CYIL Vol. 5, 2014

CITES AT THE BEGINNING OF ITS FIFTH DECADE… tuna in Appendix I and all species of the family Coralliidae (comprising corals used in the jewellery industry) in Appendix II, the Doha meeting counts as the most notable failure of marine species conservation efforts within the CITES. A failure that was too important to be justifiable and that has seriously called into question the functioning and effectiveness of the convention. Three years later, however, the world saw another CITES. The sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties that took place in Bangkok in March 2013 has been hailed as a ‘watershed moment’ for the convention itself and for the world’s wildlife. 64 Among other things, the meeting has approved inclusion of a number of new species in CITES appendices, including inclusion in Appendix II of five commercially valuable shark species (oceanic whitetip shark, three species of hammerhead sharks and the porbeagle shark) and all species of manta rays. But the situation is not as rosy as it seems. Without downgrading its importance, this apparent change in attitude towards marine species deserves some critical remarks. First, the entry into effect of the inclusion in Appendix II of the above mentioned shark and ray species have been delayed by 18 months, i.e. until 14 September 2014, “to enable Parties to resolve the related technical and administrative issues”. 65 More than a necessary measure, this period seems to be a bargaining chip offered to opponents of the shark species listing. Second, several States have immediately used their right to enter a reservation on the new listings, including Japan, whose reservation concerns all five shark species. 66 On the other hand, China, a major actor in shark conservation, has advised the CITES Secretariat that “while it opposed the inclusion of these shark species in the CITES appendices … in the spirit of international cooperation under CITES, with full respect for the decisions adopted at CoP16 … [it] will apply the CITES rules to these species”. 67 Last, but not least, the shark and manta ray species that have been included in CITES Appendix II in Bangkok represent only a small part of marine species fulfilling CITES listing criteria. Species in need of protection include other shark and ray species, discrete high seas fish stocks, 68 red and pink corals, to name but a few. The relative success of the sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties should 64 Cf. paper of John E. Scanlon, CITES Secretary-General, published in the special issue of Review of European, Comparative & International Environmental Law (RECIEL) devoted to CITES: SCANLON, J. E. CITES at Its Best: COP16 as a ‘Watershed Moment’ for the World’s Wildlife . RECIEL. 2013, Vol. 22, Issue 3, p. 222. 65 See the relevant proposals: CITES. Sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties. Proposals for amendment of Appendices I and II [online]. 2013. Available at: http://www.cites.org/eng/cop/16/prop/ index.php [ accessed 20-06-2014]. 66 The other States include Denmark on behalf of Greenland for porbeagle shark, Guyana for all five shark species and the manta rays, Iceland for porbeagle shark and Yemen for hammerhead sharks. See CITES. New rules for international trade in timber, marine and other wild animals and plants come into force [online]. Press release. 2013. Available at: http://www.cites.org/eng/news/pr/2013/20130614_ cop16_decisions.php [ accessed 20-06-2014]. 67 Ibid. 68 This means fish stocks that appear only on the high seas (they do not migrate to zones under national jurisdiction), whose exploitation is almost unregulated by international law.

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