Outcome of COP11

OUTCOME

of the 11th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES

The 11th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora was held in Gigiri(Kenya) from 10 to 20 April 2000, drawing together some 1400 participants from Contracting Parties, non-party States, inter-governmental organisations and non-government organizations. The meeting considered 61 proposals (62 received, one was withdrawn before the meeting) to amend the CITES Appendices. The meeting also discussed 59 other documents on a wide range of topics, including: the ways to improve the implementation of the Convention; financial matters; conservation of and trade in tigers, elephants, rhinoceros and Tibetan antelopes; and trade in bears, freshwater turtles and tortoises, seahorses, and traditional medicines.

Delegates met in four Plenary sessions, following which they were divided into Committees I and II. Committee I met in 14 sessions and addressed, inter alia: the procedure for the review of criteria for amendment of Appendices I and II; quotas for species in Appendix I; conservation of and trade in rhinoceroses and elephants; trade in freshwater turtles, seahorses, bigleaf mahogany and hard coral; transport of live animals; and proposals to amend Appendices I and II. Committee II met in 12 sessions to address, inter alia: terms of reference of permanent committees; the relationship between CITES and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Whaling Commission (IWC); introduction from the sea; national reports; enforcement; national laws; marking of specimens in trade; ranching; measures to ensure sustainable use of significantly traded plants and animals; trade in bear specimens; bushmeat; a universal labelling system for the identification of sturgeon specimens; and the CITES information management strategy. The Budget Committee convened in six sessions to consider: the financial report for 1997-1999; external funding; expenditures for 2000; Secretariat staffing; the budget for 2001-2002; and the medium-term plan 2001-2005.

Results:

At the end of the meeting, 17 new resolutions were adopted, some existing resolutions were revised, and many new decisions were passed. Of the 61 proposals to amend the appendices, 32 were adopted, 17 withdrawn(5 of which were replaced by Resolutions on further actions) and 12 rejected. Proposals which had attracted more attention from the participants and the press, such as 4 proposals on whales, 4 out of the 6 proposals on African elephants, 2 proposals of hawksbill turtles and 3 proposals on sharks were either withdrawn or rejected. South Africa's proposal to transfer its population of African elephant from Appendix I to Appendix II was adopted as amended to induce zero export quota for raw ivory. A table on the final decisions made by the Conference of the Parties on the proposals to amend the appendices can be found below. In accordance with Article XV, amendments to the proposals will enter into force on 19 July 2000; and according to Decision 10.13(to be renumbered), Resolutions and Decisions adopted at the meeting shall be effective from the date on which they are sent by the Secretariat via Notification to the Parties at the lastest, unless otherwise specified in the recommendations concerned.

The Conference of the Parties also elected some new regional members on the Standing Committee(with others continuing their terms), and the current members are:

Africa: Burkina Faso, United Republic of Tanzania, South Africa, Tunisia
Asia: China and Saudi Arabia
Central, South America and the Caribbean: St. Lucia, Ecuador, Panama
Europe: Italy, France, Norway
North America: United States of America
Oceania: Australia

The meeting also elected alternate members on the Standing Committee, members and their alternates on the Animals Committee and Plants Committee as well as chair and vice chair of Nomenclature Committee(no members). Parties decided to discontinue the Identification Manual Committee, transferring the responsibility of preparation of the identification manuals to the Secretariat.

The delegation of Chile stated that Chile would like to host the 12th meeting of the Conference of the Parties, but requested a 90 day period to examine the feasibility of doing so.