UNEP-WCMC technical report Review of species selected on the basis of the Analysis of 2016 CITES export quotas (Version edited for public release) Review of species selected on the basis of the Analysis of 2016 CITES export quotas. Prepared for The European Commission, Directorate General Environment, Directorate E - Global & Regional Challenges, LIFE ENV.E.2. – Global Sustainability, Trade & Multilateral Agreements, Brussels, Belgium Published September 2016 Copyright European Commission 2016 Citation UNEP-WCMC. 2016. Review of species selected on the basis of the Analysis of 2016 CITES export quotas. UNEP-WCMC, Cambridge. The UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) is the specialist biodiversity assessment centre of the United Nations Environment Programme, the world’s foremost intergovernmental environmental organization. The Centre has been in operation for over 30 years, combining scientific research with policy advice and the development of decision tools. 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Contents Introduction and summary .............................................................................................................................. 1 Update since Analysis of 2016 CITES export quotas ..................................................................................... 4 Candoia paulsoni ............................................................................................................................................... 8 Morelia spp. from Indonesia – Overview of status, management and trade ............................................. 12 Stigmochelys pardalis ...................................................................................................................................... 17 Pelochelys signifera ......................................................................................................................................... 22 Corals from Malaysia (Sarawak) – Overview of status, management and trade ...................................... 26 Tillandsia xerographica .................................................................................................................................. 36 Gonystylus bancanus ...................................................................................................................................... 40 Appendix ......................................................................................................................................................... 45 ii Introduction and summary Introduction and summary This report presents a review of taxa selected on the basis of the Analysis of 2016 CITES export quotas and provides an update of new and increased 2016 CITES export quotas published since the production of this Analysis. National export quotas for CITES listed taxa are an important tool to manage and monitor wildlife trade. The establishment or revision of an export quota should be based on a non-detriment finding (NDF) by the Scientific Authority of the exporting country and the NDF should be reviewed annually (Resolution Conf. 14.7 (Rev. CoP15)). Once such annual quotas are established, the need for a NDF for each individual shipment of the species concerned is eliminated. The EU, through stricter measures outlined in the Wildlife Trade Regulations, requires an NDF by importing Member States and therefore monitors newly established quotas and changes to previous quota levels to assess the situation where necessary, or to reassess SRG opinions or EU decisions. Similarly, by assessing the new quotas early each year, the SRG can advise on the treatment of anticipated import applications within the EU. Export quotas are usually established by each Party to CITES unilaterally on a voluntary basis, but they can also be set by the Conference of the Parties, or result from recommendations of the Animals and Plants Committees. To ensure that national quotas are effectively communicated and implemented on permits and certificates, countries should inform the CITES Secretariat when they establish national export quotas for CITES species (Resolution Conf. 12.3 (Rev. CoP16)). In turn, the Secretariat informs the Parties by publishing a list of national export quotas of which it has been informed (www.cites.org/eng/resources/quotas/index.php). In 2016, quotas were published on the CITES website (www.cites.org) on 03/04/2016 and were updated on 04/04/2016, 08/04/2016, 12/04/2016, 13/04/2016, 19/04/2016, 26/04/2016, 24/05/2016, 15/07/2016, 21/07/2016 and 25/08/2016. Based on the quotas that were available on 19/04/2016, UNEP-WCMC analysed the 2016 CITES export quotas to identify: a) Quotas that were newly established in 2016 (i.e. 2016 quotas for particular taxon/country/term/source combinations that have not previously been subject to a quota, or have not been subject to a quota for at least the last 5 years); b) Quotas that increased or decreased in 2016 compared with 2015 quotas (or compared with 2014 quotas if no quota was published in 2015). The following taxon/country combinations are reviewed in this report: Cercopithecus spp. / Ethiopia (new quota, 40 live, 10 trophies) Candoia paulsoni / Indonesia (new quota, 180 live) Morelia clastolepis / Indonesia (new quota, 45 live) Morelia nauta / Indonesia (new quota, 45 live) Morelia tracyae / Indonesia (new quota, 45 live) Stigmochelys pardalis / Ethiopia (increased quota from 500 live individuals in 2015 to 1000 live individuals in 2016) Pelochelys signifera / Indonesia (increased quota from 36 live individuals in previous years to 450 live individuals in 2016) 1 Introduction and summary Stony and soft corals / Malaysia - Sarawak (new quotas for live corals concerning nine species and 54 genera) Tillandsia xerographica / Guatemala (increased quota from 421 570 artificially propagated live plants in 2015 to 991 781 artificially propagated live plants in 2016) Gonystylus bancanus / Indonesia (increased quota from 4322 m3 of finished products in 2015 to 7203 m3 of finished products in 2016) Since the publication of the Analysis of 2016 export quotas, it became apparent that Ethiopia had amended its quota for Cercopithecus spp.; the 2016 quota of 40 live and 10 trophies was reassigned to Chlorocebus aethiops. Given that these quotas for Chlorocebus aethiops represented neither new or increased quotas for the species, and that trade to the EU-28 in Cercopithecus species from Ethiopia 2006-2015 consisted of only one wild-sourced trophy (reported by Ethiopia only), Cercopithecus spp. from Ethiopia is not considered further in this report. Reviews and the corresponding recommendations (Table 1) for the remaining taxon/country combinations are presented below. 2 Introduction and summary 3 Update on 2016 export quotas Update since Analysis of 2016 CITES export quotas Since the publication of the Analysis of 2016 CITES export quotas, additional CITES export quotas have been published on the CITES website. New and increased quotas for wild-sourced specimens are presented in Table 1. Of those that do not already have a current EU opinion or suspension in place, many relate to Annex A birds, hence they may not warrant further consideration by the SRG at this time. Uzbekistan’s quota for live, wild-sourced Testudo horsfieldii increased from 50 000 individuals in 2015 to 80 000 individuals in 2016. Direct trade in this species from Uzbekistan to the EU-28 and elsewhere 2006-2015 is presented in Table 2 Imports to the EU-28 have mainly been in live ranched and wild- sourced individuals, both of which have increased over the ten-year period. In addition, 2015 was the first year in which live, captive-bred individuals have been imported into the EU. Uzbekistan also published quotas in 2016 for 20 000 live, ranched individuals and 15 500 live, captive-bred individuals. T. horsfieldii from Uzbekistan was last reviewed by UNEP-WCMC in 2010; this species/country combination was also categorised as ‘possible concern’ under the CITES Review of Significant Trade Process (and subsequently removed at SC62