Today is the International Day of Forests. Forests are the most biologically-diverse ecosystems on land, and home to more than 80% of all known terrestrial species of animals and plants. They play a vital role in storing water, regulating climate, preserving soils and nurturing biodiversity, and provide important economic and social services.
On this special day for forests, CITES highlights the increasing use being made of the Convention to help countries along the path to sustainability in our forests. Through strictly regulating international trade in certain timber and non-timber forest products to ensure legality, sustainability and traceability, CITES is contributing towards achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly Goal #15 as it relates to the sustainably managed forests and halting biodiversity loss.
Recent years have witnessed a major development in the use of the Convention with Parties deciding to include many commercially valuable tree in the CITES Appendices. While only 18 tree species were listed in the CITES Appendices in 1975 when the Convention came into effect, more than 600 are listed today, including some of the world’s most economically valuable trees. Some additional rosewood species have been included in Appendix III since CoP16. Most recently Pterocarpus erinaceus in Senegal was included, which will come into force on 9 May 2016. This trend is continuing: the forthcoming meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES (CoP17, Johannesburg, September 2016) will again consider a number of new tree listing proposals.
CITES Secretary-General, John E. Scanlon, said today: "The decisions of the world’s governments to bring so many new tree species under the CITES trade control regime reflect the growing confidence that Parties have in CITES in helping them manage these valuable resources more sustainably, and the will to ensure the legality of such timbers in trade".
CITES works in partnership with other organizations to enhance sustainable forest management and timber trade practices. The successful long-term collaboration between CITES and ITTO, for example, has contributed greatly towards reducing biodiversity loss, fostering sustainable development and helping poverty eradication by enabling biodiversity-rich countries to better manage their natural forest resources.
The partnership between CITES and ITTO assists national authorities to meet the scientific, administrative and legal requirements for managing and regulating trade in Pericopsis elata (Afrormosia) in Central Africa, Swietenia macrophylla (Bigleaf mahogany) in Latin America, and Gonystylus spp. (Ramin) in Asia. CITES and ITTO have jointly developed guidance to ensure that levels of extraction and utilization of these and many other CITES-listed trees are not detrimental to their survival, and helped countries with put ‘best practices’ into effect.
Beneficiary countries in Africa, Asia and the Americas have been given support to sustainably harvest and trade in CITES listed timber species, which is good for people and wildlife, and contributes to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal #15 “Sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, halt biodiversity loss”.
"Through our collective efforts we are ensuring that wild plants, and the animals that depend upon them, will be protected for this generation and the generations to come. Effectively regulating trade in forest products also has great benefits for people by ensuring sustainable livelihoods, and protecting social and cultural assets. Wildlife-based industries, including tourism, can bring significant benefits for some national economies and be a major generator of local jobs and foreign exchange" concluded Scanlon.