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comunicato UNEP sulla CITES
I membri della CITES si sono accordati su un piano strategico di 5 anni
che rafforza la collaborazione e le interazioni tra CITES e convenzione
sulla Biodiversita'.
Dettagli sotto.
Spero interessi
Alessandro Gimona
UNEP News Release
For information only
Not an official record
CITES echoes UNEP call for synergies amongst conventions
NAIROBI, 17 April 2000 - The 151 member governments of the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) have agreed on a
five-year strategic plan during their meeting here at UNEP headquarters
that focuses on strengthening collaboration with other conventions and
organizations dealing with conservation and biodiversity.
"CITES provides a practical and effective system for promoting the
conservation and sustainable trade of some 30,000 at-risk species," said
Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP), which administers the CITES secretariat. "Many of
these species are threatened not just by trade but by the destruction of
their habitat and ecosystems, as well as by pollution, climate change,
and other stresses. CITES clearly recognizes that its goals can be best
achieved by cooperating closely with international efforts to address
related aspects of biological diversity," he said.
To avoid overlap and even conflict, and to strengthen international
action, UNEP is actively promoting the coordination of policies and
actions, particularly amongst the various biodiversity-related
conventions. Opportunities for synergies also exist in areas of
scientific and technical work, project development and implementation,
compliance and enforcement, capacity building, awareness raising,
training, fundraising, and relations with the World Trade Organization.
CITES' strategic plan and related decisions therefore emphasize the
importance of enhancing synergies between CITES and the Convention on
Biological Diversity, which is also administered by UNEP. This latter
agreement
ES, in 1992, provides an
overarching framework for addressing the global biodiversity crisis. The
Convention on Biological Diversity will hold its next major conference
at UNEP headquarters in Nairobi from 15 - 26 May.
Other key CITES partners active in biodiversity policy-making include
the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, the Bonn Convention on Migratory
Species, the World Heritage Convention, the Convention to Combat
Desertification, the 14 Regional Seas conventions and action plans, and
UNEP. Also, organizations such as UNEP's World Conservation Monitoring
Centre (WCMC) offer a wealth of scientific and technical information and
research capacity.
Based in Cambridge, UK, WCMC provides information services on
conservation and sustainable use of the world's living resources, and
helps others to develop information systems of their own. Its programmes
concentrate on species, forests, protected areas, marine and
freshwaters; plus habitats affected by climate change such as polar
regions. It also addresses the relationship between trade and the
environment and the wider aspects of biodiversity assessment.
The strategic goal of CITES is to ensure that no wild animal or plant
species is unsustainably exploited because of international trade.
Governments increasingly recognize that sustainable trade can contribute
to the broader and mutually compatible goals of sustainable development
and biodiversity conservation. In addition to maintaining and
strengthening its trade regime, CITES will therefore strengthen its
efforts to promote management practices such as ranching and
revenue-sharing incentives for local communities.
The strategic plan also calls for enhancing the ability of member
governments to formulate policies and strengthen institutions and
enforcement measures in order to reduce the need for protecting species
through trade controls. It further seeks to strengthen the scientific
basis of decision-making, obtain global membership, improve the
Conventio
d ultimately
eliminate illegal trade, promote greater understanding of CITES by the
public, and strengthen the involvement of non-governmental organizations
(NGOs), trade associations, scientists, the media, and local
communities.
To promote synergies in practice, CITES has identified 10 policy areas
and likely partners for each area:
· Scientific and technical coordination, project development and
implementation. Proposed partners: WCMC, UNEP regional offices1, IUCN
and IUCN regional offices, regional groups under IUCN Wise Use
Initiative.
· Compliance control. Proposed partners: TRAFFIC, NGOs.
· Enforcement. Proposed partners: WCO, ICPO-Interpol, TRAFFIC, NGOs.
· Capacity building. Proposed partners: WCMC, UNEP regional offices.
· Training. Proposed partners: WCO, ICPO-Interpol, NGOs, UNEP regional
offices, IUCN Regional offices, UNITAR.
· Awareness. Proposed partners: UNEP regional offices, NGOs.
· Fundraising. Proposed partners: GEF and other major donors, NGOs,
IUCN.
· Regionalization. UNEP regional offices, IUCN regional offices, TRAFFIC
networks, regional groups under IUCN Wise Use Initiative.
· Global membership of the Convention. Proposed partners: UNEP regional
offices, IUCN regional offices, TRAFFIC networks, regional groups under
IUCN Wise Use Initiative.
· Coordinate relevant policy decisions with other international
agreements. Proposed partners: WTO, UNCLOS, WCO, other relevant
agreements, treaties and conventions (e.g. IWC, ITTO, ICCAT).
Note: 1 Where UNEP regional offices are mentioned, the Secretariats of
Regional Seas Conventions and Action Plans also have a potential role to
play.
For further information, contact: Michael Williams in Nairobi on
+254-2-623196, e-mail: michael.williams@unep.ch, Tore J. Brevik, UNEP
Spokesman, on 623292, email: tore.brevik@unep.org, or Robert Bisset on
623084, fax: 623692, email:
robert.bisset@unep.org
Official documents for the CITES meeting, which ends here Thursday, the
Convention itself, and the
d on the Internet at www.cites.org.
UNEP News Release 00/41