The Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) organized an expert workshop in May 2019 in Rome, Italy, to explore the implementation of the Convention through fisheries legislation. The workshop brought together around 26 legal and technical experts.
At the meeting, the UN Environment Programme explained the key issues challenging the implementation of the Convention in the fisheries sector and helped identify ways to enhance the Convention’s implementation through fisheries legal frameworks. The goal is to further strengthen the capacity of developing countries to ensure the sustainability, legality and traceability of international trade in the species listed in the Convention, with a focus on commercially exploited aquatic species.
The workshop provided participants with an overview of the main issues concerning the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, including the importance of its national implementation and the possible contribution that the fisheries sector and the fisheries legislation may take towards implementation.
The Convention further provides possible legal frameworks that could be used as a basis for legal and policy options on how fisheries legal instruments can contribute to its implementation. A background paper was developed in the meeting to provide a basis for a guidance document for the implementation of the Convention through legal frameworks in the fisheries sector.
UN Environment will continue to offer legal and technical support to the Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora to provide and disseminate information on potential approaches, options and considerations for implementing the Convention through fisheries legal frameworks.
For more information, please contact Sylvia.Bankobeza[at]un.org I Niamh.Brannigan[at]un.org I Catherine.Abuto[at]un.org
