If a species is CITES-listed it ought to be harder, and certainly no easier,
to trade (internationally, which is the only situation under which CITES
operates) in wild-collected plants than in artificially-propagated ones -
unless the collector intends to break the law altogether by smuggling. This
is because (a) for Appendix I species wild-caught specimens may not be
traded for commercial purposes, but artificially-propagated ones complying
with CITES rules may be under the terms of Article VII of the treaty, and
(b) for Appendix II species CITES requires a finding that the granting of an
export permit will not be detrimental to the wild population, and such a
finding is certainly easier, all other things being equal, for an
artificially-propagated plant than for a wild-collected one.
It seems from what I have seen on CITES-L and here in my limited time on
this list is that most of the problems people are having fall into two
categories: (a) people simply don't want to go to the trouble to deal with
the CITES process, to which I can only say that I consider conservation to
be a higher priority than convenience; or (b) customs officials in some
countries are either not too efficient at implementing the treaty or are
bound by domestic laws that go well beyond CITES language. Neither of these
really amounts to a criticism of the goals or language of CITES. I am not
saying CITES is perfect, but (as I have been saying on CITES-L) a general
attack on CITES as an attempt to solve specific problem that may relate to
personalities or to other laws will not only not solve your problem but may
make matters worse.
>If a plant is rare in the wild, but is propagated in mass through in
>vitro and distributed, the value of the plant goes way down and people
>will not want to poach it for profit or personal collections. Whereas
>if a plant is restricted from distribution, then it becomes valuable,
>and some will poach it.
Unfortunately things often don't work out that way. As I noted earlier
Nepenthes plants were being poached in Borneo even before they were
CITES-listed in 1987, despite the fact that all of the species involved
(according to the proposal) were present in cultivation (and were free to be
traded without CITES restrictions). The reality is that poachers,
particularly in poorer countries, will poach because they see it as a way to
cash in on a demand - they may simply be ignorant of the fact that the
demand is being met in other ways (after all, they aren't seeing the money)
or be confident that they can find a market regardless.
Note that the recent siezure of 9000 Venus Flytraps, all apparently
wild-collected, by USFWS shows that even in the US people may poach a plant
that is widely available in horticulture both in the US and in Europe where
the specimens were due to be sent.
>In any case, this entire discussion about CITES is probably mute because
>I imagine if a poacher went in and collected samples of an endangered CP
>it would probably do a heck of a lot less damage than the acres of that
>species that would probably be wiped out that same year by farming,
>mining, housing developments, etc. **NOTE: I am by no means endorsing
>this - I am absolutely against poaching!**
Again, remember that poaching may go on in protected areas such as Kinabalu
NP in Sabah. And saying that we shouldn't worry about poaching because
habitat destruction is far more of a problem is like saying we shouldn't
worry about AIDS because a lot more people die of heart attacks or cancer.
>On a related issue, if there were more *propagated* CP out there, and
>more people realize how amazing they are, perhaps more people would take
>greater steps to protect their natural habitats.
No argument there - except to note that for species in poorer countries the
people in the area may not care whether peolpe on the other side of the
world think their plants are nifty, or, worse, may see this as an
opportunity to cash in and start poaching.
-- Ronald I. Orenstein Phone: (905) 820-7886 (home) International Wildlife Coalition Fax/Modem: (905) 569-0116 (home) Home: 1825 Shady Creek Court Messages: (416) 368-4661 Mississauga, Ontario, Canada L5L 3W2 Internet: ornstn@inforamp.net Office: 130 Adelaide Street W., Suite 1940 Toronto, Ontario Canada M5H 3P5