CITES

CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is a multilateral environmental agreement that regulates international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants to ensure such trade does not threaten their survival. It was opened for signature in Washington, D.C. on 3 March 1973 and entered into force on 1 July 1975. The treaty is administered by a Secretariat hosted by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) in Geneva.

CITES operates by listing species in three appendices that determine the level of trade control:

• Appendix I covers species threatened with extinction; commercial international trade in wild-caught specimens is generally prohibited (examples include tigers, great apes, and most rhinoceroses).
• Appendix II covers species not necessarily threatened now but which may become so without trade controls; trade requires an export permit and a non-detriment finding.
• Appendix III covers species protected in at least one country that has asked other parties for cooperation in controlling trade.

Decisions to add, remove, or transfer species between appendices are taken by the Conference of the Parties (CoP), which meets roughly every three years. Each party designates a Management Authority to issue permits and a Scientific Authority to advise on non-detriment findings. Compliance is monitored through national reports, and persistent non-compliance can lead to trade suspensions recommended by the Standing Committee.

CITES does not address habitat loss, pollution, or domestic use directly; its leverage is the permit system at borders. It interacts with related regimes such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the IUCN Red List (which informs but does not bind listing decisions), and regional instruments. The treaty is frequently cited in MUN committees dealing with wildlife trafficking, ivory bans, shark and timber trade, and the intersection of biodiversity loss with transnational organized crime.