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NAIROBI, KENYA -- On the final day of the CITES conference in Nairobi, Kenya, Cuba's proposal to downlist a portion of the Caribbean population of hawksbill turtles from Appendix I to Appendix II was brought up for second vote of the CITES Parties. On Tuesday of this week, Cuba withdrew the first of its two proposals (11.40) which would have downlisted hawksbills in Cuban waters, and allowed a one-off sale of the almost seven tons of shell stockpiled by Cuba since 1993, as well as export of shell from a quota of 500 turtles annually.
The first vote on the second proposal (11.41) in Committee I, which would have downlisted the species in Cuban waters and immediately allowed Cuba to ship the stockpile to Japan, failed to receive the required 2/3 majority (66 Supported, 38 Opposed, 15 Abstained). In re-opening the debate in Plenary today, Cuba offered an amendment to the proposal, which would have required that hawksbill shell trade controls in Japan be investigated and approved by the CITES Standing Committee before the shipment could be made. Under the modified proposal, hawksbills in Cuban waters would have been downlisted to Appendix II. The amended proposal also FAILED to obtain a 2/3 majority (67 Supported, 41 Opposed and 9 Abstained). All hawksbill turtles will remain on CITES Appendix I.
During the last two weeks, a wide array of conservation groups and scientists worked long hours to convince CITES delegates that the hawksbill turtle does not meet the CITES criteria for downlisting from Appendix I.
"Team Turtle" also convinced delegates that re-opening trade in hawksbill shell, even through a one-time shipment of stockpiled shell, would stimulate illegal harvesting and trade around the world. In the end, our message prevailed.
Those of you who support the position that it is premature to downlist hawksbills should be aware of some of the organizations that worked tirelessly and effectively as a team over the last 14 days to achieve this result at CITES. The "Turtle Team" included: WIDECAST, Center for Marine Conservation, Japan Wildlife Conservation Society, Greenpeace, International Fund for Animal Welfare, Species Survival Network, Humane Society of the US,
Defenders of Wildlife, WWF and Caribbean Conservation Corporation. Needless to say, there were many other groups and individuals who contributed to the effort, and we all express our appreciation. Many countries also spoke out in defense of hawksbills, and I would like to list a few of those here: The Bahamas, Costa Rica, Fiji, Brazil, Hungary, USA, Canada, Kenya, and United Arab Emirates. Bahamas and Costa Rica were particularly eloquent in their
defense of hawksbills, and both have expressed their desire to work more
closely with Cuba and other range states to develop a regional management
plan for hawksbills in the Caribbean.
David Godfrey
Executive Director
Caribbean Conservation Corporation
For more information, contact David Godfrey, Caribbean Conservation Corporation
Also, check out CITES & Sea Turtles
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