Wild Animal Trade Agreement has been helping to save animals for 50 years

Today is World Wildlife Day, an opportunity to celebrate the amazing diversity of plants and animals on Earth. The day also marks the 50th anniversary of an international agreement between governments that the trade in wild animals and plants, valued at billions of US dollars worldwide, does not threaten the survival of species.

The voluntary agreement, called the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), provides varying degrees of protection to more than 37,000 species worldwide. The text of the convention was agreed upon at a meeting on March 3, 1973, and entered into force in 1975. It provides a framework for 184 members, including China, the United States, and the European Union, to secure sustainable trade in wild species for production. such as food, furs, timber, and medicines.

“Without CITES, we would not have a vital mechanism to stop the ongoing and tragic harvesting of species driven by market demand,” he said. Abigail Entwistle to the conservation organization Fauna & Flora International (FFI) in a press release.

mountain gorillas (gorilla beringey beringey) is one of the species enjoying a total trade ban under CITES in partnership with FFI. Since these efforts began, the population has quadrupled to over 1,000 individuals. Primates can be found roaming the green volcanic slopes of Rwanda, with females carrying one or two young, as seen in the photo above from Rwanda Volcanoes National Park. This species can also be found in Uganda and the Dominican Republic of the Congo.

Pygmy hippopotamusLiberian Choeropsis), which is about 1 meter high, is also protected by CITES. Herbivores live in the forests and swamps of West Africa, with the majority living in Liberia, as shown in the camera trap photo above. CITES and FFI work with local communities to track and protect nocturnal animals.

Recently, conservationists have confirmed that pygmy hippos have a wider distribution than previously thought. They have found pygmy hippopotamus DNA at ten locations in southeast Liberia using technology developed by NatureMetrics that will help efforts to protect the species.

Male pink rhinoceros iguana Grenadine (Insular iguana) is captured in the photo above, taken on Palm Island in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, in the Caribbean. The colorful species is threatened by poaching and competition for food and territory with the non-native green iguana. (iguana iguana), but still lacks CITES protection.

Since 2016, FFI has been working with local and international partners to protect the species. The charity says “listing CITES would be the next logical step” to ensure its survival.