A proposal for the up listing of Philippine pangolin (Manis culionensis) from Appendix II to Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was presented recently by the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff (PCSDS) at a CITES meeting held in Bangkok, Thailand on August 1-5.
The presentation was done by PCSDS Project Development Officer IV Levita Lagrada during the Asia Regional Joint Preparatory Meeting at the UN Convention Center in Thailand.
Lagrada is a member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources-Species Survival Commission-Pangolin Specialist Group.
With the proposed up listing from Appendix II to Appendix I, Lagrada said that other CITES-member countries will be enjoined to monitor the international trade of Philippine Pangolin within their respective territories.
This is part of the efforts of all range states of pangolin in Asia and Africa who have agreed to prepare a proposal to upgrade the classification of all pangolin species under CITES from Appendix II to Appendix I.
Since PCSD is the CITES Management Authority in Palawan, PCSDS participated in the preparation of this proposal, which will be presented in the next Conference of Parties (CoP) meeting come September 2016 in Africa.
The CITES Appendices are lists of species afforded different levels or types of protection from over-exploitation due to international wildlife trade.
According to the CITES’ website, “Appendix I lists species that are the most endangered among CITES-listed animals and plants. They are threatened with extinction and CITES prohibits international trade in specimens of these species except when the purpose of the import is not commercial for instance for scientific research…”
On one hand, “Appendix II lists species that are not necessarily now threatened with extinction but that may become so unless trade is closely controlled…”