TRADE MEASURES IN MULTILATERAL ENVIRONMENTAL AGREEMENTS A Report by IUCN - The World Conservation Union on the Effectiveness of Trade Measures Contained in The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Prepared for The Economics, Trade and Environment Unit United Nations Environment Programme Trade Measures in CITES IUCN Report (09/11/00) - 2 TRADE MEASURES IN MULTILATERAL ENVIRONMENTAL AGREEMENTS A Report by IUCN - The World Conservation Union on the Effectiveness of Trade Measures Contained in The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. INTRODUCTION 2. BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES OF THE CONVENTION 2.1. Events Leading To The Adoption Of CITES 2.2. The Objectives of CITES 2.3. Overview of the Basic Provisions of CITES 2.4 Evolution Of CITES 2.4.1 Amendments of the Convention 2.4.2 Recommendations of the Conference of the Parties 2.4.3 Establishment Of Committees 3. TRADE MEASURES UNDER THE CONVENTION 3.1. The Specific Trade Measures 3.1.1 Appendix I Listings. 3.1.2 Appendix II Listings 3.1.3 Appendix III Listings. 3.2. General Provisions Relating To The Trade Measures 3.2.1 Trade Monitoring and Reporting 3.2.2 Listing Decisions 3.2.3 Exemptions And Special Provisions 3.2.4 Stricter Domestic Measures And Collective Enforcement Measures 3.2.5 Reservations 3.2.6 Trade With Non-Parties 4. POSITIVE OR INNOVATIVE MEASURES" IN CITES 4.1 Historical Overview of Innovative Measures 4.2 An Outline of the Innovative Measures Adopted 4.2.1. Captive Breeding and Artificial Propagation For Species Listed In Appendix I 4.2.1.1 Captive Breeding For Animal Species Trade Measures in CITES IUCN Report (09/11/00) - 3 4.2.1.2 Artificial Propagation For Plant Species 4.2.2 Ranching For Species Listed In Appendix I 4.2.2.1 Conduct Of A Ranching Operation 4.2.2.2 Marine Turtle Ranching 4.2.3 Quotas For Species Listed In Appendix I 4.2.3.1 Trade in Hunting Trophies of Species Listed in Appendix I 4.2.3.2 Trade in Leopard Trophies and Skins for Personal Use 4.2.3.3 Trade in Live Specimens and Hunting Trophies of Cheetah 4.2.3.4 Trade in Ivory from African Elephants 4.2.3.5 Special Criteria for Transfer from Appendix I to Appendix II Through a Quota System 4.2.4 Annotations Allowing the Transfer of Species from Appendix I to Appendix II 4.2.4.1 Trade in Cloth and Wool Sheared from Live Vicuna 4.2.4.2 Trade in Live Specimens and Hunted Trophies of Southern White Rhinos in South Africa 4.2.5 Significant Trade Process 4.2.5.1 Significant Trade in Animal Species 4.2.5.2 Significant Trade in Plant Species 4.2.6 Capacity Building and Training 5. ASSESSING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THETRADE AND INNOVATIVE MEASURES IN CITES 5.1 Do the Trade and Positive Measures form Part of a Sound Legal Regime? 5.1.1 Facilitation of International Cooperation to Regulate Trade 5.1.2 Does the Convention Provide Clear Rules? 5.1.3 Prevention of Abuse and Non-Compliance 5.1.3.1 Illegal Trade with Non-Parties 5.1.3.2 Illegal Trade between Parties 5.2 Are the Trade Measures Effective in Preventing Species from Being Over-Exploited through International Trade? 5.2.1 General Considerations 5.2.2 Factors Affecting the Effectiveness of CITES 5.2.3 Defining and Measuring Suucess or Failure 5.2.4 How to Avoid Confounding Variables in Defining Success 5.2.5 The Effectiveness of the Convention with Spotted Cats 5.2.5.1 Wild Cats and the Fur Trade 5.2.5.2 Wild Cats and the Convention 5.2.6 The Apparent Inneffectivness of the Convention with 3 out of 5 Species of Rhinoceros 5.2.6.1 Rhinos and the Horn Trade 5.2.6.2 Rhinos and the Convention 5.2.7 Effectiveness With Other Species 5.2.7.1 Non-Human Primates 5.2.7.2 Bears 5.2.7.3 The Trade in Wild Birds with Reference to Macaws 5.2.7.4 Marine Turtles 5.2.7.5 Reptile Skins Trade Measures in CITES IUCN Report (09/11/00) - 4 5.2.7.6 Plants 5.2.8 Changes in Listings in the Appendicies aas a Measure of CITES Effectiveness 5.3 An Evaluation of the Positive Measures in the Convention From the Species Conservation Perspective 5.3.1 An Evaluation of Captive Breeding and Artificial Propagation 5.3.1.1 Captive Breeding of the Asian Boney Tongue (or Arowana) Scleropages formosus 5.3.2 An Evaluation of Ranching 5.3.2.1 Ranching of the Nile Crocodile, Crocodylus niloticus 5.3.3 An Evaluation Appendix I Quotas 5.3.3.1 An Evaluation of the Trade in Leopard Trophies and Skins 5.3.3.2 An Evaluation of Trade in Live Specimens and Hunting Trophies of Cheetah 5.3.4 