During a meeting in Quito, Ecuador from 22 to 23 August 2013, members of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) noted substantial progress on the implementation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) e-permitting systems and Single Window environments, especially in Columbia, Ecuador and Peru.
30 August 2013: During a meeting in Quito, Ecuador, from 22-23 August 2013, members of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) noted substantial progress on the implementation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) e-permitting systems and Single Window environments, especially in Columbia, Ecuador and Peru. Brazil is also looking to develop a Single Window on trade.
Participants recognized that substantial progress has been achieved, especially with regard to ensuring that CITES e-permitting systems are developed in accordance with recommendations found in the CITES e-permitting toolkit and with the World Customs Organization (WCO) Data Model. John Scanlon, Secretary-General, CITES, praised the progress achieved in the Amazon region, while ACTO Secretary General Robby Ramlakhan noted that the new procedures implemented under the project give ACTO member countries the means to better protect and use their wildlife.
The project is co-funded by the European Union and the Amazon Regional Program (DGIS/BMZ/GIZ) of Germany and the Netherlands. The success achieved so far motivated ACTO member countries to use the 10 million euros financial cooperation by the German KfW Development Bank for the region on developing, starting in 2014, the CITES e-permitting systems. [CITES News] [IISD RS Story on ACTO’s Agreement to Initiate Electronic CITES Permitting]