Natural Resources and Violent Conflict - WaterWiki.net

272 philippe le billonthe UN Agreement on Fish Stock, is also examined briefly for its relevanceto the enforcement of resource management in areas where thereis no state sovereignty, the high seas.License-Controlled Trade: The Case of CITES. CITES is one ofthe most comprehensive international agreements regulating trade fornoneconomic purposes. First drafted in 1963, it entered into forcein 1975. It now counts 160 parties and can be considered global inreach. CITES has direct relevance to this report, as wildlife constitutes a“natural resource,” and endangered species are often exploited duringarmed conflicts due to the collapse of protection agencies. For example,there was a thriving trade in tiger skins and cubs in Cambodia during theearly 1990s. Its greater relevance, however, arises from the enforcementmechanisms it employs and its relatively long-established record.Adhesion to CITES is voluntary, but legally binding. Signatoriesthat have ratified the treaty are subsequently required to reform theirnational laws in accordance with CITES, if necessary. CITES establishesa number of controls on the international trading of specimensof approximately 3,400 selected species; these controls include a licensingsystem for all import, export, reexport, and introduction fromthe sea of species covered by the convention. Three degrees of protectioncan be granted to species according to their vulnerability throughasystem of listing consisting of three appendixes to the convention.Species listed in Appendix I are threatened with extinction, and tradeis allowed only in exceptional circumstances. Appendix II includesspecies not necessarily threatened with extinction, but in which trademust be controlled in order to avoid use incompatible with their survival.Appendix III contains species that are protected in at least onecountry, which has asked other CITES parties for assistance in controllingthe trade. National scientific authorities assess the effects of tradeon the status of species (which is decided during international meetings),and a system of import or export permits administered by nationalstate management authorities enforces the convention. 69 Partiesmay import or export (or reexport) a specimen of a CITES-listedspecies only if the appropriate document has been obtained and presentedfor clearance at the port of entry or exit. This document, and theconditions attached to its delivery, varies according to the appendix inwhich the species is listed. There are two main relevant conditions:first, that the trade is not detrimental to the survival of the species and,second, that the specimen was legally obtained.The core institution of the convention is the secretariat, which is empoweredto study reports of the parties and to request any informationit deems necessary to ensure the implementation of the convention and