1. 1 CITES Resolutions and Decisions CITES Secretariat

2. 2 CITES Resolutions and Decisions The text of the Convention provides a basic framework for the implementation of CITES Certain provisions are very broad in nature and need to be complemented by an agreement on how they should be implemented in a harmonized way, for example by the establishment of additional rules or procedures Other provisions leave room for interpretation as to exactly what is intended As a result, guidance is regularly required to solve problems and to improve the effectiveness of the Convention

3. 3 CITES Resolutions and Decisions One of the tasks of the Conference of the Parties is to make recommendations to provide such guidance (Article XI, paragraph 3) These recommendations are recorded in one of two ways, either in Resolutions or in Decisions Of these two types of recommendation, Resolutions are intended to be of a more permanent nature, guiding implementation of the Convention over periods of many years

4. 4 CITES Resolutions and Decisions The Resolutions include the guidance provided by the Conference of the Parties on how to interpret the provisions of the Convention but they also include: the documents establishing the permanent committees; the budgets of the Secretariat; rules for controlling the trade; and the texts establishing long- term processes, such as the Review of Significant Trade More than 260 Resolutions have been adopted since the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties in 1976 but only 90 are currently in effect

5. 5 CITES Resolutions and Decisions The Decisions typically contain instructions to a specific committee or to the Secretariat This means that they are to be implemented, often by a specified time, and then become out of date A document containing all valid Decisions is compiled by the Secretariat after each meeting of the Conference of the Parties The Decisions that have been implemented or that have become redundant are deleted by the Secretariat

6. 6 CITES Resolutions and Decisions In force after CoP16: 90 Resolutions 196 Decisions Who knows them all? Which ones are really relevant for your day-to-day work?

7. 7 CITES Resolutions and Decisions All CITES Resolutions and Decisions can be grouped according to whether they: –Establish the CITES structure –Are relevant for the day to day work –Are relevant for the preparation for CoPs –Are related to the Secretariat’s work; or –Are of a general nature

8. 8 Numbering of Resolutions and Decisions The numbers of the Resolutions and Decisions reflect the Conference of the Parties at which they were adopted, followed by a sequential number –Decision 16.47 was the 47th Decision adopted at the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties –Resolution Conf. 12.3 (Rev. CoP16) was the third Resolution adopted at the twelfth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, and most recently revised at the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties

9. 9 Amendments to Resolutions In the past, the amendment of a Resolution was indicated by adding (Rev.) to It, or if the change was substantial, it was immediately given a new number, or after a second amendment it was given a new number After CoP12 it was decided to no longer change the number, but to add the reference to the last CoP where a change was made The current number therefore does not reflect the history of a Resolution

10. 10 Amendments to Resolutions For instance, the Resolution on Quotas for leopard hunting trophies and skins for personal use was numbered Conf. 4.13 (1983), Conf. 5.13 (1985), Conf. 6.9 (1987), Conf. 7.7 (1989), Conf. 8.10 (1991), Conf. 8.10 (Rev.) (1994), Conf. 10.14 (1997), Conf. 10.14 (Rev. CoP12) (2002), Conf. 10.14 (Rev. CoP13) (2004), Conf. 10.14 (Rev. CoP14) (2007), Conf 10.14 (Rev. CoP16) (2013)

11. 11 Establishing the CITES structure When a country joins the Convention it has to take a number of actions in order to be able to implement the Convention: –Name one or more Management Authorities Article IX, paragraph 1 (a) –Name one or more Scientific Authorities Article IX, paragraph 1 (b) Resolution Conf. 10.3: Designation and role of the Scientific Authorities –Implement legislation Article VIII, paragraph 1

12. 12 Establishing the CITES structure The legislation must at least contain measures: –to penalize illegal trade (or possession) Article VIII, paragraph 1 (a) –to confiscate illegal specimens Article VIII, paragraph 1 (b) How to deal with confiscated specimens is explained in: –Article VIII, paragraph 4 –Resolution Conf. 9.9: Confiscation of specimens exported or re- exported in violation of the Convention –Resolution Conf: 9.10 (Rev. CoP15): Disposal of illegally traded, confiscated and accumulated specimens –Resolution Conf. 10.7 (Rev. CoP15): Disposal of confiscated live specimens

13. 13 Establishing the CITES structure Legislation Many Parties do not have adequate legislation and therefore the Parties have initiated a review process –Resolution Conf. 8.4 (Rev. CoP15): National laws for implementing the Convention When, in response to this review, Parties do not remedy their legislation deficiencies in a timely manner the CoP has decided on a number of possible repercussions

