By Adelina Matinca, AIWC Cologne
As I wrapped up my MA thesis entitled “Human-Wildlife Conflict in Northeastern Namibia: CITES, Elephant Conservation and Local Livelihoods,” I began to ask myself how many people actually know about CITES or elephant conservation and the impact they both have on local livelihoods. Many of you might have heard these terms, either in articles you have been reading or in documentaries: By regulating – and in many cases prohibiting – international trade with products made from endangered plant and animal species, CITES ultimately aims to stop poaching and save species that might otherwise be hunted to extinction.
I would like to introduce these terms to you from a different angle, namely the impact that they have, and offer my experience from the field.
This is Part 1 of a three-part series, which will focus on CITES – what it means, its impact and how we can help stay informed when it comes to endangered fauna and flora. Parts 2 and 3 will offer my own account from the field – namely, focusing on elephant conservation and its effect on local livelihoods.
What is CITES?
The Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is a treaty key to controlling trade in specimens of endangered species among states. It is of crucial importance on a global level.
The CITES currently has 183 parties and serves as a key tool for wildlife conservation by regulating trade. It regulates the international trade of over 35,000 wild species of plants and animals to ensure their survival in the wild. This covers well-known animal species such as elephants, rhinos and pangolins, but also tropical trees.
Why should you care about CITES?
If you have been wondering about the plummeting population of a particular fauna or flora, then CITES offers an insight into the history of trading and estimates the current number left in the wild of each particular species. It also offers legal documentations showcasing the interest of certain states in a particular fauna or flora. In some cases you can also find poaching numbers for a certain species, for example, in the Monitoring of Illegal Killings of Elephants (MIKE) reports from 2020.
How does CITES affect conservation initiatives around the world?
The CITES Treaty asks that contracting states should recognize that wild fauna and flora must be protected for this and the generations to come and that states should be conscious of the “ever-growing value of wild fauna and flora from aesthetic, scientific, cultural, recreational and economic points of view.” 
The contracting states recognize that the commodification of fauna and flora exists, but states should recognize “that peoples and States are and should be the best protectors of their own wild fauna and flora; (…) in addition, that international cooperation is essential for the protection of certain species of wild fauna and flora against over-exploitation through international trade.” Under the Treaty, states must make their trade decisions taking into account the necessary protection of wild fauna and flora for future generations, the economic value of fauna and flora, and people. The underlying precept of CITES is that states should remain the protectors of such fauna and flora and protect them from over-exploitation through trade.
Additionally, states hold the responsibility for managing their own respective fauna or flora listed on either of the three CITES Appendices. The restrictions on international trade for any given species depend on the appendix in which the species is listed – from registration and permit requirements to near-total bans on trade.
Listing species in different appendices according to the level of threat to their survival – with layered legal protections – makes the treaty and its obligations somewhat dynamic. At each Conference of the Parties (CoP), final decisions are taken to a vote by all states on whether or not fauna and flora should remain in the same appendices, or whether to grant limited exemptions if this is seen to benefit conservation as a whole. For example, even though trading in ivory is generally restricted to antiquities (meaning ivory from elephants
killed before CITES was signed), some countries in Africa have received one-time permission in the past to auction off ivory seized from poachers in order to raise money for conservation projects.
NGOs are also given a chance to voice their concerns and lobby their interest during a CoP, but they are of course unable to vote. These regular meetings also make the control of trade a highly political issue. States might vote on a particular fauna or flora from purely political interest for their own country. For example, an African country that has ivory would want to sell it to another state. The suggestion that states might act against the interest of the Convention is simply to show that the CITES is highly political, especially due to the fauna and flora trade implication among States.
How can I stay informed?
The easiest way to stay informed is to look through the various documentations that are linked to the CITES webpage. Reading Appendices I, II and III will provide you with up-to-date information on whether a particular fauna or flora is endangered or not. If you want to know more about CITES, fauna and flora, and conservation, or if you wish to add anything, send an email to .
Photo of Boabab tree courtesy of Pixabay, other photos by Adelina Matinca
