportunities for local communities," says Mainka.

The decision before the Parties in The Hague is to initiate a number of case studies on the impact of trade controls on livelihoods, and to develop a technique for rapid assessment of livelihood impacts of proposed CITES species listings.

"CITES is an essential tool for species conservation. However, the Convention could fulfill its wider potential role in sustainable development if its trade regulations were more effective in providing benefits to the people sustainably using and living with the resource," says Mainka.

Our correspondent reports that IUCN plays an important role for the Convention. Based on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, IUCN provides the best information available on the conservation status of species, and on species trade and products.

IUCN's Species Survival Commission plays a crucial role in this effort, together with its wide range of partners which include TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring organization of IUCN and WWF, and other conservation organizations. Further, IUCN provides technical advice to the Parties at the Conference, to enable Parties to make decisions that have the best conservation outcomes.

ENDS

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