Aims of the Cites Agreement

Many internationally traded marine species are highly migratory, meaning they swim long distances and often cross national borders. Their preservation can only be achieved if nations work together. This is where CITES comes in. The agreement provides a legal framework to regulate international trade in species, ensure their sustainability and promote cooperation among CITES members, also known as CITES Parties. GTAEF`s facilities in Thailand served as a school camp where people from several Asian countries participated in various workshops sponsored by nine international instructors who gave practical and theoretical lessons on training, management, medicine, behavior, enrichment and basic foot care. A mutual agreement with many participants in the months following the workshops allows some instructors to visit the students` homes and workplaces, which can range from a well-established camp in Thailand to a secluded forest in the Myanmar wilderness, and there they can teach the mahouts how to train their elephants. Design and implement a training wall or assist with many other challenges associated with caring for elephants in captivity (Fig. 97.3). One of the main difficulties has been to convince the extremely talented mahouts, young or experienced, to change the ancestral practices they have learned from their own parents, used throughout their lives and followed for many centuries; Therefore, it would be impossible to change their mindset to use another way of doing, solving or planning their daily work if there is no evidence that what is offered benefits both their elephants and their community in any way. Therefore, the first practical demonstrations in the given circumstances, even with previous friendship and mutual trust, must be quick, convincing and effective, which in itself is a challenge. This can be complex when there is no choice but to select the inexperienced elephants that instructors have to deal with, but even more frequently and boldly when they have to work on the most problematic, aggressive, nervous or sick. And while all of this can be explained in classrooms, the truth is that only when the mahouts themselves see the rapid progress, with immediate benefits and fewer complications, will many of them embrace this new idea.

CiteS has been one of the nature conservation agreements with the largest members for many years with 183 contracting parties. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora – known as CITES – is an international agreement signed by 183 Parties to ensure that international trade in animals and plants does not endanger their survival in the wild. The treaty was drafted in Washington, D.C in 1973 and entered into force in 1975. In addition to plants and animals and their parts, the agreement also restricts trade in items made from plants and animals such as clothing, food, medicines and souvenirs. In 2019, more than 5,800 animal species and 30,000 plant species had been classified. Widespread information today about the endangered status of many important species such as tigers and elephants could make the need for such a convention obvious. But when ideas for CITES were first formed in the 1960s, the international debate over regulating wildlife trade for conservation purposes was something relatively new. In retrospect, the need for CITES is obvious. Every year, international wildlife trade is estimated at billions of dollars and includes hundreds of millions of plant and animal specimens. Trade is diverse, ranging from live animals and plants to a variety of wildlife products, including food, exotic leather goods, wooden musical instruments, wood, tourist sights, and medicines. The degree of exploitation of some animal and plant species is high and their trade, as well as other factors, such as habitat loss, are capable of significantly depleting their populations and even bringing some species closer to extinction. Many traded wildlife species are not endangered, but the existence of an agreement to ensure the sustainability of trade is important to secure these resources for the future.

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, International Convention on Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, International Convention adopted in March 1973 to regulate world trade in wild fauna and flora. The objective of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is to ensure that international trade does not endanger the survival of a species. By 2019, the number of States Parties to the Convention had increased to 183. CITES is one of the largest and oldest existing agreements on conservation and sustainable use. Participation is voluntary and countries that have agreed to be bound by the Convention are called Contracting Parties. Although CITES is legally binding on Contracting Parties, it does not replace national laws. Rather, it provides a framework respected by each Party that must adopt its own national legislation to implement CITES at the national level. Often, national legislation is either non-existent (especially in Parties that have not ratified it) or comes with penalties related to the seriousness of the offence and insufficient deterrence for wildlife traders. [3] In 2002, 50% of Parties did not have one or more of the four main requirements for a Party: designation of managing and scientific authorities; laws prohibiting trade in violation of CITES; sanctions for this trade; Laws providing for the confiscation of specimens. [4] CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement between governments.

The aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild fauna and flora does not endanger their survival. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), established in 1973 and amended in 1979, helps protect wild plants from extinction by requiring government permits for international trade in endangered wildlife and wildlife products. In the United States, CITES is enforced by the FWS. It applies to all species of vertebrates, invertebrates or designated plants, live or dead, as well as to any recognizable part of a designated animal. Species are protected in two main categories: (1) those that are most threatened; and (2) other species that are critically threatened. The most threatened species are listed in Appendix I of the CITES Convention (www.cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php). Appendix II contains species that are not currently threatened with extinction, but may become so unless trade is subject to strict regulations. .