Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)theTurtleRoom

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)

Summary

The purpose of CITES is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild fauna and flora does not threaten their survival on earth. It works by placing controls on the international trade in specimens of certain species of concern. Any and all import, export, re-export and introduction of any species covered by CITES has to be authorized through a licensing system. Each country who is part of the Convention designates their own authorities in charge of administering this system (Management Authority) and designates their own scientific personnel (Scientific Authority) to counsel them on the effects of trade on any listed species. Although CITES is legally binding on the countries involved, it does not take the place of national laws. Instead, CITES provides a framework to be respected by each country, which has to pass its own domestic legislation to ensure that CITES is implemented at the national level. There are currently 175 countries with CITES membership.

The species covered by CITES are listed in three Appendices, according to the degree of protection they need.

The Appendices

Appendix I

Appendix I includes species threatened with extinction. Trade in specimens of these species is permitted only in exceptional circumstances. The Conference of the Parties has agreed on a set of biological and trade criteria to help determine whether a species should be included in Appendices I or II. Each country (each party) may submit proposals based on those criteria to amend the species listed in these two Appendices. Those amendment proposals are discussed and then submitted to a vote. Species may also be moved between Appendices I and II by this same procedure.

Appendix I Import/Export Procedures

An import permit issued by the Management Authority of the country of import is required. This may be issued only if the specimen is not to be used for primarily commercial purposes and if the import will be for purposes that are not detrimental to the survival of the species. In the case of a live animal or plant, the Scientific Authority must be satisfied that the proposed recipient is suitably equipped to house and care for it.
An export permit or re-export certificate issued by the Management Authority of the country of export or re-export is also required.
- An export permit may be issued only if the specimen was legally obtained; the trade will not be detrimental to the survival of the species; and an import permit has already been issued.
- A re-export certificate may be issued only if the specimen was imported in accordance with the provisions of the Convention and, in the case of a live animal or plant, if an import permit has been issued.
- In the case of a live animal or plant, it must be prepared and shipped to minimize any risk of injury, damage to health or cruel treatment.

When a specimen of a CITES-listed species is transferred between a country that is a member of the Convention and a country that is not, the country that is a member may accept documentation equivalent to the permits and certificates described above for both import and export. Please see the provided links and sources at the bottom of this page for more details.

Appendix II

Appendix II includes species not necessarily threatened with extinction, but in which trade must be controlled in order to avoid utilization incompatible with their survival. The process for listing is the same as for Appendix I.

Appendix II Import/Export Procedures

An export permit or re-export certificate issued by the Management Authority of the country of export or re-export is required.
- An export permit may be issued only if the specimen was legally obtained and if the export will not be detrimental to the survival of the species.
- A re-export certificate may be issued only if the specimen was imported in accordance with the Convention.
In the case of a live animal or plant, it must be prepared and shipped to minimize any risk of injury, damage to health or cruel treatment.
No import permit is needed unless required by national law.

Appendix III

Appendix III contains species that are protected in at least one country, which has asked other CITES Parties for assistance in controlling the trade. Changes to Appendix III follow a distinct procedure from changes to Appendices I and II, as each country is entitled to make unilateral amendments to it. Species may be added and removed from Appendix III at any time, by any member of the Convention (however, this is often done at the same time as changes are made to Appendices I and II).

Appendix III Import/Export Procedures

In the case of trade from a country that included the species in Appendix III (seen in parentheses on the list below), an export permit issued by the Management Authority of that country is required. This may be issued only if the specimen was legally obtained and, in the case of a live animal or plant, if it will be prepared and shipped to minimize any risk of injury, damage to health or cruel treatment.
In the case of export from any other country, a certificate of origin issued by its Management Authority is required.
In the case of re-export, a re-export certificate issued by the State of re-export is required.

There are often exceptions to the principles for Appendix III. There are special rules in these cases and permit(s) or certificate(s) will generally still be required. It is suggested that anyone planning to import or export/re-export specimens of a CITES species should contact the national CITES Management Authorities of the countries of import and export/re-export for information on the rules that apply.

United States Implementation of CITES

The United States implements CITES in the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA). In Section 8A. of the ESA, the Secretary of the Interior is designated as both the Management Authority and Scientific Authority for purposes of the Convention. The United States appears to follow the exact framework laid out by CITES without any added restrictions directly in implemention of CITES. However, some CITES listed species are then given a higher level of protection through the ESA.

