Review of Species Selected on the Basis of a New Or Increased Export Quota in 2009
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Review of species selected on the basis of a new or increased export quota in 2009 (Version edited for public release) Prepared for the European Commission Directorate General E - Environment ENV.E.2. – Development and Environment by the United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre May, 2009 UNEP World Conservation Monitoring PREPARED FOR Centre 219 Huntingdon Road The European Commission, Brussels, Belgium Cambridge CB3 0DL DISCLAIMER United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) 1223 277314 The contents of this report do not necessarily Fax: +44 (0) 1223 277136 reflect the views or policies of UNEP or Email: [email protected] contributory organisations. The designations Website: www.unep-wcmc.org employed and the presentations do not imply ABOUT UNEP-WORLD CONSERVATION the expressions of any opinion whatsoever on MONITORING CENTRE the part of UNEP, the European Commission or contributory organisations concerning the The UNEP World Conservation Monitoring legal status of any country, territory, city or Centre (UNEP-WCMC), based in Cambridge, area or its authority, or concerning the UK, is the specialist biodiversity information delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. and assessment centre of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), run cooperatively with WCMC 2000, a UK charity. © Copyright: 2009, European Commission The Centre's mission is to evaluate and highlight the many values of biodiversity and put authoritative biodiversity knowledge at the centre of decision-making. Through the analysis and synthesis of global biodiversity knowledge the Centre provides authoritative, strategic and timely information for conventions, countries and organisations to use in the development and implementation of their policies and decisions. The UNEP-WCMC provides objective and scientifically rigorous procedures and services. These include ecosystem assessments, support for the implementation of environmental agreements, global and regional biodiversity information, research on threats and impacts, and the development of future scenarios. CITATION UNEP-WCMC. 2009. Review of species selected on the basis of a new or increased export quota in 2009. UNEP-WCMC, Cambridge. Table of Contents 1. Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 4 2. Update since SRG 47 .......................................................................................................... 4 3. Species reviews ................................................................................................................... 5 SPECIES: Cordylus regius ................................................................................................... 5 SPECIES: Euphyllia ancora .................................................................................................. 7 SPECIES: Galaxea astreata ................................................................................................. 14 SPECIES: Heliopora coerulea ............................................................................................. 22 SPECIES: Pectinia lactuca .................................................................................................. 30 3 1. Introduction Export quotas are usually established by each Party to CITES unilaterally, but they can also be set by the Conference of the Parties or result from recommendations of the Animals and Plants Committees. In general, there is no specific requirement in the text of the Convention to establish quotas to limit the trade in CITES-listed species. However, quotas should be established for meat and caviar of Acipenseriformes species from stocks shared between different Range States [Resolution Conf. 12.7 (Rev. CoP14)]. When a country sets its own national export quotas for CITES species, it should inform the Secretariat [see Resolution Conf. 12.3 (Rev. CoP14) ], which in turn informs the Parties. Early in each year, the Secretariat publishes a Notification to the Parties containing a list of export quotas of which it has been informed. Quotas generally relate to a calendar year (1 January to 31 December); however, since 2008 sturgeon quotas have related to a quota year (1 March to 28 February). The CITES export quotas for sturgeon were initially published on the CITES website ( www.cites.org ) on 02/03/2009. Quotas for other species were initially published on 04/03/2009 and were updated on 10/03/2009, 03/04/2009, 09/04/2009 and 04/05/2009. Based on the quotas that were available on 11/03/2009, UNEP-WCMC analysed the 2009 CITES export quotas to identify: a) Quotas that were newly established in 2009; b) Quotas that increased or decreased in 2009 