Wildlife trading treaty has been helping to save animals for 50 years

Today is World Wildlife Day, an occasion to celebrate the incredible diversity of flora and fauna on our planet. The day also marks his 50th anniversary of an international agreement between governments to ensure that the wildlife trade, estimated to be worth billions of dollars worldwide, does not threaten the survival of species. .

A voluntary agreement called the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) provides varying degrees of protection for more than 37,000 species worldwide. The text of the Convention was agreed at a conference on 3 March 1973 and entered into force in 1975. The treaty provides 184 participating countries, including China, the United States and the European Union, with a framework to ensure sustainable trade in wild species for their products. food, fur, lumber, medicine, etc.

“Without CITES, we would be missing a critical mechanism to stop the constant stream of tragic seed extraction driven by market demand.” Abigail Entwistle In a press release from conservation charity Fauna & Flora International (FFI).

mountain gorilla (gorilla beringei beringei) It is one of the species that has benefited from a complete trade ban under CITES in partnership with FFI. Since these efforts began, the population size has quadrupled to over 1,000 people. Primates can be seen roaming the green slopes of Rwanda’s volcanoes and giving birth one or two babies at a time, as seen in the photo above from Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park. The species is also found in Uganda and the Dominican Republic of the Congo.

pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis), about 1 meter high and also protected by CITES. Herbivores live in the forests and swamps of West Africa, mostly in Liberia. The photo above was captured with a camera trap. CITES and FFI work with local communities to track and protect nocturnal animals.

Recently, conservationists have confirmed that the pygmy hippo is more widely distributed than previously thought. They detected pygmy hippopotamus DNA at 10 locations in southeastern Liberia using technology developed by NatureMetrics, which supports efforts to conserve the species.

Male grenadines pink rhinoceros iguana (Iguana Insularis Insularis) is captured in the above photo taken at Palm Island in St. Vincent and the Grenadines in the Caribbean.The impressive species is threatened by poaching and competition for food and territory against the invasive green iguana (iguana iguana), but still without CITES protection.

Since 2016, FFI has been working with local and international partners to protect species. The charity says “a listing on the CITES would be the logical next step” to safeguard its survival.