[MPWG] USFWS public comment period for taxa being considered for CITES CoP16

Patricia_DeAngelis at fws.gov Patricia_DeAngelis at fws.gov
Thu Apr 12 12:30:51 CDT 2012


[Apologies for cross-postings]

I've had a question from a listserve member and I thought the answer might 
also interest others...

Q: Could you please send a list of those plant species currently covered 
by the act plus a list of those proposed?  It is not clear to me in all 
the links where these might be?

---------------------------------------

A: For the species that are currently included in the CITES Appendices 
(which is different from the Endangered Species Act, by the way), please 
look here:  http://www.cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php

The taxa under consideration by the U.S. are organized into one of three 
categories, those the U.S. is likely to submit, those we are undecided on, 
and those we are unlikely to submit. For plants, these are: 

LIKELY
1. Laguna Beach dudleya (Dudleya stolonifera) and Santa Barbara dudleya (
D. traskiae)?Removal from Appendix II.
2. American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius)?Amendment of the Appendix II 
annotation.

UNDECIDED
1. Hawaiian sandalwoods (Santalum spp.)?Inclusion in Appendix II.

UNLIKELY
1. Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis)?Removal from Appendix II.

Further details on our initial assessments of these taxa are found here: 
http://www.fws.gov/international/CITES/CoP16/3rdFederalRegisterNoticeWeb.pdf

I'm also including more detailed information on CITES at this bottom of 
this message.

Regards,
Patricia

Patricia S. De Angelis, Ph.D.
Botanist, Division of Scientific Authority-US Fish & Wildlife Service
Chair, Medicinal Plant Working Group-Plant Conservation Alliance
4401 N. Fairfax Dr., Suite 110
Arlington, VA  22203
703-358-1708 x1753
FAX: 703-358-2276

Promoting sustainable use and conservation of our native medicinal plants.
<www.nps.gov/plants/medicinal>

Follow us on Twitter  http://twitter.com/USFWSInternatl
Follow us on Facebook   http://www.facebook.com/USFWS_InternationalAffairs


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
* * * * * * *

CITES in a nutshell*

ABOUT CITES?
>>CITES is the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species 
that entered into force in 1975.

The aim of the Convention is to ensure that international trade of 
CITES-listed animal and plant species is not detrimental to the survival 
of wild populations.  This is accomplished through a system of permits. 
The CITES web address is: <www.cites.org>.

CITES PARTIES:
>>There are currently 175 Parties (member countries) to CITES.  For a list 
of the Parties, see: <www.cites.org/eng/disc/parties/index.php>.

The CITES world is divided into six regions: Africa, Asia, Central and 
South America and the Caribbean, Europe, North American, and Oceania.  The 
United States is part of the North American Region, which also includes 
Canada and Mexico.  See <www.cites.org/eng/disc/AC_PC.php>.

In the United States, CITES is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service (FWS) in coordination other agencies, such as the National Marine 
Fisheries Service and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  For more 
information, see: <www.fws.gov/international/DMA_DSA/CITES/CITES_home.html
>.

CITES MEETINGS:
>>CITES convenes several international meetings in order to execute the 
treaty, including:

The Conference of the Parties (CoP) - Until CoP13, these meeting were held 
every two years.  The time between CoPs has been changed to every three 
years.  Decisions, Resolutions and species listings are discussed and 
voted on at CoPs.  Representatives from all 175 Parties may participate in 
this meeting.  The next CoP, CoP16, is tentatively scheduled to be held in 
Bangkok, Thailand, 3 March 2013.  Proceedings or summary records are 
available online going back to 1992.
see <www.cites.org/eng/cop/index.php>

The Plants Committee - Held annually to discuss Resolutions and species 
listings pertaining to plants. This meeting is attended by representatives 
from each region represented in CITES. Currently, the Mexico is the North 
American regional representative with Canada as the alternate 
representative.  The last PC, PC20, was held in March 2012.  Proceedings 
or summary records are available online going back to 1999.
see <www.cites.org/eng/com/PC/member.php>

The Animals Committee - Held annually to discuss Resolutions and species 
listings pertaining to animals. This meeting is attended by 
representatives from each region represented in CITES. Currently, Canada 
is the North American regional representative and the United States is the 
alternate representative.  The last AC, AC24, was held in March 2012. 
Proceedings or summary records are available online going back to 1995.
see: <www.cites.org/eng/com/AC/member.php>

The Standing Committee - Meetings are held as needed, usually once a year 
and before and after every CoP.  The Standing Committee provides policy 
guidance on the implementation of the Convention, among other things. 
Currently, the United States is the North American regional 
representative, and Mexico is the alternate representative.  The next SC, 
SC62 will be held in July 2012.  Proceedings or summary records are 
available online going back to 1992.
see: <www.cites.org/eng/com/SC/member.php>

ATTENDING CITES MEETINGS:
>>The U.S. Delegation to CITES meetings includes people from several 
federal agencies as well as a representative of the State Fish and 
Wildlife Agencies.

