Governments start to rein in ivory and rhino horn trade, give
sharks and timbers better protection at wildlife trade meeting
Countries, on the final day of the Convention on the
International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES), capped the
historic two-week meeting by deciding for the first time to
initiate a process requiring countries most implicated in
illicit ivory trade to clamp down on smuggling. Governments
mandated China, Kenya, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand,
Uganda, Tanzania and Viet Nam – the countries of highest concern
in terms of their failure to clamp down on large-scale illegal
ivory trade - to submit time-bound plans to deal with the
problem in two months, and make progress before the next CITES
meeting in summer of 2014. Under CITES rules, failure by those
countries to take action could lead to a compliance process
potentially resulting in sanctions being initiated. The treaty
allows CITES to issue a recommendation that governments taking
part in the treaty stop trading with non-complia