Posts Tagged "Arctique"

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
CITES 2013 – Bangkok, 4.45 pm (local time)
Press Release n°4

Caribbean and Amazonian manatees have been listed under Appendix I of CITES since 1975.

It took 38 years for the West African manatee (Trichechus senegalensis) to get the same protection. The proposal from Senegal, Benin, and Sierra Leone was approved by consensus. Today, the population of West African manatees is estimated to be less than 10,000 individuals living in the estuaries and costal waters of 21 countries. Reaching up to 3m in length and between 300 and 500 kg, manatees, also known as sea cows, are exclusively herbivores. Some grand individuals can even reach up to 4m in length and weigh over 1,000kg. Consuming 30kg of aquatic plants each day, they are considered the best biological means of combatting the colonization of invasive species, such as the water hyacinth.

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
CITES 2013 – Bangkok, 12h50 (local time)
Press Release No. 3

The international community, inadequate in stopping the melting of the ice caps, is equally inadequate in protecting polar bears from international trade. The U.S. proposal to add polar bears to Appendix I of CITES was voted down yesterday with only 38 votes for, 42 against, and 46 abstentions (2/3 of the vote were necessary).

The agreement between the U.S. and Russia was not enough. The 27 members of the European Union abstained; they are well situated among the 70 countries that import polar bear hides and skulls each year.

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
CITES 2013 – Bangkok, 12h50 (local time)
Press Release No. 3

The international community, inadequate in stopping the melting of the ice caps, is equally inadequate in protecting polar bears from international trade. The U.S. proposal to add polar bears to Appendix I of CITES was voted down yesterday with only 38 votes for, 42 against, and 46 abstentions (2/3 of the vote were necessary).

The agreement between the U.S. and Russia was not enough. The 27 members of the European Union abstained; they are well situated among the 70 countries that import polar bear hides and skulls each year.

In Doha, Qatar in 2010, Europe played a deciding role in the rejection of the American proposal to add Ursus maritimus to Appendix I. Because Europe voted against it, the proposal failed.

In Bangkok, three years later, the E.U. tries again to block the U.S. proposal. Instead of supporting the U.S. proposal, like Russia, the E.U. proposes keeping the polar bear under Appendix II, which authorises the international trade of polar bears and their parts. This compromise suggested by the E.U. is actually more like the status quo. The E.U. presented its proposal several requirements already expressed by specialists, environmental NGOs and certain range states, claiming it would be best to first understand the state of sub-populations, investigate smuggling networks, and to evaluate the effects of the capture and the hunting of the species.

In Doha, Qatar in 2010, Europe played a deciding role in the rejection of the American proposal to add Ursus maritimus to Appendix I. Because Europe voted against it, the proposal failed.

In Bangkok, three years later, the E.U. tries again to block the U.S. proposal. Instead of supporting the U.S. proposal, like Russia, the E.U. proposes keeping the polar bear under Appendix II, which authorises the international trade of polar bears and their parts. This compromise suggested by the E.U. is actually more like the status quo. The E.U. presented its proposal several requirements already expressed by specialists, environmental NGOs and certain range states, claiming it would be best to first understand the state of sub-populations, investigate smuggling networks, and to evaluate the effects of the capture and the hunting of the species.