The formation of the Working Groups to support the implementation of CITES for Amazonian tree species was discussed, along with the participation in the Conference of the Parties (CoP19) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which will be held in November in Panama.
The Bioamazon Project promoted, on May 24, 2022, a meeting with the CITES Authorities and Forest Authorities of the ACTO Member Countries for the formation of Working Groups within the framework of the consultancy “Support to the Member Countries of the ACTO in the implementation of CITES for tree species in the Amazon Region”.
This consultancy carried out by the CITES flora specialist, César Belteton, follows up on the basic proposal of the “Amazon Regional Action Plan for the implementation of the Convention for tree species”.
The Plan will allow a joint vision of the tree species of the Amazon Region to coordinate efforts for the exploration and export of timber forest resources under sustainability parameters without compromising the survival of species, in the long term and in their natural environment, and that the tools provided by CITES for this purpose, such as Non-Detriment Findings (NDEF) and Legal Acquisition Findings (LAF) are properly applied.
At the meeting, the CITES Focal Points and the Forest Authorities of the MC were able to socialize the activities to be implemented within the framework of the consultancy and share the analysis of the synergies found between the Amazon Regional Action Plan for the implementation of CITES for tree species and the ACTO Forest and Biological Diversity Programs for the Basin and the Amazon Region.
The proposal for an activity plan for the Working Groups, in the short and medium term, was also presented and validated, with a view to the participation of the PS/OTCA in the CoP19 of CITES in November 2022.
Capacity building
The CITES Convention to regulate the trade in specimens included in Appendix II establishes that a Scientific Authority of the State Party to the Convention state that an export, import and/or re-export will not harm the survival of a species regulated by CITES. These review and assessment mechanisms are collectively known as Non-Detrimental Extraction Findings.
As part of the ACTO’s objectives of reducing asymmetries between Member Countries, the Bioamazon Project promoted, at the end of 2020, training, and support for each MC in the development of NDEF and the inclusion of Cedrela spp. in CITES Appendix II.
To strengthen the formulation of NDEF and LAF for Amazonian tree species, this training preceded the preparation of the proposed Regional Plan for Tree Species of the Amazon.
Published in the Bioamazon Newsletter, issue n. 15, May-June 2022.
========================================================================
