Endangered wildlife trade talks open in Bangkok

Wildlife conservationists are expected to push for new trade restrictions to protect fast-disappearing animals and plants, while lobbyists try to liberate trade in some species at international talks starting today in Bangkok, Thailand.

The two-week conference brings together delegates from the 166 countries that have signed the United Nations’ Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES.

The voluntary agreement, introduced in 1975, is meant to protect about 30,000 animals and plants, some of which are threatened with extinction due to commercial trade. About 50 proposals are expected to be submitted during the meeting to legitimise or block trade in some species.

Environmentalists say wildlife sales generate billions of dollars annually, making it the world’s third-largest illicit enterprise after drug trafficking and illegal arms sales.

Namibia is expected to propose lifting a 1989 ban on the sale of ivory that would allow it to sell tusks and a range of products from dead elephants, including ivory trinkets and goods made from elephant hair and skin.

Kenya and several West and Central African nations have opposed the idea, calling for a 20-year extension of the current moratorium.

Kenya is also lobbying for a global ban on trade in lion trophies and skins, arguing that the animals have declined sharply in number due to hunting, loss of habitat and lack of prey.

Australia and Madagascar are expected to call for tighter restrictions on trade in great white sharks – the massive ocean predator that has increasingly become the prey of traders and trophy hunters seeking its jaws, teeth, skin and meat. The United States has backed the proposal.

Meanwhile, activists have denounced a proposal by Japan to allow some populations of minke whales to be hunted for scientific purposes. Japan is among a few countries that have continued to hunt the mammals despite a 1986 ban on commercial whaling that largely halted the practice.

Thailand will ask delegates to outlaw trade of the Irrawaddy dolphin, which is native to freshwater habitats in Southeast Asia and is sought after by zoos, particularly in Japan and Singapore, for its pleasing appearance and ability to perform tricks.

While Thailand has made strides in cracking down on illicit wildlife trade in recent years, the country remains a hub for the sale and export of protected species due to corruption and weak law enforcement.

Other aquatic species set to be debated at the conference include the humphead wrasse, a Pacific reef fish considered a delicacy in some countries.

Proposals to protect the ramin timber tree, the Chinese yew and other medicinal plants, as well as an array of bird, turtle, crocodile and rhinoceros species will also be considered.

Wildlife protection groups have urged Asian governments to form a regional police force to stop the booming black market in plants and animals because they say the global treaty lacks teeth.