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[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1420 Introduced in House (IH)]

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;
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 over-exploitation 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;
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;
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
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) congratulates the Convention on International Trade in 
        Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora on its 35th 
        anniversary;
            (2) recognizes the important contributions that the 
        Convention has made in regulating international trade in 
        endangered species and protecting endangered species worldwide;
            (3) recognizes the increasing importance of the Convention 
        in addressing multiple and compounding threats on species and 
        ecosystems arising from over-exploitation, habitat loss, 
        invasive species, disease, and the effects of climate change;
            (4) applauds the Convention's recent leadership in 
        reaffirming strong protections for the African elephant, and 
        other endangered species;
            (5) urges renewed, expanded, and accelerated commitments to 
        the Convention by all Parties to ensure and enhance the 
        Convention's contribution to species conservation through 
        appropriate controls of international wildlife trade;
            (6) urges the United States delegation to the Convention to 
        utilize international cooperation to encourage other Parties to 
        the Convention to collaborate effectively to curb excessive 
        exploitation of species for international trade; and
            (7) urges the Convention to adopt stronger protections for 
        the polar bear, sharks, bluefin tuna, and other endangered 
        species at the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties in 
        2013.
                                 <all>
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