Embargo on the Sirens
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.
Embargo on the Sirens
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.
CITES: Over 40 years old and long in the tooth
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
CITES 2013 – Bangkok
At its signature 40 years ago, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, was visionary; a fact highlighted by speeches at Bangkok during the opening of its 16 plenary session. Today, it’s falling behind. CITES is disconnected from chemical and radioactive contamination of wildlife, climate change, political chaos and population changes that increase the speed of the extinction of biodiversity.
