IV 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1420 

Recognizing the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species 

of Wild Fauna and Flora on its 35th anniversary. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 28, 2010 

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida (for himself, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. 

STARK, and Mr. CONYERS) submitted the following resolution; which was 

referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora on its 35th 

anniversary. 

Whereas the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (the Convention) 

was concluded on March 3, 1973, with the United States 

as an original signatory nation, and entered into force on 

July 1, 1975; 

Whereas 175 nations are now party to the Convention; 

Whereas the Convention aims to ensure that international 

trade in wild plants and animals does not threaten their 

survival; 


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•HRES 1420 IH 

Whereas the Convention both recognizes and provides the 

basis for international cooperation in the control of international trade to ensure species’ survival; 

Whereas the international wildlife trade is estimated to be 

worth billions of dollars per year and to involve hundreds 

of millions of plants and animals and derived products 

such as food products, leather and fur, ornamentals, medicinal, and timber; 

Whereas high levels of exploitation of and trade in wild animals and plants, together with other factors such as 

habitat loss, are capable of bringing some species close to 

extinction; 

Whereas parties to the Convention have an international obligation and responsibility to protect endangered animals 

and plants worldwide; 

Whereas it is widely accepted that adherence to protective 

measures adopted by the parties to the Convention has 

benefitted the conservation of animals and plants; 

Whereas nearly 5,000 species of animals and 28,000 species 

of plants are protected by the Convention against overexploitation through international trade; 

Whereas the species covered by the Convention are listed in 

3 appendices, according to the degree of protection they 

need; 

Whereas species listed on appendix I of the Convention are 

threatened with extinction and are or may be affected by 

international trade; 

Whereas international commercial trade in species and products made with species listed on appendix I is permitted 

only in exceptional circumstances; 


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•HRES 1420 IH 

Whereas appendix II includes species that are not necessarily 

threatened with extinction but that may become so unless 

trade is closely controlled; 

Whereas appendix III is a list of species included at the request of a party that already regulates trade in the species and that needs the cooperation of other countries to 

prevent unsustainable or illegal exploitation; 

Whereas the parties of the Convention meet every 2 to 3 

years at the Conference of the Parties to review the status of species in danger of extinction and to establish 

trade restrictions with respect to endangered species; 

Whereas 15 meetings of the Conference of the Parties have 

been held since 1976; 

Whereas the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties 

was held in March 2010; 

Whereas between 1979 and 1989, more than 600,000 African 

elephants were killed for their ivory, cutting the continent’s population in half; 

Whereas poaching still continues with an estimated 38,000 

elephants killed annually and 23.2 tons of poached ivory 

seized since 2007; 

Whereas proposals to downlist elephant populations in Tanzania and Zambia from appendix I to appendix II were 

rejected at the 15th meeting of the Conference of the 

Parties; 

Whereas as sea ice declines, polar bears will not be able to 

adapt to a terrestrial-based life resulting in increased 

mortality, reduced reproduction, increased human-bear 

conflicts, and overall drastic decline of populations; 


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•HRES 1420 IH 

Whereas a proposal to move the polar bear from appendix II 

to appendix I was rejected at the 15th meeting of the 

Conference of the Parties; 

Whereas the spiny dogfishes, scalloped hammerhead, great 

hammerhead, smooth hammerhead, sandbar, dusky, 

porbeagle, and whitetip sharks have been severely depleted with declines as high as 99 percent in some areas 

as a result of the high demand for their fins or meat; 

Whereas four proposals to include these eight sharks on appendix II were rejected at the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties; 

Whereas overfishing, both legal and illegal, increased consumer demand, and inadequate enforcement of infractions have led to historically low populations of northern 

and Atlantic bluefin tuna; 

Whereas a proposal to include the bluefin tuna in appendix 

I was rejected at the 15th meeting of the Conference of 

the Parties; and 

Whereas July 1, 2010, will mark the 35th anniversary of the 

Convention: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) congratulates the Convention on Inter3 national Trade in Endangered Species of Wild 

4 Fauna and Flora on its 35th anniversary; 

5 (2) recognizes the important contributions that 

6 the Convention has made in regulating international 

7 trade in endangered species and protecting endan8 gered species worldwide; 


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1 (3) recognizes the increasing importance of the 

2 Convention in addressing multiple and compounding 

3 threats on species and ecosystems arising from over4 exploitation, habitat loss, invasive species, disease, 

5 and the effects of climate change; 

6 (4) applauds the Convention’s recent leadership 

7 in reaffirming strong protections for the African ele8 phant, and other endangered species; 

9 (5) urges renewed, expanded, and accelerated 

10 commitments to the Convention by all Parties to en11 sure and enhance the Convention’s contribution to 

12 species conservation through appropriate controls of 

13 international wildlife trade; 

14 (6) urges the United States delegation to the 

15 Convention to utilize international cooperation to en16 courage other Parties to the Convention to collabo17 rate effectively to curb excessive exploitation of spe18 cies for international trade; and 

19 (7) urges the Convention to adopt stronger pro20 tections for the polar bear, sharks, bluefin tuna, and 

21 other endangered species at the 16th meeting of the 

22 Conference of the Parties in 2013. 

Æ 


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