SeZbyana 26(1,2): 92-102. 2005. CONVENTION ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN ENDANGERED SPECIES OF WILD FAUNA AND FLORA: A CITES TIMELINE BARRY WALDEN WALSH Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, Research and Conservation Department, Selby Botanical Gardens Press, 811 South Palm Avenue, Sarasota, FL 34236-7726 USA. Email: [email protected] ABSTRACT. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) has been described as the best-recognized international treaty on endangered species and, at the same time, as the least understood. This paradox may result from CITES being structured, implemented, and enforced as a trade treaty, rather than as a conservation measure. The title of the treaty fails to mention conservation and makes no such promises, even though endangered species may rely on wise-use conservation for their survivaL By specifying endangered wild species, the title contributes to the paradox, because nations party to the treaty not only address endangered species but also threatened species and, adopting the precautionary principle, species tllat might become tbreatened because of trade. To accommodate port-of-entry inspectors untrained in taxa identification, whole families, such as the Orchidaceae, are listed on CITES appendixes, including species that are neither endangered nor wild. A timeline of significant events in the establishment of international flora and fauna treaties, beginning with a 1900 London Convention to conserve wild animals of Africa and moving forward to CITES and beyond, is presented to increase the general understanding of how CITES came to be, how it applies to plants, and especially how it applies to orchid conservation. Key words: CITES history, implementation, Conference of the Parties, endangered species, threatened specics, precautionary principle INTRODUCTION in Africa Which Are Useful to Man or Inoffensive was adopted in 1900 as a pioneer effort to use Highlights in the history of international legis­ international legislation to promote wildlife con­ lation on flora and fauna are presented in chro­ servation (McNeely 2003). Note that the emphasis nological order to emphasize how one event has was clearly on "man" and "wild animals." Plants influenced the next. Concern for the survival of weren't mentioned, but this pioneer treaty did in­ species began with charismatic mega-fauna, such clude an early use of "conservation" based on the as elephants, and then extended to their habitats, German foresters' concept of sustainable yield­ which brought the survival of plant species into not harvesting more in a year than a natural pop­ focus. The CITES timeline documents that con­ ulation can reproduce. servation does not happen quickly but takes years of planning, effort, and expense and that the im­ pact of such efforts, especially the impact on or­ 1911 chid conservation, is difficult to measure. General material on the Convention on Inter­ Fur Seal Convention national Trade in Endangered Species of Wild The Fur Seal Convention, another early at­ Fauna and Flora (CITES) is supplemented with tempt, was designed to deal with over-exploita­ examples of implementation, primarily in the tion of fur seals on the Pribilof Islands off the USA, since this U.N. treaty was known in its coast of Alaska. Over-exploitation was the ob­ early years as the "Washington Convention," vious threat. the USA was the first nation to ratify CITES, and U.s. archival material was most accessible to the author. An account of how nations party 1933 to the treaty enforce it in their homelands would make another article, as would a behind-the­ scenes account of each of the thirteen Confer­ Fauna and Flora Preservation Convention ences of the Parties. In 1933, governments of Anglo-Egyptian Su­ dan, Belgium, Egypt, France, Great Britain, It­ aly, Portugal, Spain, and the Union of South Af­ TIMELINE rica met in London to establish the London Con­ 1900 vention Relative to the Preservation of Fauna and Flora in Their Natural State. Note this early Wild Animals in Africa Convention evidence of a fauna-first bias and the use of The London Convention Designed to Ensure "preservation," suggesting protection rather Conservation of Various Species of Wild Animals than wise-use conservation. 92 SECOND IOCC PROCEEDINGS 93 1940 1949 Western Hemisphere Convention 1st U.N. Conservation Conference The Washington Convention on Nature Pro­ The United Nations sponsored its first con­ tection and Wild Life Preservation in the West­ servation meeting, the U.N. Scientific Confer­ ern Hemisphere was a regional attempt to pre­ ence on the Conservation and Utilization of Re­ vent the extinction of habitats and species. Note sources (UNSCCUR) at Lake Success on Long the use of "protection" and "preservation" Island, New York. The pairing of "conservation rather than "conservation." and utilization" was not surprising, for the meet­ ing was the brainchild of Gifford Pinchot, who, in the early 1900s, introduced sustainable-yield 1945 and wise-use forest management to the United States and popularized the phrase, "the conser­ Birth of