Annotations 5.3.4.1 An Evaluation of Trade in Live Specimens and Hunted Trophies of Southern White Rhinos in South Africa 5.3.4.2 An Evaluation of Trade in Cloth And Wool Sheared from Live Vicuna 5.3.5 An Evaluation of the Significant Trade Process 5.3.5.1 Significant Trade in Animal Species 5.2 Significant Trade in Plant Species 5.4 An Analytical Framework for Assessing the Effectiveness of CITES Measures in Economic Terms 5.4.1 Demand Side 5.4.2 Supply Side 5.4.3 Demand and Supply 5.3.4 Price Elasticity of Demand 5.5 Analysis of the Effectiveness of CITES Appendix I Measures in Economic Terms 5.5.1 Trade Ban 5.5.2 Export and Import Permit for Appendix I Listing 5.5.3 Export Permit for Appendix II 5.5.4 Export Permit for Appendix III Listing 5.6 Effectiveness of Positive Measures in this Economic Framework 5.6.1 Captive Breeding and Artificial Propagation 5.6.2 Ranching 5.6.3 Quotas for Species listed on Appendix I 5.6.4 Split-listing 5.6.4.1 Transfer from Appendix I to Appendix II 5.6.4.2 Transfer from Appendix II to Appendix I 5.6.5 Annotations 5.6.5.1 Trade in Live Specimens and Hunted Trophies of Southern White Rhinos in South Africa 5.7 Financial Contributions and Technical Co-operation 5.8 Sanctions Trade Measures in CITES IUCN Report (09/11/00) - 5 5.9 Reservations 6. ECONOMIC IMPACT ANALYSIS OF CITES 6.1 The Benefits of Being a Party 6.2 The Cost of Being a Party 6.2.1 Costs of Implementing and Enforcing the Convention 6.2.2 The Cost of Foregoing Income from Trade 6.2.2.1 Bans 6.2.2.2 Export-Import Permits 6.2.2.3 Export Permits 6.2.2.4 Quotas 6.2.2.5 Captive Breeding 6.2.2.6 Ranching 6.2.2.7 Split-Listing 6.2.2.8 Appendix III Listing 6.2.2.9 Annotations Bibliography ANNEX 1 TABLE OF SIGNATORIES AND PARTIES ANNEX 2 FIGURES AND TABLES REFERRED TO IN THE TEXT. Trade Measures in CITES IUCN Report (09/11/00) - 6 A Report by IUCN - The World Conservation Union on The Effectiveness of Trade Measures Contained in The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Executive Summary Overview • The Preamble to the Convention states that the objective of CITES is to prevent the over- exploitation of species through international trade and to ensure their long term survival. The ultimate aim of the Convention is undoubtedly to promote species conservation, however, legally the convention only has jurisdiction over the regulation of international trade and cannot be held accountable for the effects of other factors which affect species conservation such as habitat conversion. CITES regulates international trade by means of a number of trade measures, which include the listing of species on Appendix I, II and III, and the use of export/import permit requirements. • The Convention provides for a series of trade regulations according to the level of extinction threat which each species suffers: species threatened with extinction are listed in Appendix I and are protected from commercial trade; species which may be threatened with extinction if their trade is not strictly regulated are included in Appendix II and species which require regulation within the jurisdiction of a Party can be included in Appendix III. International trade in CITES -listed species must be regulated and monitored to ensure that offtake is not detrimental to the long-term survival of the species in question. • Unlike more recent international Conventions, CITES does not provide explicitly for incentive measures aimed at ameliorating the costs of implementing the Treaty. However, during the course of its existence, CITES has also adopted a number of so-called "innovative or positive" trade measures. In the context of this study, "incentive" measures refer to those measures adopted, mainly as the Convention has evolved, to recognise the importance of facilitating in certain cases, carefully controlled trade to provide an incentive for the continued conservation of that resource. It has become increasingly clear that where the possible benefits of controlled trade are not recognised, that wildlife habitat maybe replaced by other resource use inimical to wildlife conservation. Consequently the term "incentive" measure in this study does not imply an uncontrolled promotion of trade and is not at odds with the overall aims of the Convention, it simply recognises that in certain circumstances, economic reality dictates that wildlife conservation may be better served by facilitating a controlled limited trade rather than preventing all trade.