CoP16 Inf. 32 (English only / Únicamente en inglés / Seulement en anglais) CONVENTION ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN ENDANGERED SPECIES OF WILD FAUNA AND FLORA ____________________ Sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties Bangkok (Thailand), 3-14 March 2013 CITES TRADE: RECENT TRENDS IN INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN APPENDIX II-LISTED SPECIES (1996-2010) The attached document* has been submitted by the Secretariat in relation to agenda item 21 on Capacity building. * The geographical designations employed in this document do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the CITES Secretariat or the United Nations Environment Programme concerning the legal status of any country, territory, or area, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The responsibility for the contents of the document rests exclusively with its author. CoP16 Inf. 32 – p. 1 CITES Trade: recent trends in international trade in Appendix II‐listed species (1996‐2010) CITES Project No. S‐383 Prepared for the CITES Secretariat by United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre December 2012 PREPARED FOR CITES Secretariat, Geneva, Switzerland. This report was made possible as a result of the generous CITATION financial support by the European Commission. CITES Secretariat (2012). CITES Trade: recent trends in international trade in Appendix II‐listed species This publication may be reproduced for educational (1996‐2010). Prepared by UNEP‐WCMC, Cambridge. or non‐profit purposes without special permission, provided acknowledgement to the source is made. Reuse of any figures is subject to permission from the original rights holders. No use of this publication © Copyright: 2012, CITES Secretariat may be made for resale or any other commercial purpose without permission in writing from CITES. Applications for permission, with a statement of purpose and extent of reproduction, should be sent to the CITES Secretary General. The contents of this report do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of UNEP, CITES, the CITES Secretariat, or contributory organisations. The designations employed and the presentations of material do not imply the expressions of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNEP, CITES, the CITES Secretariat, or contributory organisations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city area or its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries or the designation of its name, frontiers or boundaries. The mention of a commercial entity or product in this publication does not imply endorsement by UNEP. ABOUT UNEP‐WORLD CONSERVATION MONITORING CENTRE The United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP‐WCMC) is the specialist biodiversity assessment centre of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the world’s foremost intergovernmental environmental organisation. The Centre has been in operation for over 30 years, combining scientific research with practical policy advice. UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre 219 Huntingdon Road,Cambridge,CB3 0DL United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) 1223 277314 Fax: +44 (0) 1223 277136 Email: species@unep‐wcmc.org Website: www.unep‐wcmc.org Contents Foreword ..........................................................................................................................................1 Key findings .....................................................................................................................................1 Introduction.....................................................................................................................................1 Snapshot: wildlife trade and sustainable development ................................................................1 VALUE OF CITES TRADE ...................................................................................................................................... 4 Methodology ................................................................................................................................... 7 Trade sections................................................................................................................................. 7 Valuation methodology..................................................................................................................9 Trade trends in major taxa............................................................................................................ 11 MAMMALS ...........................................................................................................................................................11 BIRDS .................................................................................................................................................................14 REPTILES.............................................................................................................................................................16 AMPHIBIANS .......................................................................................................................................................19 FISH ................................................................................................................................................................... 21 INVERTEBRATES ................................................................................................................................................. 23 PLANTS.............................................................................................................................................................. 28 Annex 1: Reporting obligations.....................................................................................................31 Annex 2: Using CITES trade data...................................................................................................32 Foreword The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is often described as conservation and sustainable use in action. While the early foundations for such a global instrument can be traced back to IUCN resolutions from the early 1960’s, the final impetus for a convention came from Recommendation 99 of the Action Plan for the Human Environment adopted in Stockholm in 1972 at the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment. This recommendation included a call for the preparation and adoption of a global treaty to regulate international trade in certain species of wild plants and animals and CITES was adopted the following year at the ‘World Wildlife Conference’ in Washington D.C. Forty years later at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), governments placed CITES among the 283 paragraphs of final outcome document of the meeting, The Future We Want, to indicate the Convention’s continuing relevance to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and to sustainable development. Paragraph of the document 203 reads: We recognize the important role of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, an international agreement that stands at the intersection between trade, the environment and development, promotes the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, should contribute to tangible benefits for local people, and ensures that no species entering into international trade is threatened with extinction. We recognize the economic, social and environmental impacts of illicit trafficking in wildlife, where firm and strengthened action needs ton be take on both the supply and demand sides. In this regard, we emphasize the importance of effective international cooperation among relevant multilateral environmental agreements and international organizations. We further stress the importance of basing the listing of species on agreed criteria. CITES is unique among many biodiversity multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) in that it produces primary data that may be used to develop early warning indicators of unsustainable levels of international trade in species. The CITES trade data, currently holds details of 12,000,000 trade transactions. It is growing by over 850,000 records a year and it provides a basis for monitoring the effective implementation of CITES, including through the Review of Significant Trade. It is within the context of the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity that the CITES Secretariat commissioned the report on CITES Trade: recent trends in international trade in Appendix II‐listed species (1996‐2010). This report is based on CITES trade data, and will be the first of a number of publications planned to assist Parties gain access to the knowledge needed to manage wildlife trade sustainably. The report aims to improve understanding of how CITES can help to ensure that the use of wildlife is sustainable and how it can contribute tangible benefits for local people. The Secretariat is most grateful to the European Commission for the generous funding that made the publication of this Report possible. John E. Scanlon Secretary‐General 1 Key findings This report provides an analysis of trends (1996‐2010) in international trade in species included in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna (CITES). Overall volumes of trade in CITES Appendix II live animals and plants peaked in 2000 and 2006, respectively (Figures 1 and 2) with a decline seen since then.