CITES ( Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species )

• States and regional economic integration organisations voluntarily ratify the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
• A decision made by the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s members in 1963 led to the creation of CITES (IUCN).
• The IUCN is a membership organisation that is exclusively made up of both governmental and non-governmental organisations.
• It gives public, private, and non-governmental organisations the information and resources necessary for the coexistence of economic development, environmental preservation, and human advancement.
• CITES became operational in July. There are 183 Parties as of right now (include countries or regional economic integration organizations).
• Aim: To make sure that the conservation of wild animals and plants is not jeopardised by international trading in their specimens.
• The CITES Secretariat is run by UNEP (The United Nations Environment Programme) and is based at Geneva, switzerland.
• It assists in the coordination, advice, and service aspects of the Convention’s operation (CITES).
• The Convention’s top decision-making body, the Conference of the Parties to CITES, is made up of each of its signatories.
• The third CoP was held in India in 1981, while the final CoP (17th) was held in Johannesburg, South Africa.
• CITES is a binding agreement between the Parties, although national laws still apply.
• Instead, it offers a framework that each Party must adhere to in order to ensure that CITES is put into effect at the national level. Each Party is required to develop its own domestic law to do this.

Function :

• The way the CITES operates is by imposing restrictions on the international commerce in specimens of particular species.
• A licencing procedure must be used to allow any import, export, re-export, or introduction from the sea of species covered by the Convention.
• Each Party to the Convention shall appoint one or more Management Authorities to be responsible for overseeing the licencing system and one or more Scientific Authorities to provide scientific advice on the impact of trade on the status of the species.
• The Convention’s Appendices I, II, and III contain lists of the species that receive various levels or forms of protection from overexploitation.

India and CITES :

• India is one of the world’s acknowledged mega-diverse nations, home to 4 of the 34 internationally recognised biodiversity hotspots with roughly 7-8% of all known species (Himalaya, Indo-Burma, Western Ghats and Sri Lanka, Sundaland).
• India also houses a vast collection of ancient knowledge pertaining to biology The 10 biogeographic areas of the country have so far been home to around 91,200 animal species and 45,500 plant species.
• By conducting ongoing surveys and exploration, inventories of floral and faunal diversities are being gradually updated with a number of new findings.
• India aggressively forbids the international trade of threatened wild species because it is a CITES Party, and it has put in place a number of measures to address the threat posed by invading alien species (e.g. certificates for exports, permits for imports, etc.).
• Dalbergia sissoo, a kind of rosewood, has been nominated for removal from Appendix II of The species spreads quickly, has the potential to become naturalised outside of its native region, and is invasive elsewhere in the world.
• It is not necessary to regulate the species’ trade in order to keep it from soon qualifying for inclusion in Appendix I.
• Additionally, India has suggested moving the Indian Star Tortoise (Geochelone elegans), smooth-coated otters (Lutrogale perspicillata), and little clawed otters (Aonyx cinereus) from Appendix II to Appendix I to provide the species with extra protection.
• The plan also calls for the Wedgefish (Rhinidae) and Gekko gecko to be added to CITES’ Appendix II.
• The Gekko gecko is highly valued as traditional Chinese medicine.