Here's a global treaty that actually works

Observers could be forgiven for thinking that all negotiations for environmental treaties or international agreements have to be this way.

Yet, the problems associated with climate change negotiations stem from the interpretation of highly complex scientific data and how the global community ought to best tackle the problem against the backdrop of increasing personal freedom, increased mobility, tackling poverty and global trade.

Not all international agreements are so complicated or fraught with difficulty.

One of the more successful global agreements is that of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna), which has been in force for more than 30 years.

CITES works by restricting the movement of endangered species (whether alive or dead) between countries.

It was designed to support the conservation of species by restricting the trade in products such as ivory, fur coats or exotic flowers.

More than 5,000 animal and 28,000 plant species are covered by CITES and are listed in three appendices according to the risk of endangerment to the overall population.

Appendix one species are the most heavily protected and this status is afforded to species that are in danger of extinction.

Trade in appendix one species is completely prohibited except for some non-commercial (e.g., scientific) purposes.

Some species listed in appendix one are already believed to be extinct (including the Tasmanian Tiger), but are retained in case any previously unknown populations are discovered.

Appendix two species may include "lookalike" species or those which have locally threatened populations rather than globally threatened.

Examples include elephants, which are threatened in some parts of Africa but not others.

A loosening of restrictions can be beneficial for moving species around especially for conservation reasons.

Appendix three is designed to cover local populations and prevent the unsustainable exploitation of these species.

In recent years, under the auspices of the CITES secretariat (a division of the United Nations Environmental Programme), more species-specific work has been undertaken focusing on species such as elephants, great apes and mahogany timber.

These working groups have concentrated on dealing with specific problems, to try to deal with illegal activities and concentrate enforcement activities on these species of greatest concern.

Since CITES was signed in 1975, there have been no reported cases of extinction of any species that appear on the lists, a notable success.

However, it has not always been plain sailing and illegal trading is still a huge problem.

The trade in some species continues almost unabated, with CITES actually fuelling the poaching problem as a result of price increases.

CITES is also, by its very nature, species specific and does not address wider environmental problems associated with conservation such as habitat loss.

To learn more about CITES, visit the official website at www.cites.org.

This site provides a history of the agreement and all the species included in the appendices.