29 June 2011: Senior Customs officers and authorities responsible for implementing the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) met to discuss the transition from paper to electronic permitting (e-permitting) systems, and laid out a road map to develop joint funding proposals to assist in the development of national and regional CITES e-permitting systems.

The meeting, held in Managua, Nicaragua, from 27-29 June 2011, was organized with support of the US Department of the Interior’s Technical Assistance Programme (ITAP) and in collaboration with the Central American Commission on Environment and Development (CCAD) and the CITES Secretariat. It was attended by more than 30 participants from Latin America and the Caribbean.

The new electronic permitting systems are intended to allow the harmonization of CITES and Customs controls and data standards for more efficient tracing of trade in wildlife products. Participants discussed, inter alia, the implementation of national and regional e-permitting systems, and use of Single Windows to organize better and offer access to trade-related information, promote collaboration with existing initiatives, and reinforce the capacity of Customs to control and trace international wildlife trade. [CITES Press Release]