The next January 26 is the date chosen for the meeting at the European Parliament in Brussels which will deepen the issues related to CITES. This acronym indicates the Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species (from the English Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species), signed in Washington in 1973 to regulate the trade in wild fauna and flora. The meeting that will take place in less than three weeks will be titled “Wildlife, use it or lose it?”, With a focus on the main strategic objectives.
The meeting was organized by FACE (European Federation of Associations for Hunting & Conservation) together with the president and vice-president of the Biodiversity, Hunting and Rurality Intergroup of the European Parliament (specifically, Heinz Florenz and Renata Briano). The most important objective will be to understand what are the priorities and actions to be taken to address the challenges related to world wildlife.
The timing is not accidental, in fact in the autumn of this year there will be the CITES conference in Johannesburg and therefore preparatory meetings of this type are also needed. The most discussed topics will include the sustainable use of wildlife, the fight against poaching and the deepening of the role of local communities. In Brussels we will study the case of Africa and, above all, on hunting trophies and issues related to conservation.
CITES is held every three years: the last appointment is that of 2013, when the convention was organized in Bangkok, Thailand, while the previous edition is that of 2010 in Doha (Qatar). The animals under discussion are grouped into three appendices. The first appendix includes 1200 species, namely those that are threatened with extinction or that can be affected by commercial activities. In the second appendix there are 21000 species, not necessarily threatened with extinction but which could be due to incompatibility with other animals.
Then there is the third appendix, the one that includes about 170 species (including the Botswana owl), also not immediately threatened but for which special control and assistance have been requested from a particular member state. Incidentally, the January CITES calendar is quite busy. From 11 to 15 January there will be the 66th meeting of the committee in Geneva (to deepen the financial reports of 2014 and 2015), while from 27 to 29 January a regional meeting will take place in Panama, an integral part of the road map that will lead at the central appointment in Johannesburg on 5 October 2016.
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