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From: Conservation Biology Discussion Group <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Fed Reg. Announcement accpeting comments for CITES
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Subject: Fed Reg. Announcement accpeting comments for CITES
[Federal Register: March 1, 1996 (Volume 61, Number 42)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 8019-8021]
>From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
50 CFR Part 23
Request for Species Amendments and Resolutions for Consideration
at the Tenth Regular Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the
<strong>Convention</strong> on International Trade in Endangered Species
of
Wild Fauna
and Flora
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice; request for information.
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SUMMARY: The Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announces the time and
place of the tenth regular meeting of the Conference of the Parties
(COP10) to the <strong>Convention</strong> on International Trade in
Endangered Species
of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). This notice solicits recommendations
for amending CITES Appendices I or II and solicits suggestions for
resolutions and agenda items for discussion at COP10. The Service
invites information and comment from the public on animal or plant
species that should be considered as candidates for U.S. proposals to
amend Appendices I or II. Such amendments may concern the addition of
species to Appendix I or II, the transfer of species from one appendix
to another, or the removal of species from Appendix I or II. This
notice also invites information and comments from the public on
possible resolutions and agenda items for discussion at COP10.
DATES: The Service will consider all information and comments received
by April 30, 1996.
ADDRESSES: Correspondence concerning this request pertaining to species
amendments should be sent to the Office of Scientific Authority; Room
750; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 4401 North Fairfax Drive;
Arlington, Virginia, 22203. Correspondence concerning this request
pertaining to resolutions and agenda items should be sent to the Office
of Management Authority, Room 420, at the same address. Comments and
materials received will be available for public inspection, by
appointment, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, at the
Office of Scientific or Management Authority.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Marshall A. Howe, Office of
Scientific Authority, phone 703/358-1708, fax 703/358-2276, e-mail
[EMAIL PROTECTED]; or Dr. Susan S. Lieberman, Office of
Management Authority, phone 703/358-2095, fax 703/358-2280, e-mail
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The <strong>Convention</strong> on International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild
Fauna and Flora, TIAS 8249, hereinafter referred to as CITES, is an
international treaty designed to control and regulate international
trade in certain animal and plant species that now or potentially are
threatened with extinction. These species are listed in appendices to
CITES, copies of which are available from the Office of Management
Authority or Office of Scientific Authority at the ADDRESSES, above.
Currently, 130 countries, including the United States, are CITES
Parties. CITES calls for biennial meetings of the Conference of the
Parties, which review its implementation, make provisions enabling the
CITES Secretariat in Switzerland to carry out its functions, consider
amendments to the list of species in Appendices I and II, consider
reports presented by the Secretariat, and make recommendations for the
improved effectiveness of CITES. Any country that is a Party to CITES
may propose amendments to Appendices I
[[Page 8020]]
and II or resolutions, for consideration by the other Parties.
This is the first in a series of Federal Register notices which,
together with announced public meetings, provide an opportunity for the
public to participate in the development of the United States'
negotiating positions for the tenth regular meeting of the Conference
of the Parties to CITES. The Service's regulations governing this
public process are found in Title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations
Secs. 23.31-23.39.
Notice of the Tenth Regular Meeting of the Conference of the Parties
The Service hereby notifies the public of the convening of the
tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP10) to be held in
Zimbabwe, June 9-20, 1997.
Request for Information and Comments: Species
One of the purposes of this notice is to solicit information that
will help the Service identify species that are candidates for
addition, removal, or reclassification in the CITES appendices or to
identify issues warranting attention by the CITES Nomenclature
Committee. This request is not limited to species occurring in the
United States. Although U.S. proposals submitted for recent Conferences
of the Parties have focused on species native to the United States, any
Party may submit proposals concerning wild animal or plant species
occurring anywhere in the world. The Service encourages the submission
of well-documented proposals formatted according to specifications
presented below.
The term ``species'' is defined in CITES as ``any species,
subspecies, or geographically separate population thereof.'' Each
species for which trade is controlled is included in one of three
appendices, either as a separate listing or incorporated within the
listing of a higher taxon. The basic standards for inclusion of species
in the appendices are contained in Article II of CITES. Appendix I
includes species threatened with extinction that are or may be affected
by trade. Appendix II includes species that, although not necessarily
threatened with extinction, may become so unless trade in them is
strictly controlled. Appendix II also lists species that must be
subject to regulation in order that trade in those currently and
potentially threatened species may be brought under effective control.
Such listings frequently are required because of difficulty in
distinguishing specimens of currently or potentially threatened species
from other species at ports of entry. Appendix III includes species
that any Party country identifies as being subject to regulation within
its jurisdiction for purposes of preventing or restricting
exploitation, and for which it needs the cooperation of other Parties
to control trade. The present notice concerns only Appendices I and II.
CITES specifies that international trade in any readily
recognizable part or derivative of animals listed in Appendix I or II,
or plants listed in Appendix I, is subject to the same conditions that
apply to trade in the whole organism. With certain standard exclusions
formally approved by the Parties, the same applies to parts and
derivatives of most plant species listed in Appendix II. Parts and
derivatives usually not included (i.e., not regulated) for Appendix II
plants are: seeds, spores, pollen (including pollinia), tissue
cultures, and flasked seedling cultures. Also see 50 CFR Sec. 23.23(d)
and the October 6, 1995 Federal Register (60 FR 52450) for further
exceptions and limitations. Further guidance on criteria for adding or
deleting species in the appendices is contained in several CITES
resolutions available from the Office of Scientific Authority (see
ADDRESSES section).
