The Banggai cardinalfish is just one of many commericially exploited species up for increased protection under the terms of the U.N. CITES act.
Credit: Wikipedia
GENEVA: Pink coral, cedar trees, fish that end up on the dinner plate and a wide-eyed mammal prized in Asian medicine are among the animal and plant species that could gain greater U.N. protection this year.
The United Nations Environment Program, which administers CITES - the Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora - unveiled some 40 new government proposals for changes to wildlife trade rules that will be considered at the organisation's conference in June.
The agency said many of the proposals reflected growing international concern about the accelerating destruction of the world's marine and forest resources through overfishing and excessive logging.
"Biological diversity faces many threats, ranging from habitat destruction to climate change to unrestrained commercial harvesting for trade," said Achim Steiner, executive director of the U.N. Environment Program.
The conference allows countries to amend rules aimed at defining and protecting endangered species. Currently some 530 animal and 300 plant species benefit from complete protection under CITES, while only restricted trade is allowed for another 4,460 animal and 28,000 plants.
Potentially the most endearing new candidate for a complete ban on trade is the endangered slow loris, a small, furry, nocturnal primate from south and southeast Asia. Cambodia, which is sponsoring full protection under the terms of CITES Appendix I, says the Loris is threatened by a combination of the destruction of its forest habitat, growing demand for traditional medicine and as a pet.
Officials underlined a shift in focus this year away from the more traditional endagered species to commercially over-exploited fish and trees. "Commercial timber and fish species have long been kept away from CITES. Those species were considered off limits," said CITES Secretary General Willem Wijnstekers. "That is changing."
"Extensive deforestation" of the cedar tree in South and Central America is prompting the European Union to seek trade restrictions for the species, which is valued for its insect and rot resistant wood. The EU also wants the trade in European eels, a popular food in coastal areas of northern Europe, and the spiny dogfish, a type of shark prized in fish and chip shops, to be subject to a permit system and fisheries management, CITES said.
Germany, which currently holds the European Union presidency, said the spiny dogfish was vulnerable because of its tendency to travel in large schools that are easily trawled by fishing boats and its slow reproductive rate. Meanwhile European eel stocks have declined "dramatically" due to overfishing, according to CITES.
Other fish species up for protection due to over-exploitation include Brazilian lobsters and the Banggai cardinalfish. A popular item in home aquariums, the striking tropical is up for listing, because about 700,000 to 900,000 of them are collected every year.
The United States wants to control the trade in pink coral for the first time, because of the over-exploitation of tropical coral reefs that have been rendered fragile and bleached by climate change. The pink variety of the polyp has been prized in jewellery and for decoration for 5,000 years.
Several countries sought to lower protection on species, including the black caiman, a species of reptile similar to the alligator, in Brazil. Uganda asked for a ban on trade related to Ugandan leopards to be lifted to allow limited trade in sports trophies, CITES said.
Wijnstekers said other bids to remove species from protection altogether suggested that measures to save endangered species were successful. This year's list included the North American bobcat and several types of cactus.
