5 October 2012: In response to a call for input, the Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) received 67 proposals from Parties to the Convention to amend the rules governing international trade in wildlife species.

The 67 proposals, received from over 50 countries, concern marine species (including several shark species) and timber species (including over 100 species from Madagascar), the African elephant populations of Tanzania, the vicuña population of Ecuador, freshwater turtles, frogs, crocodiles, ornamental and medicinal plants and many other animals and plants. Proposals addressing white rhinoceros and polar bears were also submitted.

The provisional list of amendment proposals is now available on the CITES web site. The full proposals will be posted over the coming days, together with the final list of proposals. Parties will then have 60 days to provide their comments on the proposals. The CITES Secretariat will also invite comments from intergovernmental bodies working on marine species. Provisional assessments of the proposals will be published by the Secretariat by the end of the year. Governments will consider and accept, reject or change these proposals for amending the CITES Appendices at the sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP16) to be held in Bangkok, Thailand, from 3-14 March 2013. This meeting of the CoP will coincide with the 40th anniversary of CITES.

At the CoP, Parties will also be asked to consider: how CITES can further enhance efforts to combat the illegal trade in elephant ivory and rhino horn, as well as Asian big cats, great apes and other species; whether CITES should request the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to serve as a financial mechanism for CITES, to assist countries in implementing their obligations at the national level; the potential impacts of CITES measures on the livelihoods of the rural poor; and whether to propose that 3 March, the date of adoption of CITES in Washington DC in 1973, should be declared UN World Wildlife Day. [CITES News] [First provisional list of proposals for amendment of Appendices I and II]