CITES Review of Significant Trade

Chris Anderson

Dr. House of Chameleons
The Animals Committee of CITES conducts Reviews of Significant Trade in Appendix-II species for the purpose of ensuring trade levels are non-detrimental to wild populations. These reviews can be triggered by a variety of things, including high absolute trade levels, highly variable trade levels, sudden increases in trade levels, etc. When these reviews determine there is reason to be concerned, the Animals Committee recommends a series of steps that the Management Authorities of the exporting countries have to respond to in order to satisfy CITES that further trade will not be detrimental.

In 1994, Madagascar failed to provide a satisfactory response to such recommendations following a Review of Significant Trade on Chamaeleo sp. (now Calumma and Furcifer sp.). This resulted in CITES issuing a Recommendation to the Parties to suspend all imports of Chamaeleo sp. (except F. lateralis, F. oustaleti, F. pardalis and F. verrucosus) from Madagascar. This trade suspension had been in effect until last year and only this year have quotas for some of these species been reestablished (except for limited quotas for F. campani, which occurred a couple years prior). As evident from this example, these Reviews of Significant trade have the potential to have serious implications on future trade in species under review.

In 2011, the Animals Committee of CITES singled out 24 species for a Review of Significant Trade. This list was narrowed in 2012 based on available data at the time, and 23 were retained for further review, including 6 chameleon species (Chamaeleo gracilis, C. senegalensis, Trioceros melleri, T. quadricornis, Kinyongia fischeri and K. tavetana). As a result, the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) was instructed to gather information and provide a preliminary categorization of these species for review at the 2014 Animals Committee Meeting. These species reports were submitting in December 2013, and can be found here: http://cites.org/sites/default/files/eng/com/ac/27/E-AC27-12-04.pdf.

The Animals Committee has just concluded their 2014 meeting, and has assessed this round of Reviews of Significant Trade, ranking each species as either "urgent concern", "possible concern", or "least concern" for each range state. For species listed as either "urgent concern" or "possible concern" for a given range state, a series of recommendations (to be addressed by the Management Authority within 90 days and 2 years) were made. Further, T. montium was identified as a species of priority concern for review, meaning that it will now enter a Review of Significant Trade. These final rankings and subsequent recommendations can be found here: http://www.cites.org/sites/default/files/eng/com/ac/27/wg/E-AC27-WG-01.pdf. Here is a summary of the rankings, however:
c) Chamaeleo gracilis: of urgent concern for Togo; of possible concern for Benin, Ghana; and of least concern for Cameroon, Guinea, Uganda
d) Chamaeleo senegalensis: of possible concern for Benin, Ghana; and of least concern for Guinea, Mali, Senegal, Sierra Leone
e) Kinyongia fischeri: of urgent concern for United Republic of Tanzania
f) Kinyongia tavetana: of possible concern for United Republic of Tanzania
g) Trioceros melleri: of possible concern for Mozambique
h) Trioceros quadricornis: of possible concern for Cameroon; and of least concern for Nigeria

The recommendations for species and range states listed as either "urgent concern" or "possible concern" are available in Annex 1 of the above link. The Management Authorities now have 90 Days to respond to these recommendations for the CITES Secretariat to review.

Obviously there are a lot of implications here for the exportation each of these species. Of particular note, the recommendations for K. fischeri effectively force the Tanzanian Management authority to address their quotas and identification methods in light of the updated taxonomy of the fischeri-complex. In effect, that should eliminate K. multituberculata, K. matschiei and K. vosseleri all being exported as K. fischeri and hopefully result in individual quotas for wild collected specimens of each species (they each already have their own F1 quotas).

Anyway, thought some of you might be interested in this.

Chris
 
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Very informative. It will be interesting to see how long it takes for Tanzania to comply. Thank you Chris.
 
Chris

Thanks for posting the update and education about the subject CITES significant trade. Along with the CITES system of urgent, possible and least concern regarding trade of chameleon species. The the taxonomic clarification of Kinyongia fischeri complex was long over due.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich
 
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Thanks for posting. That was a good read especially the species reports for Trioceros melleri and quadricornis.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich
 
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Thanks for posting. That was a good read especially the species reports for Trioceros melleri and quadricornis.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich

Agreed. It appears no one really knows the actual range and numbers of quadricornis. Rather disturbing to know that the locals are killing them due to superstition or use in witch doctor medicine. Bastards.
 
Agreed. It appears no one really knows the actual range and numbers of quadricornis. Rather disturbing to know that the locals are killing them due to superstition or use in witch doctor medicine. Bastards.

