World Status, Exploitation and Trade - WIDECAST

INTRODUCTIONConservation status and CITESAll sea turtles have been listed on the Appendices of CITES since theConvention came into force in 1975. Initially, only Kemp's RidleyLepidochelys kempii and the Atlantic populations of Hawlcsbill( E. i. imbricata ) were listed on Appendix I, the remaining sea turtlesappeared on Appendix II. At subsequent meetings of the Conference of theParties to CITES, all taxa formerly listed on Appendix II have been moved toAppendix I, in recognition of the threats presented by international trade;actual and potential, direct and indirect. According to Article II of theConvention:"Appendix I shall include all species threatened with extinction whichare or may be threatened by trade. Trade in specimens of these speciesmust be subject to particularly strict regulation in order not toendanger further their survival and must only be authorized inexceptional circumstances."These requirements were further refined by the "Berne Criteria" (CITESResolution Conf. 1.1), adopted in 1976, which provide guidance on the typeof biological information needed to demonstrate whether the species isthreatened with extinction and on the possible levels of trade. They statethat:"particular attention should be given to any species for which suchtrade might, over a period of time, involve numbers of specimensconstituting a significant portion of the total population sizenecessary for the continued survival of the species".It is indisputable that the C. mydas complex and E. imbricata are, insignificant degree, threatened with extinction; it is similarly indisputablethat, as reviewed above, international trade has been a primary cause ofpopulation decline, and remains an actual or potential threat to thesespecies. The present Appendix I listing by CITES of the C. mydas complex(which is here understood to include East Pacific populations often referredto as C. agassizii ) and E. imbricata is thus entirely appropriate, and wefind no evidence suggesting otherwise. Indeed, it is probable that controlon international commerce provided for by the terms of CITES has avertedfurther decline in many populations. The information reviewed in thenumerous country accounts in the present report confirms unambiguously thatthe existing legislation, including that intended to implement theprovisions of CITES, must be maintained, and in many instances requires morerigorous enforcement.The more particular question concerning the shift of individual localpopulations from Appendix I to II for the purposes of ranching, as providedfor by a 1981 Resolution of the Conference (document Conf. 3.15), must bediscussed on the basis of individual proposals. An lUCN- CITES Workshop wasconvened recently with the aim of providing guidelines to aid in theassessment of any future ranching proposals presented for consideration.52