On the Trail - Robin des Bois

Pense-bêtes*
The Republic of Angola has become the 179th
Party to CITES. The Convention will enter into
force for Angola on December 31, 2013.
The draft agenda and documents for the Twenty-seventh
meeting of the Animals Committee,
Veracruz (Mexico), 28 April – 3 May 2014 are available
on the CITES website: http://www.cites.org/
eng/com/ac/27/index.php
Reservations** concerning the listing of the following
species in Appendix III have been submitted:
Southern grey desert foxes (Vulpes vulpes griffithi),
white-footed fox (Vulpes vulpes pusilla) and hill fox
(Vulpes vulpes montana) – Appendix III in India: reservation
entered by Poland.
Mountain weasel (Mustela altaica), stoat (Mustela
erminea ferghanae), yellow-bellied weasel (Mustela
kathiah), Siberian weasel (Mustela sibirica) – Appendix
III in India: reservation entered by Poland.
Vulpes vulpes montana
© Mivart, St. George Jackson
The Gaborone amendment adopted in 1983 in
Botswana shall enter into force on the 29 th of November
2013. This amendment provides the possibility
for Regional Economic Integration Organizations
to accede to the Convention and its text. For
the Gaborone amendment to enter into force twothirds
of the 80 countries party to CITES in 1983 had
to deposit their instruments of acceptance. Currently,
the only REIO with competence with respect
to the matters regulated by CITES is the European
Union.
On September 24, 2013, the United States of
America notified other CITES Parties the destruction,
by crushing, of approximately 5.4 t
of elephant ivory which include raw and carved
whole tusks, smaller carvings, and other elephant
ivory items confiscated on their soil over the past 25
years. The United States invited other CITES Parties
to support their action and stand together by destroying
their own stockpiles of confiscated ivory or
other illegally traded CITES specimens in the global
effort to combat poaching and illegal wildlife trade.
Initially scheduled to be carried out on October 8,
the crushing was postponed due to the “shutdown”
debit crisis.
Conservation of and trade in tigers and other
Appendix-I Asian big cat species. Concerning the
implementation of the Resolution Conf. 12.5 (Rev.
CoP16) the CITES secretariat sent out a questionnaire
in order to provide a standard approach and
facilitate analysis of the reports.
Asian big cat species are: the tiger (Panthera tigris),
the snow leopard (Uncia uncia), the clouded leopard
(Neofelis nebulosa), the leopard (Panthera
pardus), and the Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica).
The range States for Asian big cat species covers 37
States. Two of which, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan,
are not Parties to CITES. The questionnaire requires
the compilation of information on: illegal trade in
each country, conservation measures, measure to
reduce demand for Asian big cat parts and derivatives
used in traditional medicine and educational
campaigns directed to raise awareness. An analysis
of the responses should be ready for examination
in July 2014 at the 65th meeting of the Standing
Committee of CITES.
Training. The CITES secretariat notified all CITES
Parties about the possibility for 30 students from
across the globe to received specialized training
on the implementation and development of CITES,
as well as on its relations and synergies with the
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). This specialized
training is organised by The International
University of Andalusia, Spain.
* Literally “think-animal” in French, which means
“reminder”.
** A statement by a CITES member-State following
which it is not bound to an amendment of the
Appendices. Concerning Appendices I and II, reservation
should be entered within a 90-day period
following the Conference of the Parties, and can be
withdrawn at any time. A reservation to Appendix
III can be made at anytime.
On The Trail # 2. Robin des Bois
76