14. 14 Day to day work For the day to day work the following aspects are or may be important – –Issuance of permits – –Special provisions – –Definitions – –Registration of breeding operations or nurseries – –Marking – –Quotas – –Provisions for particular species – –Stricter domestic measures – –Annual reports – –Compliance and enforcement – –Hybrids – –Reservations – –Review of Significant Trade – –Standard nomenclature – –Trade with non-Parties – –Transport of live animals

15. 15 Day to day work Issuance of permits Relevant instructions can be found in: –Article III: Procedures for trade in Appendix-I species –Article IV: Procedures for trade in Appendix-II species –Article V: Procedures for trade in Appendix-III species –Resolution Conf. 12.3 (Rev. CoP16): Permits and certificates (also contains sample formats for permits and certificates)

16. 16 Day to day work Special provisions Several resolutions deal with the interpretation of the various paragraphs of Article VII of the Convention –Paragraph 1 - Transit Resolution Conf. 9.7 (Rev. CoP15): Transit and transshipment –Paragraph 2 - Pre-Convention Resolution Conf. 13.6 (Rev. CoP16): Definition of the term ‘pre-Convention specimen’

17. 17 Day to day work Special provisions –Paragraph 3 - Personal effects Resolution Conf. 2.11 (Rev.): Hunting trophies of species listed in Appendix-I (See also the species Resolutions on Markhor, Leopard, Black rhinoceros) Resolution Conf. 10.20: Frequent cross-border movement of personally owned live animals Resolution 13.7 (Rev. CoP16): Control of trade in personal and household effects

18. 18 Day to day work Special provisions –Paragraphs 4 & 5 - Captive-bred animals and Artificially propagated plants Resolution Conf. 10.16 (Rev.): Specimens of animal species bred in captivity Resolution Conf. 11.11 (Rev. CoP15): Regulation of trace in plants; section on ‘ regarding the definition of artificially propagated ’

19. 19 Day to day work Special provisions –Paragraph 6 - Scientific exchange Resolution Conf. 11.15 (Rev. CoP12): Non-commercial loan, donation or exchange of museum and herbarium specimens –Paragraph 7 - Traveling exhibitions Resolution Conf. 12.3 (Rev. CoP16): Permits and certificates; section VI

20. 20 Day to day work Definitions Article I of the Convention provides the definition of the terms ‘species’, ‘specimen’ and ‘trade’ Definitions of other terms used in the text of the Convention are provided in Resolutions –Appropriate and acceptable destinations: Resolution Conf. 11.20 –Artificially propagated: Resolution Conf 11.11 (Rev. CoP15) –Bred in captivity: Resolution Conf. 10.16 (Rev.) –Personal effects: Resolution Conf. 13.7 (Rev. CoP16) –Pre-Convention: Resolution Conf. 13.6 (Rev. CoP16) –Primarily commercial purposes: Resolution Conf. 5.10 (Rev. CoP15) –Readily recognizable: Resolution Conf. 9.6 (Rev. CoP16) –Introduction from the Sea (jurisdiction): Resolution Conf. 14.6 (Rev. CoP16)

21. 21 Day to day work Registration of breeding operations or nurseries Two Resolutions deal with the registration of breeding operations or nurseries that produce specimens of Appendix-I species: Animals Resolution Conf. 12.10 (Rev. CoP15): Guidelines for a procedure to register and monitor operations that breed Appendix-I animal species for commercial purposes Plants Resolution Conf. 9.19 (Rev. CoP15): Guidelines for the Registration of nurseries exporting artificially propagated specimens of Appendix-I species

22. 22 Day to day work Marking Several Resolutions deal with marking requirements for various types of species or specimens Resolution Conf. 8.13 (Rev.): Use of coded-microchip implants for marking live animals in trade Resolution Conf. 7.12 (Rev CoP15): Marking requirements for trade in specimens of taxa with populations in both Appendix I and Appendix II Resolution Conf. 12.7 (Rev. CoP16): Conservation of and trade in sturgeon and paddlefish, Annex 1 Resolution Conf. 11.12 (Rev. CoP15): Universal tagging system for the identification of crocodilian skins Resolution Conf. 11.16: (Rev. CoP15) Ranching and trade in ranched specimens of species transferred from Appendix I to Appendix II Resolution Conf. 10.14 (Rev. CoP16), paragraph c): Quotas for leopard hunting trophies and skins for personal use Resolution Conf. 13.5 (Rev. CoP14): Establishment of export quotas for black rhinoceros hunting trophies

23. 23 Day to day work Quotas Quotas can be voluntarily established by individual Parties, on a national basis –Resolution Conf. 14.7 (Rev. CoP15) Management of nationally established export quotas

