22 August 2011: The 61st session of the Standing Committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES SC 61) considered a complex agenda and agreed to recommendations on several topics, including trade and conservation issues in great apes, elephants, tigers, rhinoceroses, sturgeons, ramin, bigleaf mahogany and other species.

SC 61 convened from 15-19 August 2011, in Geneva, Switzerland, and was attended by approximately 300 participants, including observers from Parties, intergovernmental organizations, the business community and NGOs specializing in wildlife conservation and international trade. In addition to the trade and conservation matters agreed, the SC also took decisions on, inter alia: the relationship between CITES and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP); conducting a study on the rationale and history of the rules applying to votes by secret ballot within CITES’ Conference of Parties (COP); the adoption of national laws for the implementation of the Convention; review of significant trade (RST); enforcement matters; and other issues on interpretation and implementation of the Convention.

The SC established several intersessional working groups to carry out work on: access to finance through innovative mechanisms; possible solutions to address the challenges encountered by trade in captive-bred or ranched specimens; taxonomic serial numbers; further work on trade in elephant specimens; livelihood issues related to snake and snake products trade; and rhinos, among others. These working groups are expected to report to SC 62 in July 2012.

On elephants, the launch of a multi-donor technical trust for the implementation of an African Elephant Action Plan was announced during the week, with current donors being the Netherlands, Germany, and France. SC 61 considered recent findings concerning African and Asian elephants, poaching levels and illegal trade in ivory in a closed session. Its members discussed a public report prepared by the CITES programme for Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and TRAFFIC, indicating that 2010 had seen the highest levels of elephant poaching since 2002, with Central Africa of highest concern. The analysis also found that poverty and poor governance, as well as increasing demand in China, are drivers for elephant poaching. SC 61 requested Thailand report to SC 62 on its progress in regulating domestic trade in ivory and combating illegal trade, and agreed to retain suspensions for Gabon and Somalia. [IISD RS Coverage] [CITES Press Release on Elephants] [CITES Press Release on Financing] [CITES Website] [CITES Notification on SC Recommendations]