2 April 2014: The Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) has announced that Nicaragua, Pakistan and the Russian Federation have requested the Secretariat to list sixteen new species in CITES Appendix III. The new listings will enter into force on 24 June 2014.

The new listings include the tree species of Mongolian oak and Manchurian ash, as requested by the Russian Federation, Yucatan rosewood by Nicaragua and thirteen species of animals by Pakistan, including blackbuck, the nilgai, the Sind wild goat, the Siberian ibex and the blue sheep. Future cross-border shipments of specimens covered by the listing will have to be authorized by the issuance of a document certifying the legal origin of the products. John Scanlon, CITES Secretary-General, noted that these listings are a sign that parties increasingly recognize the value of CITES in ensuring legal and traceable international trade at both ends of the value chain.

The illegal logging and uncontrolled trade of the Mongolian oak and the Manchurian ash, is contributing to the degradation of forests across the range of the Amur tiger and the Far Eastern leopard. The Yucatan rosewood closely resembles a number of other rosewood species that are already protected under CITES, making trade controls very difficult for customs officers. Meanwhile, the Siberian ibex and blue sheep are key snow leopard prey, as well as valued species for trophy hunting. [CITES News]