The CITES Convention and trade in animals and plants

Some species are split-listed: part of the species is listed in one Appendix, the other part in another Appendix. A good example is the African elephant (loxodonta africana): which is listed in Appendix I, with the exception of the populations of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe which are listed in Appendix II. The reason for this differentiation lies in the fact that the CITES Conference held that in the four countries mentioned, good management practices existed which had led to an increase in the elephant population; under these circumstances, it would be more correct to allow a controlled trade in (ivory from) elephants for which a high demand existed in Asia. Other animals which are split-listed include apes and monkeys, tapirs, rhinoceroses, bats, dolphins, porpoises and whales, bears, big cats, wolves and vicunas.

An inclusion of a species in one of the Appendices is not definite forever. The parties may, at any time, suggest amendments to the appendices which are then discussed during the next Conference of the Parties. Thus, for example, the classification of African elephants was discussed at twelve, that of crocodiles even at fourteen meetings of the Conference of the Parties. Obviously, the negotiations and voting decisions are not only motivated by the wish to protect endangered species, but often enough by economic, trade-related or other considerations. This becomes clear when different decisions are looked at in detail: the Conference of the Parties developed quite a number of means to reconcile the rather strict classifications in one of the Appendices with the need to accommodate states which wanted less restrictions on trade. For example, animals which are ranched or captive-bred are treated differently; export quota are granted to individual states; trade in hunting trophies receives a special derogation; some classifications are to be reviewed after a specific time-span (10 years), or decisions of the Conference of the Parties only become applicable after a specific date.

There are several reasons for allowing a certain - limited, it is true - flexibility in the classification of endangered species: the stricter the classification is, the higher the price, for example, of ivory or rhinoceros horns, becomes, and the greater the risk of smuggling, illegal poaching (killing) and trade is. In particular, less developed states often have limited possibilities to prevent illegal trafficking. Also, states which have relatively good management practice and which contain illegal trafficking sometimes consider that such efforts should be rewarded by allowing legal trade. Finally, the population of species might be endangered in some states, but not in others, so that a differentiation in the protection system is necessary.

Under the CITES, about 900,000 legal transactions in wild fauna and flora that are protected by the Convention are reported annually. However, illegal trade in wildlife continues to grow. By its very nature, it is almost impossible to obtain reliable figures for the value of illegal trafficking. It is estimated that illegal wildlife trade reaches 8 to 10 billion dollars per year, but there are other estimations that double this sum. INTERPOL, the international criminal police organisation, considers that wildlife trafficking is the fourth highest type of illegal trafficking in the world, after trafficking in drugs, humans, and counterfeit products. Between 20,000 and 30,000 elephants are thought to be illegally killed in Africa every year. In South Africa alone, more than 1000 rhinoceroses were illegally killed in 2013; for a rhino horn about 40,000 euro per kilo is paid, more than for gold.