Mike

With what material was presented in the species profile from CITES I was extremely surprised that Trioceros quadricornis was listed as a species of possible concern. If it was me designating the species status from the presented material earlier in the CITES documents Trioceros quadricornis seems to be worthy of the title of a species of urgent concern. This species situation would improve from conservation in Cameroon.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich
 
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Mike

With what material was presented in the species profile from CITES I was extremely surprised that Trioceros quadricornis was listed as a species of possible concern. If it was me designating the species status from the presented material earlier in the CITES documents Trioceros quadricornis seems to be worthy of the title of a species of urgent concern. This species situation would improve from conservation in Cameroon.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich

I think they got classified as possible concern because they don't actually know the range and numbers therefor cannot make a certain determination. Very sad how many were imported in the 90's and how cheap they were, yet very few of their offspring are still going in the US. It was a missed opportunity. The same thing is going on with Fischers chameleons right now, but most everybody overlooks the readily available chameleon. Today's cheap and easy to buy chameleon will be tomorrow's rare and endangered one.
 
I think they got classified as possible concern because they don't actually know the range and numbers therefor cannot make a certain determination. Very sad how many were imported in the 90's and how cheap they were, yet very few of their offspring are still going in the US. It was a missed opportunity. The same thing is going on with Fischers chameleons right now, but most everybody overlooks the readily available chameleon. Today's cheap and easy to buy chameleon will be tomorrow's rare and endangered one.

Mike

My understanding of the situation was there was much more habitat in the 1990's than there is today for Trioceros quadricornis today. The large amounts that were imported in the 1990's become available because collecting were more sustainable back then. However the lack of conserving forest when populations were sustainable to collecting has led to the population problems. Which is one big reason I would recommend making a contribution to conservation programs in areas where the chameleons you keep comes from each year. Plus is why these areas require restoration programs now.

However I hear you many of the larger quotas that are made by CITES could be said to be excessive. Probably with the exception of Furcifer pardalis that are sustainably exported and sold in the thousands. Chamaeleo gracilis is a great example of excess in the hobby. To the best of my knowledge they are in nowhere near in that much of a demand and yet that species has got a collective quota from Africa that far exceeds the quota of Furcifer pardalis. However if quotas are shown to be sustainable CITES can approve of it and if not sustainable they are not approved of. If you contribute and support local conservation groups in the area where the species you keep come from that is a big plus for taking care of our prized chameleons too. Plus these finances provides an economy for communities in these areas that are next to conservation areas. Even though Cameroon and Nigeria are known to be exceptionally hostile.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich
 
This situation is extremely similar to the restorations I am doing now in coastal Northern California. Just the species I am restoring habitat for are listed as Endangered species while Trioceros quadricornis has not reached that point yet.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich
 
CITES has issued a notification to the parties this morning (No. 2016/018; https://cites.org/sites/default/files/notif/E-Notif-2016-018.pdf) recommending that import of Kinyongia fischeri and K. tavetana from Tanzania, Trioceros quadricornis from Cameroon, and Chamaeleo gracilis and C. senegalensis from Benin and Ghana be suspended! This recommendation effectively bans all legal importation of these species originating in the specified countries into CITES party nations.

This recommendation stems from the CITES Review of Significant Trade in specimens of Appendix-II species started in 2011 for these and other species outlined above. At the 66th meeting of the CITES Standing Committee (SC66, Geneva, January 2016), the committee was informed that the aforementioned recommendations made by the Animals Committee had not been complied with. In fact, these range states did not respond or submit any of the requested information (https://cites.org/sites/default/files/eng/com/sc/66/E-SC66-31-01.pdf). As a result, the Standing Committee has recommended that all Parties suspend trade covered by Article IV (https://www.cites.org/eng/disc/text.php#IV) of the Convention for specimens of these species. “These recommended trade suspensions will remain in place until these Parties demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Standing Committee, through the Secretariat, compliance with Article IV, paragraphs 2 (a) and 3 for the species concerned, and provided full information to the Secretariat regarding compliance with the recommendations of the Animals Committee.”

The complete effect of this recommendation on trade in these species is yet to be seen. Currently, Tanzania exports numerous different species under permits for Kinyongia fischeri. In fact, virtually none of the documented trade in this species actually represents trade in true K. fischeri (http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/172565/0), with most trade representing exports of K. multituberculata (http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/172574/0), K. matschiei (http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/172545/0) and K. vosseleri (http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/172525/0). With no WC quota for these former species through last year (https://www.cites.org/sites/default/files/common/quotas/2015/ExportQuotas2015.pdf), exports of all K. fischeri-group species will likely decrease, at least in the short term. Further, more than 50% of reported international trade in Trioceros quadricornis stems from exports from Equatorial Guinea, a non-range state of the species (http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/172571/0). Despite suggestion that this trade "raises serious concerns about significant levels of smuggling activities with [this] species between Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea", and "that any efforts by the Cameroonian government to manage [this species] is being undermined by the export of [this] species out of Equatorial Guinea, which may ultimately serve to destabilize the species", such trade may continue until such time as exports from Equatorial Guinea are addressed directly. Finally, both Chamaeleo senegalensis and C. gracilis are currently also exported from Togo (and given annual quotas from Ethiopia), as well as Tanzania for C. gracilis.

Chris
 
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