Agarwood among winners

Agarwood, used as customary perfume in the Middle East (it is called 'oodh'), is now listed in Appendix II. This means that trade may continue, but a CITES export permit is required. This regulatory mechanism will help both importing and exporting countries ensure that trade is sustainable and legal. Earlier, just one agarwood species was CITES listed and, since it was difficult to distinguish between species, trade reached massive proportions with agarwood trees being indiscriminately felled. This problem has been overcome by the Appendix II listing of all agarwood species, without exception.

Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Japan are the biggest importers; and Indonesia and Malaysia the largest exporters of this aromatic wood which is threatened in the wild.

There are other CITES CoP 13 winners too, also listed in CITES Appendix II. The great white shark of 'Jaws' fame - the world's largest predatory shark whose jaws and teeth are sold as tourist curios, its fins for shark fin soup, and that is accidentally caught in fishing nets. Humphead wrasse - the largest coral reef fish in the world, caught live for Asia's luxury food trade, its lips especially sought after as delicacies in upscale restaurants. Ramin - the Asian rainforest tree found in orangutan and tiger habitat, illegally harvested and exported in semi-finished and finished products - doors, window frames, picture frames, billiard cues...

A big winner is the critically endangered Irrawaddy dolphin, uplisted from Appendix II to Appendix I, joining species like the great apes and big cats, in which no commercial trade is allowed. It is estimated that there are fewer than 1000 Irrawaddy dolphins left in the Asian range. They are caught live for display in aquariums and dolphinaria, and for dolphin shows and water parks.

Saved are minke whales that are to remain on Appendix I after CITES massively rejected Japan's proposals to downlist them to allow whale meat trade.

However, there is slight relaxation of CITES restrictions for two high profile species - elephant and rhino. Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland can each export five rhino trophies, but cash raised must be ploughed back into conservation.

Although Namibia failed to get permission for an annual export quota of 2000 kg of ivory, Namibian tribes are permitted to trade locally in carved ivory trinkets (called ekipas) - a move bitterly opposed by several countries including India and Kenya over fears that any opening of ivory trade would be exploited by poachers; but supported by the WWF as this benefits the local community.

But the major victory was an agreement on unprecedented continent-wide action plan to crack down on unregulated domestic ivory markets. The plan commits every African country with a domestic market (the worst illegal markets are in Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria and Ethiopia) to either strictly control the trade or shut it down altogether, with no exception. This will prevent the poaching of thousands of elephants that are killed each year to feed these markets.

Overall, the CITES CoP13 achieved real results for conservation, feels the WWF.