24. 24 Day to day work Quotas Quotas can also be established by the Conference of the Parties These are either included in the ‘Interpretation to the Appendices’, or in Resolutions: Resolution Conf. 13.5 (Rev. CoP14): Establishment of export quotas for black rhinoceros hunting trophies Resolution Conf. 10.14 (Rev. CoP16), paragraph c): Quotas for leopard hunting trophies and skins for personal use Resolution Conf. 10.15 (Rev. CoP14): Establishment of quotas for markhor hunting trophies Or are of a general nature: Resolution Conf. 9.21 (Rev. CoP13): The interpretation and application of quotas for species included in Appendix I

25. 25 Day to day work Provisions for particular species A number of Resolutions deal with the conservation of and trade in particular species: Bears: Resolution Conf. 10.8 (Rev. CoP14) Cetaceans: Resolution Conf. 11.4 (Rev. CoP12) Elephants: Resolution Conf. 10.10 (Rev. CoP16) Freshwater turtles: Resolution Conf. 11.9 (Rev. CoP13); Great apes: Resolution Conf. 13.4 (Rev. CoP16) Hard corals: Resolution Conf. 11.10 (Rev. CoP15) Leopards: Resolution Conf. 10.14 (Rev. CoP16) Markhor: Resolution Conf. 10.15 (Rev. CoP14) Musk dear: Resolution Conf. 11.7 (Rev. CoP16)

26. 26 Day to day work Provisions for particular species A number of Resolutions deal with the conservation of and trade in particular species: Rhinoceros: Resolution Conf. 9.14 (Rev.. CoP15) Sharks and stingrays: Resolution Conf. 12.6 (Rev. CoP16) Sturgeons and paddlefish: Resolution Conf. 12.7 (Rev. CoP16) Tibetan antelope: Resolution Conf. 11.8 (Rev. CoP13) Tigers and Asian big cats: Resolution Conf. 12.5 (Rev. CoP16) Timber species: Resolution Conf. 10.13 (Rev. CoP15),

27. 27 Day to day work Stricter domestic measures Under the provisions of Article IV, paragraph 1, of the Convention, Parties have the possibility to take stricter domestic measures (measures that go further than the requirements of the Convention) Several Resolutions deal with this subject: Resolution Conf. 4.22: Proof of foreign law Resolution Conf. 6.7: Interpretation of Article XIV, paragraph 1, of the Convention

28. 28 Day to day work Annual reports Article VIII, paragraph 7 (a) of the Convention stipulates that each Party should provide an annual report, containing information on all trade in CITES specimens Resolution Conf. 11.17 (Rev.CoP16) provides guidance on the production of Annual reports, including a deadline for submission (31 October in the year following the year for which the report was due) –The resolution also recommends that Parties not authorize trade with Parties that have not produced annual reports for three consecutive years Notification to the Parties 2011/019 contains detailed guidelines on the preparation and submission of annual reports, including recommended terminology

29. 29 Day to day work Biennial reports Article VIII, paragraph 7 (b) stipulates that each Party should provide biennial reports on how it is enforcing the Convention Notification to the Parties 2005/035 provides guidance on the Biennial report format Compliance and enforcement Resolution Conf. 11.3 (Rev. CoP16): (Compliance and enforcement) deals with several particular aspects of the implementation of the Convention which Parties should take at heart when issuing permits and carrying out controls

30. 30 Day to day work Review of Significant Trade Resolution Conf. 12. 8 (Rev. CoP13): Review of Significant trade in specimens of Appendix-II species, deals with situations where it is believed that the provisions of Article IV, paragraph 2(a), have not been adequately implemented The Resolution contains a detailed set of procedures to remedy this Parties receiving recommendations resulting from this review process should pay careful attention to these, as non-compliance may result in a recommendation to suspend trade for the country/species under review

31. 31 Day to day work Hybrids The text of the Convention does not refer to hybrids However, two Resolutions stipulate that hybrids are subject to the provisions of the Convention Note that the treatment of animal hybrids [Resolution Conf. 10.17 (Rev. CoP14), Animal hybrids] is different from the treatment of plant hybrids [Resolution Conf. 11.11 (Rev. CoP15), Regulation of trade in plants]

32. 32 Day to day work Reservations Various Parties have entered reservations for particular species under the provisions of Article XXIII, Article 15, paragraph 3, or Article XVI, paragraph 2 The Secretariat regularly publishes an unnumbered Notification containing all reservations made by any Party See also Resolution Conf. 4.25 (Rev. CoP14)

33. 33 Day to day work Standard nomenclature To ensure that all Parties use the same names for the CITES species, the Parties have adopted various standard references to animal and plant names At CoP 12 the Parties also decided to adopt the Checklist of CITES Species as the standard reference (See Resolution Conf. 12.11 (Rev. CoP16): Standard nomenclature) However, Appendix-II orchid species are not included in this Checklist For these the CITES Orchid checklists (Volumes 1, 2 & 3) should be consulted separately

