GENEVA, AUGUST 21 – The 18th Conference of Parties (COP18) of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), also know as Washington Convention, is ongoing inn Geneva. Italy is taking part to the conference with a delegation led by Colonel Massimiliano Conti and composed by officials from the Ministry of the Environment, Arma dei Carabinieri and Guardia di Finanza.
In the framework of the COP, whose work will end on August 23, 56 new proposals submitted by member States will be examined in order to modulate the level of protection that CITES offers to selected endangered species of wild fauna and flora, subject to international trade. Many of these proposals aim at ensure that the commmerce of endangered species remain sustainable through the issuing, by CITES, of trade permits. Other proposals are suggesting the absolute stop for trade of some species at risk of extinction and carefully put on a list which is costantly updated.
This work is even more important after the publication of reports that confirm that the number of species and of ecosystems in the world is decreasing rapidly and one of the main causes is the over-deployment of living organisms. The new rules being considered at the present CITES COP cover a vast array of mammals, birds, reptils, trees and other plants.
In the vision outline document that has been presented at the beginning of the conference, it is foreseen that “by 2030 the whole internastional commerce of flora and fauna will be legal and sustainable, compliant with the long-term conservation of species and therefore contributing to halt the loss in biodiversity”
An in-depth analysis of the objective of the Convention and its application in Italy in the context of the EU legal framework is available on the web-site of the Ministry of Economic Development. Further information on the 18th Conference of State Parties is available on the web-site of the Convention. (@OnuItalia)