compared with 2008 quotas. This analysis was presented at the 47th Meeting of the SRG on 12/03/2009. Five species/country combinations were selected for review where the new or increased quota in 2009 indicated that further discussion might be necessary to determine whether the trade would have a harmful effect on the conservation status of the species or on the extent of the territory occupied by the relevant population of the species. These were: • Cordylus regius /Mozambique: New quota of 500 live specimens. Mozambique is not a known range State of this species. • Euphyllia ancora / Indonesia: Quota increased from 28,800 to 32,000 wild-taken pieces. Globally Vulnerable. • Galaxea astreata / Indonesia: Quota increased from 5,040 to 5,432 wild-taken pieces. Globally Vulnerable • Heliopora coerulea / Indonesia: Quota increased from 2,250 to 2,425 wild-taken pieces. Globally Vulnerable. • Pectinia lactuca / Indonesia: Quota increased from 2,250 to 2,500 wild-taken pieces. Globally Vulnerable. 1.1. Trade data Trade data included in this report were downloaded from the UNEP-WCMC CITES Trade Database on 16/04/2009. 2. Update since SRG 47 Since the analysis of CITES export quotas was undertaken in March, 2009, additional CITES export quotas have been published on the CITES website. Of particular note were: - Indonesia established 2009 quotas for a number of coral species around 10% higher than the 2008 quotas. - The 2009 Indonesia quota for Cibotium barometz increased by 100% on the 2008 quota, from 450 kg to 900 kg (dry weight, in the form of ‘hairs’, etc.). - The 2009 Indonesia quota for Gonystylus bancanus increased by 35% on the 2008 quota, from 5,909 m 3 to 8,000 m 3. 4 3. Species reviews REVIEW OF SPECIES SELECTED ON THE BASIS OF A NEW OR INCREASED EXPORT QUOTA IN 2009 REPTILIA CORDYLIDAE SPECIES: Cordylus regius SYNONYMS: Cordylus warreni regius COMMON NAMES: Regal Girdled Lizard (English) RANGE STATES: Zimbabwe RANGE STATE UNDER REVIEW: Mozambique IUCN RED LIST: Not evaluated PREVIOUS EC OPINIONS: No previous opinions formed TRADE PATTERNS: Cordylus regius from Mozambique was selected for review on the basis of a new quota of 500 live specimens combined with the fact that Mozambique is not a known range State of this species. No trade in Cordylus regius from Mozambique has been reported. CONSERVATION STATUS in range states C. regius was reported to occur in southeast Mutare District, eastern Zimbabwe (Branch, 1998; Broadley, 2006), where it was reported to inhabit rock outcrops in open savannah (Branch, 1998). Welch (1982) also reported the species’ occurrence in southern Zimbabwe. Mozambique: No evidence was found for the occurrence of C. regius in Mozambique. Mozambique is not listed as a range State for C. regius in the CITES standard reference for Cordylus (Broadley, 2006). C. regius was reported to be closely related to C. mossambicus , which occurs in the Gorongosa Mountains of Mozambique and in the lower slopes of the Chimanimani Mountains in Zimbabwe (Branch, 1998). Breeding males of both species were described as having blackish backs with bright orange to yellow flanks, and females were described as having dark brown backs with C. regius having yellowish brown flanks and C. mossambicus having grey brown flanks (Branch, 1998) – hence their appearance is similar. C. mossambicus was also reported to closely resemble C. regius on Le Monde des Cordylus (2006). 5 Mozambique has had an annual quota of 500 live C. mossambicus between 2003 and 2008, which increased to 1500 in 2009. Imports of this species to the EU from Mozambique have been suspended since 2006, following a negative opinion formed in 2004. Imports to the EU from Mozambique of two other species of Cordylus , C. tropidosternum and C. vittifer, are also suspended. REFERENCES: Branch, B. 1998. Field guide to snakes and other reptiles of southern Africa. Struik Publishers Ltd, Cape Town. Broadley, D. G. 2006. CITES standard reference for the species of Cordylus (Cordylidae, Reptilia) compiled by Donald G. Broadley at the request of the CITES Nomenclature Committee. Update 2006 URL: http://www.cites.org/common/docs/Res/12_11/Cordylus_CoP14_update.pdf Le Monde des Cordylus. 2006. Fiche du Cordylus warreni mossambicus URL: http://cordyles.canalblog.com/archives/fiche_warreni_mossambicus_/index.html Accessed: 5-5- 2009. Welch, K. R. G. 1982. Herpetology of Africa: a checklist and bibliography of the orders Amphisbaenia, Sauria, and Serpentes. RE Krieger Pub. Co., Malabar, Florida. 6 REVIEW OF SPECIES SELECTED ON THE BASIS OF A NEW OR INCREASED EXPORT QUOTA IN 2009 ANTHOZOA CARYOPHYLLIIDAE SPECIES: Euphyllia ancora SYNONYMS: - COMMON NAMES: Anchor Coral (English), Hammer Coral (English) RANGE STATES: Australia (?), British Indian Ocean Territory, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Caledonia,