Click here for ENB's coverage of: Second Joint Meeting of the Animals and Plants Committees

Ger van Vliet, Secretariat

 Ger van Vliet, expressed Secretariat frustration that most Parties do not respond to requests for comments until COP discussions, often stalling adoption of scientific reviews of species in their range.

PLANTS COMMITTEE

On REVIEW OF THE APPENDICES, Chair Clemente said some species in the Appendices had not been listed according to scientific criteria. She acknowledged the technical and funding challenge of conducting scientific assessments. Regarding a review of orchid species, the Secretariat noted the overwhelming task that lay ahead. The National Orchid Society suggested listing only traded species. Chair Clemente assigned a working group to discuss the matter and to bring proposals to the Committee tomorrow.

 
Group photo of the Plants Committee

 Margarita Clemente warned the Committee of past experiences in "costly exercises in futility" and urged range states to participate well in advance of COPs to ensure the serious scientific review of species continue so as to simplify and update plant Appendix listings.

 Bertrand von Arx, North American Plants Representative, proposed creating links between COP delegates and Plant Committee representatives in preparations of species reviews.

Quentin Luke insisted on their being communication problems since in one case both Kenya and India range states were unaware of species review initiative.

Yves-Marie Allain, France

Edward Nash, American Orchid Society during the morning session of the Plants Committee

Dora Ingrid Rivera, Costa Rica

Uwe Schippmann, Germany

Germany presented on 16 medicinal plant species listed since COP9

Quentin Luke, Kenya

On trade in Prunus africana, Kenya reported that trade in Kenya is highly underestimated and unsustainable

Patricia Dávila, Mexico

Mexico proposed prioritizing a status assessment of  significant illegal trade in cacti

On SIGNIFICANT TRADE REVIEW, The Secretariat introduced primary and secondary recommendations issued to Parties and said most Parties had not commented. The Secretariat noted that deadlines for complying with primary recommendations could not realistically be met by Parties and offered assistance to help Parties commit to necessary action. Asia said some Parties have not responded because the species is already protected by legislation. The Secretariat said parties should respond regardless of national measures. Bolivia called for information about imports of Pecari tajacu. The US high�lighted the need to tackle the worldwide trade of Asian pangolins and Japan said that would entail persuading Laos into joining CITES.

Animals Committee group photo

Vincent Fleming, Joint Nature Conservation Committee, UK, Chair of the working group on hard corals, presented the group�s terms of reference, which the Committee adopted.

Vincent Fleming, Joint Nature Conservation Committee, UK, On the mariculture and propagation of corals, Fleming identified work ahead, including defining cultured coral and source codes related to coral propagation.

Vincent Fleming

Mohammad Reza Pourkazemi, Iran

Iran expressed concern about data reliability and proposed setting up a working group on sturgeon classification. Pourkazemi emphasized that classification should be based on geography and not species, and also proposed convening a meeting of range States to further discuss sturgeon conservation and fisheries management

Katalin Rodics, Nature Conservation Department, Ministry for Environment, Hungary in conversation with Susan Lieberman, North America representative for the Animals Committee

Thomas Althaus, Switzerland with Kim Howell, Regional Representative for Africa

Alison Rosser, IUCN (right) with representatives of TRAFFIC Europe, Caroline Raymakers and Tom De Meulenaer

TRAFFIC introduced a document on Acipenseriformes, which contains the review and proposed categorization of ten species of sturgeon

Nancy Daves, National Marine Fisheries Service, Department of Commerce, USA with Mark Simmonds, Care for the Wild

Yinfeng Guo, The Endangered Species Scientific Commission of the People's Republic of China, going over some of the materials at the meeting with a fellow delegate