Thumbnail Image

The relationship between CITES, FAO and related agreements: legal issues.

Year of publication 2011

Pages 63

Author Erik Franckx;Fisheries and Aquaculture Management Division

Product type Book (series)

ISBN 9789251067437

Series title FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Circular

Series number 2070-6065 - C1062

Edition 1

Synopsis (short abstract) Overexploitation of fisheries has led to significant action on the international level to better govern and protect living marine resources. Among the actions taken were the adoption and implementation of various fisheries-related binding and non-binding international instruments for conservation and management of living marine resources, including initiatives to address the issue of overfishing. The modest results achieved so far suggest the need for an examination of other non-fisheries instru ments to determine their utility for the conservation and management of fisheries resources. One of the non-fisheries international instruments, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) warrants particularly close scrutiny. The inevitable overlap of CITES, whose primary initial focus clearly did not concern marine species, and a number of FAO legal instruments has generated a series of international legal issues. This article addresses two such issues: 1) the legal relationship between CITES and other relevant international agreements, and 2) the competence of CITES with respect to commercially-exploited aquatic species. The analysis demonstrates that the relationships between CITES and other agreements are not uniform, but vary with the circumstances. In particular, the conflict clauses which govern interactions between treaties are crucial for determining whether CITES takes precedence, or subjects itself to another treaty. In more g eneral terms, however, the law is far from settled in this regard and parties continually debate the proper course to take. Nonetheless, continued dedication to cooperation can eventually resolve these entangling interactions and allow for progress in the use of these agreements as protection against overfishing. In this context, FAO has and will continue to play a significant role in the conservation and management of living marine resources as well as in the application of CITES.

Cite this content as:

Franckx, E.The relationship between CITES, FAO and related agreements: legal issues.FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Circular. No. 1062. Rome, FAO. 2011. 63p.

Language English

Also available in:
No results found.

Related items

Showing items related by metadata.

  • Thumbnail Image
    Book (series)
    Implementing the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) through national fisheries legal frameworks: A study and a guide 2020
    Also available in:
    An increasing number of commercially exploited and managed aquatic species has been listed in the Appendices to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), triggering the attention from the fisheries sector of States on how listing would impact on the management of the relevant fisheries. CITES regulates international trade in certain aquatic species, including those which are, and can be, commercially exploited and which are being managed by the fisheries sector. The fisheries sector legal frameworks will have to recognize and enable the various requirements provided for in CITES, including the making of non-detriment findings and ensuring that there is a designated management authority and scientific authority to take certain decisions in respect of listed commercially exploited and managed aquatic species. This sourcebook provides clarifications on the relationship of CITES with the fisheries sector and provides guidance on how national fisheries legal frameworks can optimize the implementation of CITES. The realisation of this sourcebook in 2020, designated as a “super year” for nature and biodiversity, represents a timely and useful contribution to fisheries management, by (i) raising awareness of CITES; (ii) enhancing comprehension of the CITES regime and its relationship with the fisheries sector and (iii) where a deliberate decision is made by a country to implement CITES through its national fisheries legal frameworks, providing guidance as to what do it and how to do it.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Book (stand-alone)
    Report of the First FAO Expert Workshop for the Assessment of Proposals on Implementing the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) through Fisheries Legal Frameworks 2019
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    The Expert Workshop on Implementing the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) through Fisheries Legal Frameworks was held in Rome, Italy from 6 to 8 May 2019. The Expert Workshop was held as a result of the continued collaboration between the Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and FAO. The Expert Workshop discussed 1) CITES implementation, in particular in the fisheries sector, 2) Key issues challenging the enhanced implementation of CITES through the fisheries sector, and 3) Ways to enhance implementation through fisheries legal frameworks by developing concepts and options .
  • Thumbnail Image
    Book (stand-alone)
    Technical report on the regional workshop on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), fisheries, and legal acquisition findings with Latin American and Caribbean countries
    8 to 11 May 2023
    2024
    Also available in:
    This document contains the report of the regional training workshop on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), fisheries, and legal acquisition findings (LAFs) for 13 Latin American and Caribbean countries, jointly organized by the Development Law Service of the FAO Legal Office and the CITES Secretariat, in collaboration with the FAO Offices for Ecuador and Latin America and the Caribbean. The workshop was held in Spanish and in-person only from 8 to 11 May 2023. The workshop aimed to raise awareness and strengthen the understanding of CITES requirements and their implementation in the fisheries sector; introduce and train participants on the use of the FAO-CITES Legal Study and Guide; train participants on the use of the Rapid Guide for the Making of LAFs, available at Annex 3 of Resolution 18.7 (Rev. CoP19); and identify countries’ needs and interests for a better implementation of CITES in the fisheries sector.A total of 50 participants joined the workshop from 13 countries in the Latin American and Caribbean region (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Peru and Venezuela [Bolivarian Republic of]), regional organizations (the Central American and Dominican Republic Wildlife Enforcement Network and Permanent Commission for the South Pacific), non-governmental organizations (Defenders of Wildlife and World Fund for Nature), the private sector (fishing enterprises), as well as the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, in addition to the CITES Secretariat and FAO.The four-day programme included presentations on CITES key principles and requirements and their applicability in the fisheries sector; clarifications on commercially exploited aquatic species listed in CITES Appendix II, opportunities for collaboration between CITES and fisheries authorities, correlations between CITES and fisheries management; introduction on how to use the FAO-CITES Legal Study and Guide; the relevance to CITES of the Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing, Catch Documentation Scheme, and associated technical guidelines. Additionally, the workshop promoted the use of the Rapid Guide for the Making of LAFs.This is the third of a series of legal training workshops on CITES and fisheries organized by the CITES Secretariat and FAO. The first and second workshops were held at the subregional level, respectively, for Pacific Island countries (November 2021) and English-speaking Caribbean countries (May–June 2022).
Show more

Users also downloaded

Showing related downloaded files

No results found.