the United Nations vation of natural resources." Pinchot, the archi­ In June 1945 in San Francisco, California, 50 tect of the U.S. Forest Service, had drafted a countries gathered for the United Nations Con­ resolution calling for the U.N. conference, ference on International Organization (UNCIO). which Franklin Roosevelt carried to Yalta (Pin­ The phrase, "United Nations," was coined by chot 1950). By the time of the conference, both U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt in his 1942 FDR and Pinchot had passed on, but UNSCCUR "Declaration by United Nations" to fight as Al­ brought together 4000 scientists, economists, en­ lies in World War n. At San Francisco, charter gineers, resource technicians, and other special­ U.N. members adopted a mission to promote ists to discuss how to apply resource conserva­ peace, international cooperation, and security. tion and utilization to development in the post­ Temporary headquarters were established at war world (Holdgate 1999). Lake Success on Long Island, New York, the Held in parallel with UNSCCUR was the U.N. flag was adopted in 1947, and the United IUPN-UNESCO Conference on the Protection Nations Building was completed in 1952 in of Nature. This second conference made "rec­ Manhattan. Today U.N. membership inclndes ommendations concerning legislative measures, 191 countries, the majority of which are signa­ which might be taken on a national and inter­ tories to the U.N. treaty known as CITES. national scale for the maintenance of nature's equilibrium." At Lake Success, the first official list of "gravely endangered" species was drawn 1946 up (Holdgate 1999); it was the forerunner of the Red Lists that would become IUCN's most fa­ Convention on the Regulation of Whaling mous product. In December 1946 in Washington, D.C., 24 nations met to sign the Convention on the Reg­ 1956 ulation of Whaling. An International Whaling Commission was set up to regulate over-exploi­ Birth of the IUCN tation of the largest mammals by the whaling In 1956, when the International Union for the trade. Protection of Nature changed its name to the In­ ternational Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), the pairing of 1948 "nature and natural resources" was a statement that both nature (implying preservation) and nat­ Birth of the IUPN ural resources (implying utilization) could be The International Union for the Protection of conserved. Nature (IUPN), predecessor of the IUCN (Inter­ In 1961, the World Wildlife Fund for Nature national Union for the Conservation of Nature (WWF) was founded and became a major finan­ and Natural Resources), was founded in J 948 at cial supporter of IUCN. Eventually the president Fontainebleau, France, as a network of members of one group would serve as the vice-president in most countries of the world. With backing by of the other, and the two groups would share a the U.N. Educational, Scientific, and Cultural headquarters in Gland, Switzerland. The IUCN Organization (UNESCO), IUPN membership in­ was instrumental in formulating the World Con­ cluded governments, national conservation servation Strategy with the United Nations in agencies, and non-governmental organizations ] 980; and in 1982, WWF President HRM Prince (NGOs), ranging from "the highly scientific to Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, suggested simplify­ the stridently activist" (Holdgate 1999). Again ing the IUCN name to World Conservation "protection" superseded "conservation." Union (Holdgate 1999). The IUCN membership 94 SELBYANA Volume 26(1,2) 2005 compromised and, in 1989, registered the sim­ vention on the conservation of endangered spe­ plified name retaining the historic acronym, cies. Note the use of "conservation" in the title thus, IUCN World Conservation Union. The of the legislation. Amending 1963 and 1966 acts IUCN has had three logos: a 1954 insignia with on endangered species, the 1969 ESA called for a stylized tree that came to be known as the protection of threatened species of the world by "Brussels Sprout" for the original headquarters banning all imports of such species, whether or in Brussels, Belgium; a 1977 letter block; and not they could be taken legally in their country the current logo of the IUCN World Conserva­ of origin. This act influenced development of tion Union adopted in 1992. Following this top­ CITES by moving the thinking toward trade ical treatment of IUCN history, the Timeline controls based on the views of importing coun­ now reverts to chronology. tries as to what should be allowed by exporting countries (Huxley 2000). Note that although 1960s "endangered" was in the title, the law called for protection of "threatened" species. Groundwork for an International Wildlife Convention 1970 The 1960 mCN General Assembly held the first international discussion of "exploitation Red Data Book on Angiosperms and international trade in wildlife" (Wijnstekers IUCN published Angiosperms (Flovvering 2001). Wildlife conservationists were concerned Plants), compiled by Robert Melville, Royal Bo­ that the demand for live animals and animal tanic Gardens Kew.