Sea Turtles & CITES
STC, Sea Turtles and CITES
CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement between governments adopted in 1963 at a meeting of members of IUCN (The World Conservation Union). Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. CITES is a voluntary international agreement that does not take the place of a countiry’s national laws.
Annually, international wildlife trade is estimated to be worth billions of dollars and to include hundreds of millions of plant and animal specimens. The trade is diverse, ranging from live animals and plants to a vast array of wildlife products derived from them, including food products, exotic leather goods, wooden musical instruments, timber, tourist curios and medicines. Levels of exploitation of some animal and plant species are high and the trade in them, together with other factors, such as habitat loss, is capable of heavily depleting their populations and even bringing some species close to extinction. Many wildlife species in trade are not endangered, but the existence of an agreement to ensure the sustainability of the trade is important in order to safeguard these resources for the future.
Because the trade in wild animals and plants crosses borders between countries, the effort to regulate it requires international cooperation to safeguard certain species from over-exploitation. CITES was conceived in the spirit of such cooperation. Today, it accords varying degrees of protection to more than 30,000 species of animals and plants, whether they are traded as live specimens, fur coats or dried herbs.
The Issues
Recognizing that unregulated trade was wiping out scores of plant and animal species, in 1973 countries from around the world drafted a treaty “to protect wildlife against such over-exploitation and to prevent international trade from threatening species with extinction.” Known as CITES, the treaty now includes 146 member countries. These countries act by banning commercial international trade in an agreed list of endangered species and by regulating and monitoring trade in others that might become endangered. Hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) are currently listed on Appendix I, which is reserved for those species in imminent danger of extinction. Specimens or products derived from species listed on Appendix I are banned from trade between member countries without special permission.
Hawksbill shell (or bekko in Japanese) has been used since antiquity as raw material in the making of a variety of products, including jewelry, carved figurines and decorative ornaments. Artisans from Japan are particularly skilled in working with bekko, and there is constant demand in that country for raw hawksbill shell.
Since 1993, Cuba has been stockpiling hawksbill shell from turtles taken in its waters. Approximately six tons of raw shell are now stored in Cuba awaiting permission from CITES to be exported. The major concern is that re-opening trade in hawksbill shell would encourage stockpiling of shell by dealers around the world in anticipation that CITES will eventually legalize trade elsewhere.
CITES 2000
In an effort to defeat two proposals to re-open legal international trade in hawksbill turtle shell between Cuba and Japan, Sea Turtle Conservancy (STC) sent three representatives to the 2000 CITES conference held in Africa. STC Executive Director David Godfrey and Scientific Advisory Committee members Drs. Anne Meylan and Jeanne Mortimer traveled to Nairobi, Kenya, and convince CITES country delegates that the proposals submitted by Cuba would have serious negative impacts on both Caribbean and global hawksbill populations.
Under the proposed amendments submitted to CITES, Cuba is asserting that the hawksbills occurring in its territorial waters form a stable enough population to warrant “downlisting” to Appendix II. If either of the proposed amendments (Prop. 11.40 and Prop 11.41) are approved by a two-thirds vote of CITES delegates, Cuba would be allowed the one-time shipment of its entire stockpile to Japan. If Prop. 11.40 is approved, then every year thereafter, Cuba would also be permitted to export shell from an additional 500 hawksbills to Japan and other countries meeting certain guidelines.
Dozens of sea turtle scientists who make up the international Marine Turtle Specialist Group (MTSG) have voiced strong objections to the Cuban proposal. Drs. Meylan and Mortimer are among those on the MTSG who are most knowledgeable about the status of hawksbills in the Caribbean and indeed globally. The STC delegation was on hand in Africa to present delegates with factual information about the impacts of the Cuban proposal. As a result of the hard work of STC and others, the proposals were defeated.
CITES 2002
During the 2002 CITES Conference, Cuba resubmitted its 2000 CITES proposal to re-open legal international trade in hawksbill turtle shell between Cuba and Japan. Once again, it was strongly opposed by the international scientific and conservation community. Sea Turtle Conservancy (STC) is one of the most active groups opposing Japan and Cuba on this issue.
Then the unexpected happened; in August 2002, Cuba officially withdrew its proposal! The country gave no clear indication as to the reason for the withdrawal, but the move is cause for great celebration among all of us who value the protection of sea turtles, especially the critically endangered hawksbill.
While STC and other groups celebrate the resolution of the hawksbill issue, a new trade proposal from the United Kingdom and the Cayman Islands poses an equally disturbing threat to sea turtles. In this case, the UK delegation is attempting to register the Cayman Turtle Farm as a legal captive-breeding facility for green turtles (Chelonia mydas). Under CITES regulations, animal parts produced in a registered captive-breeding farm are allowed to be traded internationally. Thus, if the measure is approved at the upcoming COP, the Cayman Turtle Farm would become the world’s only legal source for internationally traded green turtle products.