Complete List of Turtles Protected by CITES

Up to Date as of September 2016; Source – CITES.org

Species Group	Common Name	Appendix
Amyda cartilaginea	Asiatic Softshell Turtle	Appendix II
Apalone ferox	Florida Softshell	Appendix III (USA)
Apalone mutica ssp.	Smooth Softshell - All	Appendix III (USA)
Apalone spinifera atra	Cuatro Cienegas/Black Spiny Softshell	Appendix I
Apalone spinifera ssp.	Spiny Softshell - All not in higher appendix	Appendix III (USA)
Astrochelys radiata	Madagascar Radiated Tortoise	Appendix I
Astrochelys yniphora	Ploughshare Tortoise	Appendix I
Batagur affinis	Southern River Terrapin	Appendix I
Batagur baska	Northern River Terrapin	Appendix I
Batagur spp.	Batagur – All not in Appendix I	Appendix II
Caretta caretta	Loggerhead Seaturtle	Appendix I
Carettochelys insculpta	Fly River Turtle	Appendix II
Chelodina mccordi	Roti Island Snake-Necked Turtle	Appendix I
Chelonia mydas	Green Seaturtle	Appendix I
Chelonoidis nigra	Galapagos Tortoises	Appendix I
Chelydra serpentina	Common Snapping Turtle	Appendix III (USA)
Chitra chitra	Asian Narrow-Headed Softshell Turtle	Appendix I
Chitra spp.	Chitra – All not in Appendix I	Appendix II
Chitra vandijki	Burmese Narrow-Headed Softshell Turtle	Appendix I
Clemmys guttata	Spotted Turtle	Appendix II
Cuora galbinifrons	Indochinese Box Turtle	Appendix I
Cuora spp.	Cuora – All not in Appendix I	Appendix II
Cyclanorbis elegans	Nubian Flapshell Turtle	Appendix II
Cyclanorbis senegalensis	Senegal Flapshell Turtle	Appendix II
Cyclemys spp.	Cyclemys – All	Appendix II
Cycloderma aubryi	Aubry's Flapshell Turtle	Appendix II
Cycloderma frenatum	Zambezi Flapshell Turtle	Appendix II
Dermatemys mawii	Central American River Turtle	Appendix II
Dermochelys coriacea	Leatherback Seaturtle	Appendix I
Dogania subplana	Malayan Softshell Turtle	Appendix II
Emydoidea blandingii	Blanding's Turtle	Appendix II
Eretmochelys imbricata	Hawksbill Seaturtle	Appendix I
Erymnochelys madagascariensis	Madagascan Big-Headed Turtle	Appendix II
Geochelone platynota	Burmese Star Tortoise	Appendix I
Geoclemys hamiltonii	Indian Spotted Pond Turtle	Appendix I
Geoemyda japonica	Ryukyu Black-Breasted Leaf Turtle	Appendix II
Geoemyda spengleri	Black-Breasted Leaf Turtle	Appendix II
Glyptemys insculpta	North American Wood Turtle	Appendix II
Glyptemys muhlenbergii	Bog Turtle	Appendix I
Gopherus flavomarginatus	Bolson Tortoise	Appendix I
Graptemys spp.	Map Turtles – All	Appendix III (USA)
Hardella thurjii	Crowned River Turtle	Appendix II
Heosemys annandalii	Yellow-Headed Temple Turtle	Appendix II
Heosemys depressa	Arakan Forest Turtle	Appendix II
Heosemys grandis	Giant Asian Pond Turtle	Appendix II
Heosemys spinosa	Spiny Turtle	Appendix II
Lepidochelys kempii	Kemp’s Ridley Seaturtle	Appendix I
Lepidochelys olivacea	Olive Ridley Seaturtle	Appendix I
Leucocephalon yuwonoi	Sulawesi Forest Turtle	Appendix II
Lissemys punctata	Indian Flapshell Turtle	Appendix II
Lissemys scutata	Burmese Flapshell Turtle	Appendix II
Macrochelys temminickii	Alligator Snapping Turtle	Appendix III (USA)
Malaclemys terrapin	Diamondback Terrapin	Appendix II
Malayemys macrocephela	Malayan Snail-Eating Turtle	Appendix II
Malayemys subtrijuga	Mekong Snail-Eating Turtle	Appendix II
Mauremys annamensis	Vietnamese/Annam Pond Turtle	Appendix I
Mauremys iversoni (Hybrid)	Iverson’s Hybrid	Appendix III (China)
Mauremys japonica	Japanese Pond Turtle	Appendix II
Mauremys megalocephala	Chinese Broad-Headed Pond Turtle	Appendix III (China)
Mauremys mutica	Yellow Pond Turtle	Appendix II
Mauremys nigricans	Red-Necked Pond Turtle	Appendix II
Mauremys pritchardi (Hybrid)	Pritchard’s Hybrid	Appendix III (China)
Mauremys reevesii	Reeve’s/Chinese Pond Turtle	Appendix III (China)
Mauremys sinensis	Golden Thread Turtle	Appendix III (China)
Melanochelys tricarinata	Tricarinate Hill Turtle	Appendix I
Melanochelys trijuga	Indian Black Turtle	Appendix II
Morenia ocellata	Burmese Eyed Turtle	Appendix I
Morenia petersi	Indian Eyed Turtle	Appendix II
Natator depressus	Flatback Seaturtle	Appendix I
Nilssonia formosa	Burmese Peacock Softshell Turtle	Appendix II
Nilssonia gangetica	Indian Softshell Turtle	Appendix I
Nilssonia hurum	Indian Peacock Softshell Turtle	Appendix I
Nilssonia leithii	Leith's Softshell	Appendix II
Nilssonia nigricans	Black Softshell Turtle	Appendix I
Notochelys platynota	Malayan Flat-Shelled Turtle	Appendix II
Ocadia glyphistoma (Hybrid)	Glyphistoma Hybrid	Appendix III (China)
Ocadia philippeni (Hybrid)	Philippen’s Hybrid	Appendix III (China)
Orlitia borneensis	Malaysian Giant Turtle	Appendix II
Palea steindachneri	Wattle-Necked Softshell Turtle	Appendix II
Pangshura spp.	Pangshura – All not in Appendix I	Appendix II
Pangshura tecta	Indian Roofed/Indian Tent Turtle	Appendix I
Pelochelys spp.	Giant Softshells – All	Appendix II
Pelodiscus axenaria	Hunan Softshell Turtle	Appendix II
Pelodiscus maackii	Northern Chinese Softshell Turtle	Appendix II
Pelodiscus parviformis	Lesser Chinese Softshell Turtle	Appendix II
Peltocephalus dumerilianus	Big-Headed Amazon River Turtle	Appendix II
Platysternon megacephalum	Big-Headed Turtle	Appendix I
Podocnemis spp.	Giant Amazon River Turtle	Appendix II
Psammobates geometricus	Geometric Tortoise	Appendix I
Pseudemydura umbrina	Western Swamp Turtle	Appendix I
Pyxis arachnoides	Spider Tortoise	Appendix I
Pyxis planicauda	Flat-Shelled Spider Tortoise	Appendix I
Rafetus euphraticus	Euphrates Softshell Turtle	Appendix II
Rafetus swinhoei	Yangtze Giant Softshell Turtle	Appendix II
Sacalia bealei	Beal’s Eyed Turtle	Appendix II
Sacalia pseudocellata (Hybrid)	False-Eyed Hybrid	Appendix III (China)
Sacalia quadriocellata	Four-Eyed Turtle	Appendix II
Siebenrockiella crassicollis	Black Marsh Turtle	Appendix II
Siebenrockiella leytensis	Palawan/Philipine Forest Turtle	Appendix II
Terrapene coahuila	Coahuilian Box Turtle	Appendix I
Terrapene spp.	Box Turtles – All not in Appendix I	Appendix II
Testudinae spp.	Tortoises – All not in Appendix I	Appendix II
Testudo kleinmanni	Egyptian Tortoise	Appendix I
Trionyx triunguis	Nile Softshell Turtle	Appendix II
Vijayachelys silvatica	Cochin Forest Cane Turtle	Appendix II

