CITES+trade+controls+should+not+increase+poverty

“ // We believe that CITES can and should understand that international trade in wildlife does have an impact on local communities. Parties should promote trade measures that provide income opportunities from sustainable species trade to those communities // ,” says ** Dr. Sue Mainka, Head of the IUCN delegation to the CITES conference. ** CITES is first and foremost a conservation tool: it limits or halts the trade in endangered species, and thereby helps to rescue them from the brink of extinction. Yet, banning or limiting trade in threatened species can also hurt the communities that have used or traded these species for years. “ // What we do not want is that banning or limiting trade in a species drives people further into poverty. What we do want is effective measures that discourage illegal trade in wildlife, while allowing sustainable use of healthy species populations that generates income and opportunities for local communities // ,” says ** Dr. Mainka **. The decision before the Parties in The Hague is to initiate a number of case studies on the impact of trade controls on livelihoods, and to develop a technique for rapid assessment of livelihood impacts of proposed CITES species listings. “ // CITES is an essential tool for species conservation. However, the Convention could fulfill its wider potential role in sustainable development if its trade regulations were more effective in providing benefits to the people sustainably using and living with the resource // ,” says ** Dr. Mainka **. IUCN plays an important role for the Convention. Based on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, IUCN provides the best information available on the conservation status of species, and on species trade and products. IUCN and TRAFFIC also provide the [|//Analyses of Proposals to Amend the CITES Appendices//]//, // the scientific analyses of all proposals for decision at the upcoming conference. IUCN ’s Species Survival Commission plays a crucial role in this effort, together with its wide range of partners which include TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring organization of IUCN and WWF, and other conservation organizations. Further, IUCN provides technical advice to the Parties at the Conference, to enable Parties to make decisions that have the best conservation outcomes.
 * // CITES species trade regulations should contribute to the development of poor communities, not harm them, says World Conservation Union ( IUCN ) //**
 * Gland, Switzerland, 30 May 2007 ** ( IUCN ) – The World Conservation Union ( IUCN ) encourages parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) to make international trade controls on endangered species contribute to the development of poor communities. This major conference on the international trade of endangered wildlife is meeting from 3-15 June in The Hague, The Netherlands.
 * IUCN and CITES **


 * Notes to editors **
 * For more information or to set up interviews with IUCN experts on any of the species under dicusscion at this CITES conference, please contact: **
 * ** Carolin Wahnbaeck **, IUCN Media Relations Officer, Tel: +41 22 999 0127; Fax: +41 22 999 0020; __carolin.wahnbaeck@iucn.org__ ; Web: [|__http://iucn.org__] (b efore the CITES conference)
 * ** Andrew McMullin **, IUCN Species Programme Communications Officer, __andrew.mcmullin@iucn.org__ ; Web: [|__http://iucn.org__] (f irst week of CITES conference)
 * ** Elroy Bos **, IUCN Communications; Tel: +41 79 213 4670; __elroy.bos@iucn.org__ (second week of CITES conference); Web: [|__http://iucn.org__]
 * Photos ** are available from: __carolin.wahnbaeck@iucn.org__
 * CITES- IUCN website: ** [|__http://www.iucn.org/themes/ssc /our_work/wildlife_trade /citescop14/cites_2007.htm__]
 * IUCN /TRAFFIC Analyses of Proposals to Amend the CITES Appendices ****// : //** [|__http://www.iucn.org/themes/ssc /our_work/wildlife_trade /citescop14/cop14analyses.htm__]

Created in 1948, the World Conservation Union ( IUCN ) brings together 84 States, 108 government agencies, 800 plus NGOs, and some 10,000 scientists and experts from 181 countries in a unique worldwide partnership. The Union’s mission is to influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve the integrity and diversity of nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable. The Union is the world's largest environmental knowledge network and has helped over 75 countries to prepare and implement national conservation and biodiversity strategies. The Union is a multicultural, multilingual organization with 1,000 staff located in 62 countries. Its headquarters are in Gland, Switzerland. More information can be found at [|__www.iucn.org__]
 * About the World Conservation Union ( IUCN ) **