National and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) may 
become an observers to a CITES meeting.  Observers at a CoP may attend all 
plenary and committee sessions, and comment in these sessions on any of 
the issues. However, they are not permitted to vote on proposals. 

For observers from the United States, the U.S. Government?s delegation 
provides daily briefings at each COP.  U.S.-based NGOs may apply to the 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to become an observer.  For more 
information, see: <www.fws.gov/international/DMA_DSA/CITES/pdf/ob.pdf>.

CITES SPECIES:
>>Under CITES, species may be listed on one of 3 appendices, each 
conferring a different level of regulation, with the most stringent 
controls for Appendix I species.  For more on the CITES appendices, see: <
www.cites.org/eng/disc/how.php>.

Species listed on Appendix I are threatened with extinction and trade is 
permitted only under strict circumstances. 

Species listed on Appendix II are impacted by trade at a level that 
requires monitoring in order to avoid threats to extinction. 

Appendix III listings essentially provides a monitoring system that allows 
countries to enlist assistance of international trading partners to better 
understand the level of trade in those species. 

For more information
?on Appendix II, see: 
<www.fws.gov/international/DMA_DSA/CITES/pdf/appIIsustainableuse.pdf>. 
?on Appendix III, see: 
<www.fws.gov/international/DMA_DSA/CITES/pdf/apndxiii.pdf> 
?on how FWS implements Appendix III, see: 
<www.fws.gov/international/DMA_DSA/CITES/Appendix_III/overview.html>

NUMBER OF CITES SPECIES:
>>There are more than 5,000 animal species and 29,000 plant species listed 
in the CITES Appendices; see <www.cites.org/eng/disc/species.php>

Currently, there are 455 plants and 719 animals native to the United 
States listed in the CITES Appendices.  This does not include all of the 
plants and animals native to Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto 
Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands.  Listed plant species include venus 
flytrap and the saguaro (and all native cacti and orchids), along with 
several U.S.-native medicinal plants such as goldenseal and American 
ginseng.

The current breakdown into Appendices is as follows: 
Animal taxa
I: 110
II: 587
III: 22

Plant taxa
I: 4
II: 450
III: 1

THE LIST OF CITES SPECIES:
>>A full list of CITES taxa is located at:
http://www.cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php

You can obtain more information on these species by searching the CITES 
species database - by taxon name or by country. 

To search by name (scientific name or common name):

    Start at the CITES species database page: <
www.cites.org/eng/resources/species.html>.
    Under the "Search by name" column, select "Genus."
    Type the Genus of the plant of interest and hit enter. 
                You have another opportunity to select information for 
only one country. 
        To see information on all countries, click on "Display Results" at 
the bottom of the screen.
               You'll see a list of all species in the genus of interest.
     Click on the species of interest.
     Click on any of the tabs above the species entry to get more 
information on the species.

To search by country (i.e. for species that are native to the United 
States):

    Start at the CITES species database page: <
www.cites.org/eng/resources/species.html>. 
     Under the column "Search by country", there is a pull-down menu.
          Select United States and click on "Go"
       You will see a tabular summary of the number of listed animals and 
plants native to the United States.
       Click on any of the appendices or click on the link below each 
table to get a full list of all the species that are listed.
       Click on any species entry to see information for that species. 

REGULATION OF CITES-LISTED SPECIES IN THE UNITED STATES:
>>Permits are required for species that are listed on any of the three 
CITES appendices. 

To find out whether you need a permit and how to get it, go to: 
<www.fws.gov/international/DMA_DSA/Permits/Permits_home.html>

For more on all the permits handled by the USFWS, see: 
<www.fws.gov/permits/overview/overview.shtml>

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT CITES?
Follow our preparations for CoP16 and other activities online at: 

Website: http://www.fws.gov/international/CITES/CoP16.html
Twitter: http://twitter.com/USFWSInternatl
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/USFWS_InternationalAffairs 

*"CITES in a nutshell" was compiled by Patricia De Angelis - Division of 
Scientific Authority - International Affairs Program - U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service
Last Updated April 2012
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.plantconservation.org/pipermail/mpwg_lists.plantconservation.org/attachments/20120412/525702b7/attachment.html>


More information about the MPWG mailing list