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES):

Full Text .pdf of CITES (does not include listed species)
U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, Title 50, Part 23 (application of CITES in the United States)

Sources:

50 CFR Pt. 23. 2012. Web. 13 Aug. 2012. http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov
“Appendices I, II, and III”. CITES Secretariat. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. 2012. Web. 3 Dec. 2012. http://www.cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php
CITES Secretariat. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. 2012. Web. 3 Dec. 2012. http://www.cites.org
Turtle Taxonomy Working Group [van Dijk, P.P., Iverson, J.B., Rhodin, A.G.J., Shaffer, H.B., and Bour, R.]. 2014. Turtles of the World, 7th edition: Annotated Checklist of Taxonomy, Synonomy, Distribution with Maps, and Conservation Status. In: Rhodin, A.G.J., Pritchard, P.C.H., van Dijk, P.P., Saumure, R.A., Buhlmann, K.A., Iverson, J.B., and Mittermeier, R.A. (Eds.). Conservation Biology of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises: A Compilation Project of the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group. Chelonian Research Monographs, No. 7, pp.000.329-000.478, doi:10.3854/crm.5.000.checklist.v7.2014, //iucn-tftsg.org/checklist. Web. Jun. 2014.

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)

Summary

The Appendices

United States Implementation of CITES

Complete List of Turtles Protected by CITES

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES):

Sources:

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Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)

Summary

The Appendices

United States Implementation of CITES

Complete List of Turtles Protected by CITES

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES):

Sources:

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