• Endangered species

Endangered species (CITES)

This paper explores how individual transferable quota system (ITQs) can be used to act as economic incentives in conserving CITES-listed species, with particular reference to sturgeon fisheries of the Caspian Sea. The paper introduces the broad concepts of ITQs and explores economic incentive’s design, implementation, enforcement and compliance issues, within the context of Caspian Sea sturgeon population.

The paper finds that establishing ITQs throughout the Caspian Sea is a considerable challenge, as there is currently no international ITQ system for fishery. The author notes that crucial information is either missing or incomplete, with wider geo-political issues taking precedence.

However, the author argues that there are many initial conditions that favour ITQ development. The author notes that quota auctions are used to allocate quotas for other fisheries, and there is collaboration over other collective natural resources of the Caspian Sea. In addition, the author mentions, international demand for caviar appears sustainable at high prices, indicating large potential gains for all industry participants from the sustainable management of sturgeon.

Under the right conditions, the author notes, regulation would be the preferred route of the majority of firms associated with the sturgeon resource, with ITQs providing the suitable regulatory framework.

The paper concludes that in order to implement an effective ITQ system as an economic incentive to conserve wildlife, the following factors need to be considered:

• recognising that the fact that economic incentive are not a panacea
• the variety of causes of wildlife loss need to be carefully considered
• successful ITQs are the result of learning-by-doing, experimentation and innovation over considerable time periods
• economic information needs to be routinely collected to feed into decision-making, review and analysis
• resource managers’ needs must be given due consideration to ensure economic signals are consistent with conservation objectives
• demand-side pressures that generate incentives for production need to be understood, particularly the nature of both legal and illegal demand, and the structure of the trade chain
• domestic support from legal, social and political frameworks to is required to encourage resource managers to promote conservation of target wildlife species.

[adapted from author]

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