Guest guest Posted November 26, 2002 Report Share Posted November 26, 2002 ***************************Advertisement*************************** TechCentral http://star-techcentral.com ***************************************************************** This message was forwarded to you by yitzeling. Comment from sender: This article is from thestar.com.my URL: http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2002/11/26/features/citesafp & sec\ =features ________________________ Tuesday, November 26, 2002 Extended list SOME 100 plants and animals were added to the list of endangered species, three African countries were allowed to resume selling ivory, and Japanese hunting of two key whale species was denied at a major environmental meet in Santiago, Chile, that ended on Nov 15. The 12th Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), after protracted arguing, negotiating and allegations of shady lobbying tactics, rejected Japan & #8217;s bid to resume hunting Minke and Bryde whales in the Northern Hemisphere. Japan had argued the two species had “healthy and robust” populations and no longer needed protection from commercial whaling. But CITES rejected its arguments on the basis of expert opinions, amid allegations by environmental groups that the Japanese were offering economic aid to poor countries for their support at the meeting. Convention official David Morgan said most of the additions to the endangered species list & #8211; which now numbers about 1,000 & #8211; were by unanimous vote of the 160 member countries at the 12-day meeting. In its final hours, the convention also added two species of whale & #8211; the whale shark and the basking shark & #8211; to its Annex II, placing them under strict commercial limits. Proposals to protect the two sharks had been rejected days earlier by a CITES panel of experts who voted down pleas from animal protection groups. Those groups argued that the two shark species were in sharp decline because of over-fishing for their sought-after flesh and fins, prized in Asia for use in cooking and medicines. The 12th CITES also gave South Africa, Botswana and Namibia authorisation to sell 30, 20 and 10 tonnes, respectively, of ivory tusks stockpiled during a total ban on such sales. Those sales could begin as early as May 2004, allowing time for verification and registration of existing stocks. The tusks sold may only be from elephants that had died of natural causes. But CITES denied similar requests from Zimbabwe and Zambia to sell 10 and 17 tons, respectively, citing doubts as to those countries & #8217; respect for CITES rules on internal ivory trade. The conference also extended Annex II protection to 32 varieties of sea horse, two species of Black Sea dolphins, 26 species of turtles, the leopard, snow leopard and clouded leopard, the yellow-naped parrot, yellow-headed parrot and blue-headed macaw, and the Brazilian mahogany tree. CITES was begun in Washington in 1973 to regulate commercial exploitation of endangered species. Today, some 600 animals and 300 plants are considered threatened with extinction. & #8211; AFP<p> ________________________ Your one-stop information portal: The Star Online http://thestar.com.my http://biz.thestar.com.my http://classifieds.thestar.com.my http://cards.thestar.com.my http://search.thestar.com.my http://star-motoring.com http://star-space.com http://star-jobs.com http://star-ecentral.com http://star-techcentral.com 1995-2002 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Star Publications is prohibited. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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