New wildlife trade curbs sought

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3709256.stm

 

Last Updated: Saturday, 2 October, 2004, 12:21 GMT

13:21 UK

 

New wildlife trade curbs sought

 

An international conference on wildlife trade has

opened in Thailand with calls for stronger curbs on

illegal trafficking in rare animals and plants.

 

In his opening speech, the Thai prime minister urged

states to fight criminal gangs said to be involved in

the trade.

 

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered

Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (Cites) is holding its

bi-annual meeting in Asia for the first time.

 

Delegates have been joined by pressure groups and

thousands of observers.

 

The meeting in Bangkok, the 13th of its kind, has some

50 proposals to work through.

 

Delegates from 166 Cites member-states must decide the

degree to which charismatic creatures such as the

great white shark and the African elephant can be

exploited commercially.

 

Other important decisions at the 12-day summit will

affect the minke whale, which Japan believes is now

numerous enough to be hunted for food; and the ramin

timber tree, a tropical hardwood which

conservationists say is coming under extreme pressure

from legal and illegal logging.

 

Some believe that the only means of conserving

endangered animals and plants is to outlaw their

exploitation altogether.

 

Others think conservation would be better served if a

sustainable trade was allowed to raise funds for

better management programmes - with the African

elephant often cited as the classic example of where

this practice should operate.

 

Levels of protection

 

There is a sizeable lobby at this particular meeting

that wants improved protection for a large reef fish

known as the humphead wrasse, which is regarded as a

delicacy in many Asian restaurants.

 

Cites, which was signed in 1975, operates a

classification system, in which threatened animals and

plants are placed in one of three appendices.

 

It is to Appendix II, for example, that many nations

with the support of environmentalists would like to

elevate the humphead wrasse. Australia and Madagascar

also seek similar protection for the great white

shark.

 

The trade in wildlife is worth billions of dollars a

year and the Cites meetings are usually marked by a

clash of interests, ideologies and cultures.

 

In his speech, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra

warned that the world's bio-diversity was under threat

and said governments had to work together more

effectively to tackle wildlife smuggling.

 

He also proposed a regional task-force for South-East

Asia so police and customs officers can share

information.

 

The BBC's Simon Montlake in Bangkok says Thailand has

become a hub for wildlife trafficking from South-East

Asia and other regions into China and parts of North

Asia.

 

The biggest market for rare species in Asia is China,

which has long used animal parts such as rhino horn in

traditional medicine.