30 October 2013: The Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) has announced the availability of an electronic ‘Checklist of CITES Species,’ where users can create a customized species list from scientific or common species names as well as CITES Appendices, countries or regions. The ease of access to and refinement of Checklist data are meant to enable CITES Parties to better ensure legal and sustainable trade in wildlife.

Checklist data, which can be downloaded in different formats to facilitate the exchange of data among different information systems, allow CITES authorities to update their national checklists and support the development of electronic resources that require information on CITES species. The Secretariat plans to enhance the Checklist in advance of the 17th meeting of the CITES Conference of the Parties (COP 17) in 2016.

The Checklist was developed for CITES by the UN Environment Programme – World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) using data from the CITES species database. [CITES Press Release] [Checklist of CITES Species]