Cites forum crucial for conserving resources
IN A few days, SA hosts the 17th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites CoP17), described by the body’s secretary-general, John Scanlon, as "one of the most critical meetings in the 43-year history of the convention".This gathering comes amid heightened concern about the sustainability of animal and plant resources upon which livelihoods, economies and, ultimately, global security, depend.SA is a founding member of Cites, which came into force on July 1 1975. The conference will consider 62 proposals from 64 countries to amend the lists of species subject to Cites trade controls. Controversial and thought-provoking topics, such as interventions to tackle elephant poaching; the proposed listing of elephant, lion, rosewood species and sharks; as well as the illegal trade in rhino horn and pangolin, will receive considerable attention.The Cites appendices list species that could be at risk and whose im...
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