Whale sharks were among 70 species of sharks and rays to gain greater protection at the world’s top meeting on the global trade of endangered species, which closed on Friday in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
Safeguards on other iconic species such as elephants remained strong as most countries reaffirmed a longstanding ban on ivory trade.
The restrictions on some exotic animals sold as pets — South Africa is a hub for this trade — were tightened to protect their survival in the wild.
International agreements decided at the 20th Cites (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) conference are vital to saving species but, unless backed by national enforcement and community support, are not enough.
Carina Bruwer, head of the Wildlife in Trade unit at the Endangered Wildlife Trust, noted that Cites listings only apply to international trade.
“What is much more urgent in the South African and Namibian context, especially with regards to plants, is to ensure that species protected only under provincial legislation are protected nationally,” she said.
Cites decisions are important, however, in closing loopholes for illicit wildlife trafficking, since it is easier to sell poached animals or plants if legal trade across borders is allowed.
Sub-Saharan Africa has already lost nearly a quarter (24%) of its biodiversity since pre-industrial times, and large animals have declined the most severely, found a major African-led study published on Wednesday in the journal Nature.
Lead author Dr Hayley Clements, from the Centre for Sustainability Transitions at Stellenbosch University, said protected areas were vital safeguards for them, but more than 80% of the region’s remaining wild plants and animals live outside of formally protected lands.
South Africa was out of step with the world when it supported a regional proposal to lower protections on giraffe and another by Namibia to allow the sale of stockpiles of ivory and have fewer restrictions on the trade of rhino horn. Most of the 185 countries present rejected these proposals.
South Africa’s position on ivory and rhino horn shifted in the weeks leading up to Cites COP20 with the DA’s replacement of Dion George, the former minister of forestry, fisheries & the environment (DFFE), by Willie Aucamp.
Dr Francis Vorhies, from the African Wildlife Economy Institute at Stellenbosch University, said: “In SA, the minister has considerable power over Cites-related matters, maybe too much for what should be more of a technical process than a political one.
“For example, the previous minister was opposed to exports of specimens from listed species (listing tightens up international commercial trade) like leopards, lions, rhinos and elephants, and he also proposed listing abalone, specifically dried abalone, in appendix II. With the new minister, South Africa dropped this listing proposal at the COP20 and also advocated for sustainable and legal trade of other species.”
Cites lists endangered species in appendices I, II and III depending on how vulnerable they are, with appendix I prohibiting international trade in that species.
Conservation bodies and experts expressed dismay at the sudden replacement of George ahead of Cites COP20. They believe that Aucamp’s closeness to trophy hunting and captive wildlife breeding poses a conflict of interest.
The South African proposal that succeeded at COP20 was getting bontebok removed from the Cites appendices, said Vorhies.
DFFE deputy minister Narend Singh led a delegation of 24 officials to the meeting, said Zolile Nqayi, acting chief director of communication and advocacy.
“The outcomes are always very important to South Africa as a founding member of Cites in 1975 and one of its 185 signatories,” he said.
The outcomes are always very important to South Africa as a founding member of Cites in 1975 and one of its 185 signatories
— Narend Singh, DFFE deputy minister
South Africa supported a “science-based decision-making process, including recognising indigenous knowledge”.
Communities living in wildlife hotspots are central to the protection of wildlife. For example, in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park region in KwaZulu-Natal, local communities are involved in the conservation of loggerhead and leatherback turtles, whose populations have rebounded recently. This coastline is home to their nesting grounds, and the turtles’ rising numbers show how community involvement, law enforcement and Cites restrictions — turtle trade was banned at its first meeting in 1975 — all contribute to their success.
In contrast, all eight species of pangolins are listed on Cites appendix I (like turtles), and their numbers are in sharp decline. Their poaching in Africa has escalated, and partnerships need to be strengthened to reverse this decimation.
Succulents, often poached in the Karoo, are also vanishing from the South African landscape. Several species of succulents and aloes got some protection, however, by being listed on appendix II at Cites COP20.
Meanwhile, in the ocean, disappearing species like white sharks will benefit not only from the listing of many sharks and rays on appendix I but also from the listing of the smoothhound sharks, on which they prey, under appendix II.
The survival of many endemic species is also being threatened by the exotic pet trade. National Council of SPCAs spokesperson Samanta Stelli said South Africa’s large exotic pet trade generated significant income through importing and exporting animals. The NSCPA wildlife protection unit, which receives many complaints about the neglect and maltreatment of exotic pets, advocates for “stronger regulations within the exotic pet trade to ensure these animals are better protected”.
Stelli said the unit received an average of three to five cases per week of neglected exotic wildlife, currently protected only under the Animals Protection Act. “In many cases, the ability to buy exotic wildlife is uncontrolled, with no permits required in certain provinces.”
She said complaints, among many others, include:
- malnourishment;
- poor housing conditions;
- a lack of species-specific knowledge leading to stress;
- owners becoming bored or overwhelmed due to the unhygienic environments; and
- insufficient enrichment.
The better protections agreed for pet trade-targeted species at Cites COP20 are an important step. This conference — where 51 proposals and more than 100 documents were considered — paid more attention to species exploited by pet traders and wildlife traffickers than previously.
On Friday, at the closing of Cites COP20, the Wildlife Conservation Society welcomed the “series of landmark decisions that will strengthen trade regulations for threatened species— including many heavily targeted by the global pet trade — while also warning that several decisions could jeopardise hard-won conservation.”
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