Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)

CITES is an international agreement between governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.

Widespread information nowadays about the endangered status of many prominent species, such as the tiger and elephants, might make the need for such a convention seem obvious. But at the time when the ideas for CITES were first formed, in the 1960s, international discussion of the regulation of wildlife trade for conservation purposes was something relatively new. With hindsight, the need for CITES is clear. Annually, international wildlife trade is estimated to be worth billions of dollars and to include hundreds of millions of plant and animal specimens. The trade is diverse, ranging from live animals and plants to a vast array of wildlife products derived from them, including food products, exotic leather goods, wooden musical instruments, timber, tourist curios and medicines. Levels of exploitation of some animal and plant species are high and the trade in them, together with other factors, such as habitat loss, is capable of heavily depleting their populations and even bringing some species close to extinction. Many wildlife species in trade are not endangered, but the existence of an agreement to ensure the sustainability of the trade is important in order to safeguard these resources for the future.

Because the trade in wild animals and plants crosses borders between countries, the effort to regulate it requires international cooperation to safeguard certain species from over-exploitation. CITES was conceived in the spirit of such cooperation. Today, it accords varying degrees of protection to more than 35,000 species of animals and plants, whether they are traded as live specimens, fur coats or dried herbs.

CITES is an international agreement to which States (countries) adhere voluntarily. States that have agreed to be bound by the Convention (‘joined’ CITES) are known as Parties. Although CITES is legally binding on the Parties – in other words they have to implement the Convention – it does not take the place of national laws. Rather it provides a framework to be respected by each Party, which has to adopt its own domestic legislation to ensure that CITES is implemented at the national level.

For many years CITES has been among the conservation agreements with the largest membership, with now 181 Parties. See www.cites.org for more information.

Transposition to UK Legislation

Elephant Ivory – © NWCU

The UK ratified CITES in August 1976. The Endangered Species (Import & Export) Act 1976 was the first piece of legislation to give effect to CITES. It has been substantially amended and is now largely superseded by the Wildlife Trade Regulations (WTRs). Following the UK’s departure from the European Union, there is now a retained version of the WTRs in force in Great Britain, while the EU version remains applicable to Northern Ireland. Enforcement provisions are primarily contained in The Control of Trade in Endangered Species (COTES) Regulations 2018 and the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 (CEMA).

The CITES Management Authorities for the UK are the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and its executive agency APHA (Animal & Plant Health Agency) which is responsible for the issue of permits and certificates. JNCC is the Scientific Authority for Animals, and the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew is the Scientific Authority for Plants.

Enforcement is the responsibility of HM Customs and Revenue, the UK Border Force, the Crown Prosecution Service and the police.

You can read the latest UK Illegal Wildlife Trade Project Risk Assessment here.