7 January 2013
CITES Announces Withdrawal of Proposal on Downlisting of African Elephant
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Tanzania has been in close communication with the CITES Secretariat, for the purpose of fulfilling the requirements regarding proposals for the upcoming meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES (CoP 16).

Tanzania has withdrawn its proposal to down-list the African elephant from Appendix I to II.

CITES26 December 2012: The Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) has announced a decision by Tanzania to withdraw its proposal to downlist the African elephant from Appendix I to II.

Appendix I species include those threatened by extinction, and their trade is only permitted in exceptional circumstances. Trade in Appendix II species, which are not necessarily threatened with extinction, is less heavily guarded.

After being in close communication with the CITES Secretariat, for the purpose of fulfilling the requirements of Resolution Conf. 10.9, in relation to the proposal for consideration at 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES (CoP 16) to transfer the African elephant from Appendix I to II, Tanzania has now informed the Secretariat that it has decided to withdraw the proposal.

According to the text of the Resolution, all proposals to transfer populations of the African elephant from Appendix I to Appendix II shall be subject to a review by a Panel of Experts. [CITES Press Release]