WORLD NEWS | Wildlife conference steps up shark and turtle protections

PANAMA CITY, Nov. 26 (AP) — An international wildlife conference has begun developing some of the most important conservation measures for shark species targeted by the shark fin trade, as well as sea turtles, lizards and frogs whose numbers have been decimated by the pet trade .

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES, concluded in Panama on Friday.

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In addition to protections for more than 500 species, delegates to the UN Wildlife Congress rejected proposals to reopen the ivory trade. The ivory ban was enacted in 1989.

“Good news from CITES is good news for wildlife, as the treaty is one of the pillars of international conservation and is critical to ensuring that countries come together to tackle global, interconnected crises such as biodiversity collapse, climate change and pandemics. important,” said Vice President Susan Lieberman. Chair of International Policy, Wildlife Conservation Society.

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“Many of the proposals passed here reflect continued overexploitation and unsustainable trade, as well as escalating illegal trade, some due to a complex interplay of other threats leading to declines in wild species, including climate change, disease, infrastructure​​​​ development and habitat loss,” she added.

The international wildlife trade treaty, adopted 49 years ago in Washington, D.C., has been praised for helping curb the illegal and unsustainable trade in ivory and rhino horn, as well as whales and sea turtles.

But it has come under fire for its limitations, including its reliance on cash-strapped developing countries to fight the illegal trade that has become a lucrative $10 billion a year business.

One of the biggest achievements this year was the addition or conservation of more than 90 species of sharks, including 54 species of requiem sharks, blackheads, 3 species of hammerhead sharks and 37 species of guitarfish.

Many have never had trade protection before, and now, under Appendix II, commercial trade will be regulated.

Shark populations are declining globally, killing about 100 million people each year as a result of fishing. The main reason sharks are hunted is for their fins, which are used to make shark fin soup, popular in China and elsewhere in Asia.

“These species are threatened by unsustainable and unregulated fisheries that supply international trade in their meat and fins, which has led to dramatic population declines,” Rebecca Regnery, senior director of wildlife for Humane Society International, said in a statement.

“By listing on Appendix II, CITES Parties can only allow trade if it does not harm the survival of wild species, thereby helping these species recover from overexploitation.”

The meeting also laid out protections for dozens of species of sea turtles, lizards and frogs, including the glass frog, whose translucent skin makes them a darling of the pet industry. Several species of songbirds have also been granted trade protection.

Danielle Kessler, US country director at the International Fund for Animal Welfare, said: “Already under enormous ecological pressure due to habitat loss, climate change and disease, the unmanaged and growing trade of glass frogs is exacerbating the already existing threat to the species,” it said in a statement.

“This trade must be regulated and limited to sustainable levels to avoid exacerbating the multiple threats they already face.”

But some of the more controversial proposals were not approved.

Some African countries and conservation groups had wanted to ban the hippo trade.

But it has been opposed by the European Union, some African countries and several conservation groups, who argue that hippo populations in many countries are healthy and that trade is not a factor in their decline.

“The world’s cherished mammals such as rhinos, hippos, elephants and leopards did not get more protection at this meeting, while a group of wonderful oddballs won conservation victories,” Tanya Sanerib, international legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement. said in. .

“Amid a heart-wrenching extinction crisis, we need a global agreement to fight for all species, even if it’s controversial.” (AP)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)