• Endangered species

Endangered species (CITES)

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) enforcement is often significantly undermined by a lack of inter-agency cooperation at the national, regional and international levels. High-level decision-makers are either not aware or are not concerned about the importance of inter-agency co-operation for CITES enforcement.

This paper details the main problems of enforcing CITES, and suggests possible ways forward to remedy the current situation:

• a common problem is the lack of political awareness and importance of CITES at national, regional and international level
• at the national level, inadequate intelligence networks and a lack of enforcement resources and impetus combined with barriers to sharing information between agencies are also problems
• at a regional level, complex geopolitical situations in regions generate barriers to cooperation. There are also few effective formal or informal mechanisms for engagement
• at an international level the main issue is the lack of resources for networking and engagement to develop international cooperation and limited facilitation by international enforcement bodies.

Recommendations for enforcing CITES at the national level include:

• agree memorandum of understandings between the relevant enforcement agencies and the CITES Management Authority to define roles
• establish points of contact in relevant agencies with responsibility for coordination and identify lines of communication
• expedite sharing of non-public information between agencies where privacy laws will allow
• establish wildlife law enforcement committees at national and state and provincial levels.

At a regional level:

• cross-border enforcement meetings at bilateral or multi-lateral levels
• information sharing between countries within a region, with clear lines of communication
• establish regional wildlife enforcement networks for coordination that shares information.

Internationally:

• the development of dedicated anti-smuggling teams, in close communication between key countries on international smuggling routes
• improve mutual understanding and trust between countries as a basis for future collaboration through sharing information and providing a feedback mechanism for information shared
• capitalise on telecommunication advances to facilitate better coordination both in-country and internationally.

[adapted from author]

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