Until the ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties in 1994,
resolutions Conf. 1.1 and 1.2 had provided the primary criteria for
proposing amendments to Appendices I and II. With the adoption of
resolution Conf. 9.24, new listing criteria were established by the
Parties and Conf. 1.1, 1.2, and ten other related resolutions were
repealed. These new criteria apply to all future proposals and are
available from the CITES Secretariat or upon written request to the
Office of Scientific Authority. Conf. 9.24 establishes a new format for
proposals, replacing that described in Conf. 2.17. The new format
includes the following categories:
A. Proposal
B. Proponent (Party country)
C. Supporting statement
1. Taxonomy
1.1 Class.
1.2 Order.
1.3 Family.
1.4 Genus, species or subspecies including author(s) and year and
taxonomic reference, if other than that adopted by the Conference of
the Parties.
1.5 Scientific synonyms.
1.6 Common names.
1.7 Code numbers, when applicable, from CITES Identification
Manual.
2. Biological Parameters
2.1 Distribution.
2.2 Habitat availability.
2.3 Population status.
2.4 Population trends.
2.5 Geographic trends.
2.6 Role of the species in its ecosystems.
2.7 Threats.
3. Utilization and Trade
3.1 National utilization.
3.2 Legal international trade.
3.3 Illegal trade.
3.4 Actual or potential trade impacts.
3.5 Captive breeding or artificial propagation for commercial
purposes (outside country of origin).
4. Conservation and Management
4.1 Legal status.
4.1.1 National.
4.1.2 International.
4.2. Species management.
4.2.1 Population monitoring.
4.2.2 Habitat conservation.
4.2.3 Management measures.
4.3 Control measures.
4.3.1 International trade.
4.3.2 Domestic measures.
5. Information on similar species
6. Other comments (including consultation with range states)
7. Additional remarks
8. References (published literature and other documents)
Persons wishing to submit proposals for the United States to
consider should consult Conf. 9.24 for detailed explanation of each of
the above categories. Proposals to transfer a species from Appendix I
to Appendix II, or to remove a species from Appendix II, must be
consistent with the new precautionary measures described in Annex 4 of
Conf. 9.24.
Persons having information and comments on species that are
potential candidates for CITES proposals are urged to contact the
Service's Office of Scientific Authority. Submitted proposals should be
as fully developed as possible in accordance with the outline provided
above and amplified in Conf. 9.24.
Request for Information and Comments: Resolutions and Agenda Items
Although it has not yet received formal notice of the provisional
agenda for COP10, the Service invites input from the public on possible
agenda items the United States could recommend for inclusion, or on
possible resolutions of the Conference of the Parties that the United
States could submit. Copies of the agenda for the last meeting of the
Conference of the Parties (COP9) in Florida in 1994 are available from
the Office of Management Authority under ADDRESSES, above. A
[[Page 8021]]
full agenda for COP9 and summaries of all U.S. negotiating positions on
those agenda items and resolutions were published in the November 8,
1994 Federal Register (59 FR 55617).
Observers
Article XI, paragraph 7 of CITES provides: Any body or agency
technically qualified in protection, conservation or management of wild
fauna and flora, in the following categories, which has informed the
Secretariat of its desire to be represented at meetings of the
Conference by observers, shall be admitted unless at least one-third of
the Parties present object:
(a) international agencies or bodies, either governmental or
nongovernmental, and national governmental agencies and bodies; and
(b) national nongovernmental agencies or bodies which have been
approved for this purpose by the State in which they are located.
Once admitted, these observers shall have the right to participate
but not to vote. The Service will publish information on how to request
approved observer status in a future Federal Register notice.
Future Actions
The next regular meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP10)
is scheduled for June 9-20, 1997, in Zimbabwe. Any proposals to amend
Appendix I or II, or any draft resolutions or other documents for
discussion at COP10, must be submitted by the United States to the
CITES Secretariat by January 10, 1997 (150 days prior to COP10). In
order to accommodate this deadline, the Service plans to publish a
Federal Register notice in August 1996 to announce tentative species
proposals and draft resolutions to be submitted by the United States
and to solicit further information and comments on them. In September,
a public meeting will be held to allow for additional public input. All
CITES Parties within the geographic ranges of species proposed for
amendments to the appendices will be consulted by mid-October 1996 so
that final proposals will have the benefit of their input. Another
Federal Register notice in February 1997 will announce the Service's
final decisions and those species proposals and resolutions submitted
by the United States to the CITES Secretariat.
Through a series of additional notices in advance of COP10, the
Service will inform the public about preliminary and final negotiating
positions on resolutions and amendments to the appendices proposed by
other Parties for consideration at COP10, and about how to obtain
observer status from the Service. The Service will also publish
announcements of public meetings to be held in September 1996 and April
1997 to receive public input on its positions regarding COP10 issues.
Authors: This notice was prepared by Dr. Marshall A. Howe,
Office of Scientific Authority, and Dr. Susan S. Lieberman, Office
of Management Authority, under the authority of U.S. Endangered
Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 23
Endangered and threatened species, Exports, Imports, Treaties.
Dated: February 13, 1996.
Bruce Blanchard,
Director.
[FR Doc. 96-4853 Filed 2-29-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P
************************************
Stefanie S. Rixecker
Centre for Resource Management/
Department of Resource Management
Lincoln University
Canterbury
Aotearoa New Zealand
E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Phone: (64) (03) 325-2811 x8377
Fax: (64) (03) 325-3841
************************************
