Con Bio Lec 4: Conservation Biology

the NEPA and ESA give _____ to a number of themes that have become a part of conservation biology

legislative strength

*know! what are the themes? (6)

1. the requirement that pollution or environmental degradation be evaluated in the context of ecosystem function (NEPA)

2. The endorsement of intrinsic and non-economic values for resources and non-human creatures (ESA, NEPA)

3. Emphasis on the status of individual species and the affirmation that extinction is undesirable (ESA)

4. Renewable resources must be managed sustainably (ESA)

5. Federal funding will be available for research and habitat acquisition (ESA)

6. The opportunity for citizens and NGOs to participate in decision-making and the creation of avenues for litigation (ESA, NEPA)

*know! what does CITES stand for? (its a treaty thats apart of international conservation law)

*The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora

what is the most important international conservation agreement in operation today?

the CITES treaty

the treaty regulates or prohibits ____ trade in globally endangered species or their products

commerical

In the 1950s, a group within ____began making lists and short status reports of endangered and threatened species worldwide

the United Nations

In the 1960s, these reports were becoming published as the

“Red Data Books”

These became the most important source and respected authority for identifying

the world’s endangered species and their status (referred to as red lists: www.iucnredlist.org)

The red lists use _____ as criteria to categorize species according to their relative endangerment

relatively simple decision rules

From these Red Lists, support for a CITES treaty grew steadily and it was finally created in ___

1975

CITES is a great achievement in ____ but it is an imperfect document. It achieved much of its consensus by being ____

international negotiations; deliberately vague on its most important points

From its language it is difficult to

determine if it is an instrument for wildlife protection or a means to regulate wildlife trade

the heart of the CITES treaty is found not in the main body of the document, but in the

three appendices

The appendices indicate that CITES does not protect all wildlife, but only

“tradable” wildlife and wildlife products that are bought and sold in transactions involving two or more countries

Appendix 1:

lists species that are endangered (ex: Sumatran elephant) and vulnerable (asian elephant) to existing or potential trade. commercial trade of appendix 1 species is prohibited, and permits from both the importing and exporting country must be obtained even for non-commerical transport

appendix 2:

species listedw here are those that either could be threatened by large volumes of trade (greater sage grouse) or that cannot be distinguished from a threatened species. trade involving species listed in appendix 2 requires a permit from the exporting country.

appendix 3:

these species are not globally endangered, but may be listed at the initative of an individual country seeking international cooperation for that species’ protection (white footed fox of India)

Nations are asked not to permit importation of these species without an (appendix 3 cont)

export permit from the listing country

Parties to the CITES treaty meet every ___ years

two years to make amendments to teh appendices and update the lists

originally, the treaty equated conservation with

strict protectionism

however, currently the treaty has shown a tendency to permit some trade in

formerly protected species if it can be shown that such trade actually enhances their conservation

CITES delegates have agreed to allow trade in live southern white rhinos from the

republic of south africa

southern white rhinos in south africa have increased from

20 in 1920 to about 6,300, the largest national population in Africa

sales of white rhinos are actually expected to improve the status of the species om south africa because

proceeds are spent on further rhino conservation efforts.

the rhinos that are sold to other governments are expected to aid in

restoring rhino populations currently declining in other countries

(controversial topic): originally CITES required the destruction of

existing stockpiles of protected animal products

why was this done?

to eliminate incentives for national governments to trade in the products and thus discourage poaching

however, more recently the delegates have decided that the destruction of stockpiles of rhino horns causes what

the price of rhino horns to increase, escalating poaching pressure

governments now have been asked to _____ their rhino horns in national stockpiles that have, ironically, grown because of increased effectiveness in the enforcement of the treaty

“identify, mark, and secure”

the sale or trade of the horns in such stockpiles has been

approved under strict controls

In ____ the U.S. government imposed trade sanctions on ____ after that government failed to curtail trade in rhinoceros and tiger parts in compliance with CITES

1994; Taiwan

the U.S. had warned Taiwan ___ times

several

this marked the first time in history that international trade sanctions had been used directly to

protect widlife