What is CITES?
Because the trade in wild animals and plants crosses borders between countries, the effort to regulate it requires international cooperation to safeguard certain species from over-exploitation. CITES was conceived in the spirit of such cooperation. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) entered into force on 1 July 1975. There are now more than 170 member countries that enforce CITES. Member countries participate by controlling trade in an agreed list of species that are either endangered or that might become endangered if trade is not regulated. Today, it accords varying degrees of protection to more than 30,000 species of animals and plants, whether they are traded as live specimens, fur coats or dried herbs. Although CITES is legally binding on the member countries in other words they have to implement the Convention it does not take the place of national laws. Rather it provides a framework to be respected by each country, which
