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Sustainable Trade

Trade in wildlife and its products is a market worth billions of US dollars every year, providing valuable employment and income to rural communities, the business sector and national economies. Excessive harvesting pressure can, however, pose a threat to the long-term survival of some highly traded species.

In order to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was agreed between governments in 1975.

Water Monitor (Varanus salvator) © Pablo Sinovas

Currently, 172 countries have signed up to CITES and it accords varying degrees of protection to more than 30,000 species of animals and plants, whether they are traded as live specimens, fur coats or dried herbs. The names of these species are listed in one of three Appendices: Appendix I, II or III.

• Appendix I species are rare or endangered. Trade in these species for primarily commercial purposes is prohibited
• Appendix II species are not necessarily rare or endangered at present, but could become so if trade is not regulated. Trade in these species is permitted subject to certain conditions
• Appendix III species are not necessarily endangered but are subject to special management within the listing country (as indicated in parentheses beside the Appendix number)

 

The term "Sustainable development" was first announced in 1987, in the Brundtland Report and later formalised during the Convention on Biological Diversity held in Rio in 1992 (UNCED 1992). Central to this idea was the equitable combination of social, economical and environmental sustainability or when applied to trading practices that economical growth does not harm the environment or deteriorate social conditions.

Today more and more businesses are recognising the importance of long-term environmentally, socially and economically sustainable trade whereby the harvesting and production activities have a non-detrimental or even positive impact on the species and its ecosystem, the local communities earn tangible benefits from the trade and the wildlife resource can be relied upon as a long term source of income.

A growing proportion of consumers are, in addition, conscious of the potential impact their purchase could have on people’s livelihoods, wild populations and natural habitats. They increasingly expect companies to review the sourcing of their natural resources as well as seek clear and precise information for themselves.

Reptiles in the International Trade