United States Pleased with Outcome of CITES Conference in Chile
Says Assistant Secretary Craig Manson, Head of U.S. Delegation

(SANTIAGO, CHILE) -- The United States is pleased with the outcome of the 12th Conference of the Parties of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES), said Assistant Secretary ofthe Interior Craig Manson, the head of the U.S. delegation.

"We accomplished virtually all of our objectives for the conference," Manson said. "I am particularly pleased with the passage of U.S. proposals to conserve seahorses and a variety of species of Asian turtles that have been threatened by over-harvesting and commercial trade. Trade in these species will now be tightly regulated."

The United States also played a pivotal role in the dialogue among range states on proposals related to elephants, mahogany, and Patagonian toothfish, three of the high-profile species debated by the more than 150 nations at the conference.

On the elephant issue, delegates voted to allow Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa to hold a one-time sale of stockpiled ivory collected from elephants who died naturally to fund conservation and community development efforts in areas where elephants live. The sale will be conducted under strict regulations proposed by the U.S. delegation to ensure they are consistent with long-term conservation of elephant populations in both Africa and Asia.

The United States came to the conference with an undecided position on the ivory sales with the intention of holding discussions with elephant range countries that themselves were sharply divided about ivory sales.

"Emotions run high anytime you bring up the issue of elephants," Manson said. "We took a reasoned approach, recognizing that both sides of the debate had good arguments to make. In the end, we supported a solution that will allow Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa to raise funds for elephant conservation through a one-time sale while providing safeguards to ensure the sale will not hurt elephant populations."

"The one-time sale will be good for elephant conservation," he said. The United States played a similar role with mahogany, acting as a mediator between range states that disagreed about the need for strict controls on international trade. In the end, the United States supported a proposal by Guatemala and Nicaragua to list mahogany in Appendix II of the convention, which requires any shipment of mahogany to be accompanies by an export permit affirming that it is was legally harvested in a way that is not detrimental to the survival of the species.

"We discussed the issue with the range states and concluded that strict international trade regulations are necessary to conserve these magnificent trees," Manson said. "We were extremely pleased when the proposal to list mahogany in Appendix II passed."

U.S. consumers will still be able to purchase mahogany furniture but now will have the assurance that what they buy is made with mahogany that was legally and sustainably harvested and imported.

On the toothfish issue, the United States helped work out an agreement between Australia and Chile that will improve international monitoring of harvest and trade of the deep-sea fish, which is threatened by over-harvesting and illegal fishing. The resolution will improve monitoring of harvests and international trade in the species, which is also known as Chilean sea bass. As a result of the resolution, Australia withdrew a proposal to list the species in Appendix II.

"Once again, range states disagreed sharply over the need to protect a species -- the Australians wanted to list toothfish in Appendix II while the Chileans were strongly opposed," Manson said. "We quietly conferred with both countries and with other range states to come up with an acceptable proposal that will lead to better conservation of the species."

"While loud protests and sloganeering get the headlines at CITES, quiet diplomacy gets the results," he said.

Here is a summary of the key issues at the conference:

-- A U.S. proposal to list seahorses in Appendix II was passed. Sea horses
live in tropical and sub-tropical ocean waters, typically among sea grasses,
kelp beds, algal and rocky reefs, mangroves and coral reefs. Their numbers
have declined dramatically in recent years because of commercial trade. In
particular, seahorses are harvested for use in traditional Chinese medicine
and its derivatives, aquarium pets, souvenirs and curios. At least 20
million seahorses were captured annually from the wild in the early 1990s
and the trade is estimated to be growing by 8 percent to 10 percent per
year.

-- The United States succeeded in getting proposals it sponsored or
co-sponsored passed to list a variety of highly-traded Asian turtle species
in Appendix II. These include the yellow-headed temple turtle, roofed
turtle, yellow pond turtle, big-headed turtle, keeled box turtle, black
marsh turtle, and narrow-headed softshell turtle. These species are
threatened by loss of habitat and a growing commercial trade for both food
and pets.

-- Botswana, Namibia and South Africa will be allowed to conduct a one-time
sale of ivory stock collected from elephants that have died naturally. The
sales, which will occur no sooner than May 2004, include strict conditions
designed to ensure the sales do not undermine ongoing elephant monitoring
efforts or lead to an increase in poaching. Meanwhile, proposals by Zimbabwe
and Zambia to sell ivory were rejected. The United States spoke in
opposition to both of those proposals because of concerns that neither
country can control poaching or illegal trade in ivory.

-- Bigleaf mahogany, a tropical hardwood that has been decimated by
illegal logging, was placed in Appendix II. The United States, which is the
world's largest importer of mahogany, supported the proposal.

-- Member nations passed a resolution put forward by Chile that will
improve monitoring of toothfish by requiring CITES member nations to keep
records of harvests, exports, and imports.

-- Japanese proposals to downlist virtually all the northern hemisphere
populations of minke whales and the western North Pacific population of
Bryde's whales from Appendix I to Appendix II of the convention failed to
pass. The United States strongly opposed these proposals. The proposals
would have allowed resumption of commercial trade in whales for the first
time since 1986 when virtually all whale populations were placed in Appendix
I.

-- The whale shark, the largest fish in the world, and the basking shark
were listed under Appendix II. The United States supported both proposals. A
U.S. proposal to list the humphead wrasse (a coral reef fish) narrowly
failed to garner the two thirds majority needed to be listed in Appendix II.




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U.S. Department of the Interior