Delegates made dramatic reversals on the whale shark, basking
shark, and Black Sea bottlenose dolphin proposals during the
closing plenary sessions of the 12th Conference of the Parties
(COP12) to CITES, capping a historic and tumultuous meeting in
Santiago, Chile.
The future wasn't looking too bright for some species at the
beginning of the second week of COP12. During committee
meetings, the Parties to CITES had earlier shot down
protections for whale sharks, basking sharks, and Black Sea
bottlenose dolphins. And even major victories were sometimes
counterbalanced with significant loses. For instance, delegates
denied Japan's proposals to trade in some populations of minke
and Bryde's whales, but they approved Botswana, Namibia, and
South Africa's proposals to sell their stockpiled ivory.
What's more, Namibia and South Africa's proposals were
bolstered by an unlikely ally, the United States, which shocked
delegates by approving the ivory bids, the first time the U.S.
has supported an ivory trade since before 1989.
But as the conference progressed, environmentalists found
more reasons to cheer. In fact, during the plenary sessions on
the final two days when delegates approve or revisit all
decisions made in Committees I and II, delegates reversed
course on several important proposals, including the Black Sea
bottlenose dolphin. And for the first time in the 27-year
history of CITES, delegates provided protections for sharks—in
fact, the two largest fish in the world, the basking shark and
whale shark.
By the time all final decisions were made on Friday,
November 15, delegates had approved all Committee II
recommendations and voted the following way on Committee I
recommendations:
Black Sea Bottlenose Dolphins
Georgia reopened the debate on its proposal to transfer
Black Sea bottlenose dolphins from Appendix II to I. Georgia
amended its original proposal to keep the species on Appendix
II, but with a zero export quota, which in effect would be
similar to listing the species on Appendix I. International
commercial trade would be banned, although the regulatory
controls would be weaker than for an Appendix I listing. (For
example, exports of Appendix II species require only the
exporting country to issue a CITES permit; whereas exports of
Appendix I species require the importing country to issue an
import permit before the exporting country can issue its
permit.)
Russia asked for a secret ballot, which was approved. The
vote was a resounding victory for the dolphins: 86 in favor, 26
opposed, and 10 abstentions.
Minke Whales
Japan reopened the debate on its proposal to transfer the
northwestern Pacific stock of minke whales from Appendix I to
II. But the nation's bid to start trade in whales was once
again crushed in a secret ballot vote of 53 in favor and 66
opposed. (Japan needed 80 votes in favor to win.) Japan did not
ask for a re-vote on its Bryde's whale proposal.
Captive Breeding for Sea
Turtles
The United Kingdom did not ask for the debate to be reopened
on its controversial proposal to register a Cayman Islands
captive breeding operation for green sea turtles. The delegate
from the U.K. said, "New information about the legality of the
founder stock has been circulated at this meeting, about which
we had previously been unaware. We believe that it is important
to clarify this issue before taking matters any further."
A Bit of Progress on Elephants
Debate on the six African elephant proposals was not
reopened, and the decisions made by Committee I were agreed in
plenary. However, Kenya introduced a document, accepted by the
plenary, that further strengthens the conditions that must be
met before Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa can export their
ivory stockpiles. These countries can sell their stockpiled
ivory as early as May 2004, but only if they meet these tougher
conditions.
Whale Sharks and Basking
Sharks
The United Kingdom and the Philippines reopened the debate
on their proposals to put the basking shark and whale shark,
respectively, on Appendix II. Parts from both sharks are traded
and used in shark-fin soup, and the delegates at first rejected
any protections for the giant fish. But this time, both
proposals received resounding support. For the whale shark, the
vote was 81 in favor and 37 against. For the basking shark, the
vote was 82 in favor and 36 against. Delegates applauded the
decisions.
This is the first time that shark species have been listed
on an Appendix. Humane Society International's Nicola Beynon
said, "After the preliminary vote, we were disheartened that
CITES had abandoned the sharks to two more years of
unsustainable trade. But we were pleased when discussion on the
proposals was reopened at plenary, and even more pleased to see
that the arguments on the floor were so compelling that the
Parties voted for the needed protections. We hope that
countries such as Japan, Norway, and China, who so strongly
opposed the listing, do not take reservations to the
decision."
Seahorses and Big-Leaf
Mahogany
China tried to reopen the debate on the listing of seahorses
on Appendix II, but it couldn't muster support from the rest of
the Parties, so the listing stands. There was no country
willing to challenge the much-ballyhooed decision to list
big-leaf mahogany on Appendix II. The tree has been logged
extensively, and the new protections should not only slow down
the losses of mahogany, but also slow down deforestation in
general since loggers tend to cut down many other trees to
secure a single big-leaf mahogany.
CITES COP12: A Tremendous
Victory
COP12 was, overall, a tremendous victory for the
conservation of wild animals and plants traded internationally.
CITES delegates improved protections for the Black Sea
bottlenose dolphin, the yellow-naped parrot, the yellow-headed
parrot, the blue-headed macaw, 12 types of Asian turtles, the
Madagascar flat-tailed tortoise, Madagascar chameleons, a
Madagascar frog, the whale shark, the basking shark, seahorses,
the big-leaf mahogany, the monkey puzzle tree, and five other
plant species.
Likewise, several proposals that would have weakened
protections for listed species were withdrawn or rejected,
including those for minke and Bryde's whales, the ivory trade
proposals of Zambia and Zimbabwe, the registration of the
Cayman Islands green sea turtle breeding operation, and the
proposal for the hawksbill sea turtle (which was withdrawn even
before COP12 began).
In addition to these species issues, delegates adopted
resolutions or decisions that address trade in large cats,
bears, bushmeat, pancake tortoises, toothfish, and the rescue
of apes from war zones. Delegates rejected several
controversial documents such as changing the title of CITES,
sustainable use, economic incentives, and traveling
circuses.
On the negative side, the Parties supported Botswana,
Namibia, and South Africa's proposals for one-time exports of
stockpiled ivory. They rejected efforts to improve protections
for the humphead wrasse, New Zealand geckos, and the Sri Lankan
rose butterfly; they also reduced protections for the lesser
rhea, some populations of vicuna, and the orange-throated
whiptail lizard.
What's more, proposals to establish or to increase
protections for the Cape parrot, Patagonian toothfish (also
known as the Chilean sea bass), and African swallowtail
butterflies were withdrawn for lack of Party support. However,
many of the failed proposals probably will be brought to
COP13.
Despite The HSUS's initial concerns, non-governmental
organizations were given good access to Party delegations, were
able to freely distribute materials, and (in most cases) were
able to participate in Committee, plenary, and working group
discussions.
"Although the meeting started out on the wrong foot by some
Parties supporting the export of ivory stockpiles from three
countries, it was clear that by the end of the meeting, they
had put conservation before trade," said Dr. Teresa M. Telecky,
director of the Wildlife Trade Program at The HSUS.
"We are especially pleased with the Parties's performance in
the plenary, where they upheld the Committee's vote to reject
Japan's minke whale proposal, and overturned the Committee's
negative vote on sharks, instead voting to put the whale and
basking sharks on Appendix II."
"This COP is over, but there is a lot of work ahead,"
continued Telecky. "For one thing, we will have to keep a close
eye on the ivory stockpile issue to make certain that all the
conditions have been met before the stockpiles are
exported."
The HSUS, Humane Society International, and our colleagues
in the Species Survival Network will continue to work between
now and COP13 to get the most benefit for animals and plants
out of the decisions made at this meeting, Telecky added.
"Although the COP12 is over," she said, "our work is not."
