CITES and the wild bird trade

T Salathe/BirdLife Raptors are often the target of the illegal bird trade. Zoom In

Wildlife trade is big business. Alongside the illegal trade in arms and drugs, the smuggling of animals, plants and their parts, is one of the biggest challenges in terms of combating international crime. Some flagship species for conservation, such as the tiger and African elephant, have been notably affected. As for birds, nearly 4,000 species involving several million individuals annually are subject to domestic or international trade. Heavily affected groups include finches, weavers, parrots and raptors.

Trapping for the international bird trade has been identified as a contributory factor in the threat status of one in twenty (c.100) threatened and near-threatened bird species. Some are close to extinction as a result, such as the Yellow-crested Cockatoo Cacatua sulphurea of East Timor and Indonesia; others are already Extinct in the Wild such as the Spix's Macaw Cyanopsitta spixii of Brazil. Examples of species which continue to be threatened by legal and illegal exploitation for the bird trade include the Red Siskin Carduelis cucullata in northern South America, Java Sparrow Padda oryzivora of Indonesia and the African Grey Parrot Psittacus erithacus.

Since 1988, the international wild bird trade has been the primary driver in the worsening status (i.e. an uplisting to a more threatened category) of 15 species. Its impact on populations of ‘Least Concern’ species remains poorly known.

CITES

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), adopted in 1973, came into force in 1975 and has 171 countries (June 2007) which are Parties to the Convention. The Convention aims to protect species from the detrimental effects of international trade by establishing an international legal framework for preventing or controlling trade. Species listed on Appendix I of the Convention are considered to be threatened with extinction and are not allowed to be traded commercially, while those on Appendix II are only allowed to enter international trade under specific controlled circumstances. Parties are obliged to develop national legislation effectively implementing the obligations of the Convention including setting sustainable quotas for Appendix II species. Currently 161 bird species are listed on Appendix I and more than 1,300 on Appendix II. For further details, see the CITES website.

EWS/BirdLife CITES has been a major tool to address illegal trapping and keeping of birds. Zoom In

BirdLife and CITES

BirdLife welcomes the important role that CITES plays in combating the significant threat posed by the wild bird trade. BirdLife has traditionally worked to improve the implementation and enforcement of international and national legislation brought about as a result of CITES. For example, BirdLife is the official Listing Authority for birds for the IUCN Red List and contributes to the scientific reviews of proposals to change the listing of bird species on the CITES Appendices (which determines levels of control) and to the ‘Review of Significant Trade’ process (which results in recommendations and sanctions). BirdLife delegations attend the Conferences of the Parties and with government and other NGO delegations work towards optimal decisions that will support the conservation of the world’s avifauna.

Nationally, BirdLife Partners lobby for better domestic protection of birds and implementation of CITES through appropriate national legislation. All BirdLife Partners are in the process of identifying Important Bird Areas and establishing monitoring programmes and, increasingly, such work will provide information relevant to the sustainability or detrimental effects of trade. For BirdLife Partners in a number of Asian, African and South American countries, bird trade remains particularly high on their agendas, given the traffic in birds caught in the wild and traded for the domestic and international markets. In 2006, BirdLife Partners in the European Union adopted a position which involves urging importing countries to only allow international trade if it can be shown to contribute conservation benefits to the species concerned.