34. 34 Day to day work Transport of live animals Articles II, III and IV contain specific references for transport conditions These are further clarified in Resolution Conf. 10.21 (Rev. CoP16), Transport of live animals

35. 35 Day to day work Trade with non-Parties Article X contains specific references to trade with States not a Party to the Convention See also Resolution Conf. 9.5 (Rev. CoP16): Trade with Parties not party to the Convention

36. 36 Resolutions relevant for CoPs only The Resolutions mentioned below and on the next slide largely deal with issues that are of relevance to meetings of the CoP Participation of Observers Resolution Conf. 13.8 (Rev. CoP16): Participation of observers at meetings of the Conference of the Parties Preparation and submission of documents Resolution Conf. 4.6 (Rev. CoP16): Submission of draft resolutions and other documents for meetings of the CoP Resolution Conf. 8.21 (Rev. CoP16): Consultation of range States on proposals to amend Appendices I and II Resolution Conf. 10.13 (Rev. CoP15): Implementation of the Convention for timber species (concerning consultation of organizations) Resolution Conf. 9.21 (Rev. CoP13): The interpretation and application of quotas for species included in Appendix I

37. 37 Resolutions relevant for CoPs only Preparation and evaluation of amendment proposals Resolution Conf. 9.24 (Rev. CoP16): Criteria for amendment of Appendices I and II Resolution Conf. 11.21 (Rev. CoP16): Use of annotations in Appendices I and II Resolution Conf. 11.16 (Rev. CoP15): Ranching and trade in ranched specimens of species transferred from Appendix I to Appendix II Resolution Conf. 9.20 (Rev.): Guidelines for evaluating marine turtle ranching proposals submitted pursuant to Conf. 11.16 Resolution Conf. 10.9: Consideration of proposals for the transfer of African Elephant proposals from Appendix I to Appendix II Appendix III Resolution Conf. 9.25 (Rev. CoP16): Inclusions of species in Appendix III (Also applicable in between CoPs)

38. 38 Resolutions related to the Secretariat’s work Resolution Conf. 5.20 (Rev. CoP16): Guidelines for the Secretariat when making recommendations in accordance with Article XV of the Convention Resolution Conf. 16.2: Financing and the costed programme of work for the Secretariat for the triennium 2014-2016 Resolution Conf. 11.19 (Rev. CoP16): Identification Manual

39. 39 Resolutions of a general nature These Resolutions deal with some aspects of the Convention that do not give specific instructions, but merely provide explanations or are directed to the Parties in general: Resolution Conf. 3.4: Technical cooperation Resolution Conf. 4.27: Interpretation of Article XVII, paragraph 3, of the Convention Resolution Conf. 8.3 (Rev. CoP13): Recognition of the benefits of trade in wildlife Resolution Conf. 10.4 (Rev. CoP14): Cooperation and synergy with the Convention on Biological Diversity Resolution Conf. 10.19 (Rev. CoP14): Traditional medicines Resolution Conf. 11.1 (Rev. CoP16): Establishment of Committees Resolution Conf. 12.4: Cooperation between CITES and the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources regarding trade in toothfish Resolution Conf. 13.2 (Rev. CoP14) Sustainable use of biodiversity: Addis Ababa Principles and Guidelines

40. 40 Resolutions of a general nature These Resolutions deal with some aspects of the Convention that do not give specific instructions, but merely provide explanations or are directed to the Parties in general: Resolution Conf. 13.3 Cooperation and synergy with the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) Resolution Conf. 13.8 (Rev. CoP16): Participation of observers at meetings of the Conference of the Parties Resolution Conf. 13.9 Encouraging cooperation between Parties with ex situ breeding operations and those with in situ conservation programmes Resolution Conf. 13.10 (Rev. CoP14) Trade in alien invasive species Resolution Conf. 13.11 Bushmeat Resolution Conf. 16.3 CITES Strategic Vision: 2008-2013 Resolution Conf. 14.4 Cooperation between CITES and ITTO regarding trade in tropical timber Resolution Conf. 15.2 Wildlife trade policy reviews

41. 41 Summary Resolutions Establishing the CITES structure 5 Resolutions Relevant for the day to day work 58 Resolutions Relevant for the meetings of the CoP 11 Resolutions Related to the Secretariat 3 Resolutions Resolutions of a general nature 16 Resolutions

42. 42 Summary While there are 25 Articles, 90 Resolutions and 196 Decisions, not all of them are immediately relevant to everyone’s day to day work and responsibilities By focusing on those Articles, Resolutions and Decisions that are most relevant to your work, you might find that the number is not so large If you concentrate on knowing those well, you will be well prepared for implementing the Convention

43. 43 CITES Secretariat Geneva