Editor’s Note
This article outlines the critical role of CITES in regulating international wildlife trade to combat biodiversity loss. It introduces a framework designed to ensure such trade is both legal and sustainable, highlighting the ongoing global effort to protect endangered species.
The overexploitation of wildlife is one of the major causes of biodiversity loss. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, known as the “Washington Convention” and more commonly by its English acronym “CITES,” has regulated over 40,000 animal and plant species since 1975.
International trade in CITES-listed wildlife species represents billions of dollars per year. It is managed annually by hundreds of thousands of permits controlled at borders, which certify on a case-by-case basis the legal, sustainable, and traceable nature of the trade in the relevant specimens.
The legal framework established by CITES is an essential lever in the fight against trafficking in protected species, which represents the 4th most lucrative illicit market in the world. This trafficking largely relies on the illegal harvesting of species from their natural environment, seriously compromising their survival.
CITES establishes a framework aimed at ensuring legal and sustainable trade in wildlife to ensure the long-term preservation of biodiversity. This framework is based in particular on the issuance of permits authorizing the cross-border movement of CITES-listed species. These permits are issued by the competent authorities of the importing and (re)exporting country.
As trade in wild fauna and flora species extends beyond national borders, its regulation requires international cooperation from all countries applying CITES.
Member States of the European Union do not apply CITES itself, but regulations that harmonize and strengthen its application within the EU territory.
Species listed in CITES are included in the three Appendices of the Convention (Appendix I, II, and III), structured according to the degree of extinction of the species and the threat that trade poses to its survival.
Currently, over 6,610 animal species and 34,310 plant species are listed in CITES.
At the European level, CITES regulations establish four Annexes (A, B, C, and D) primarily grouping species listed in the Convention, but also including some species not listed internationally:
– **Annex A**: It groups species listed in CITES Appendix I, and some species from Appendices II and III to which the EU wishes to grant a higher protection status. It also includes species not protected by CITES and some native species protected by the Birds and Habitats Directives.
– **Annex B**: It lists species from CITES Appendix II not listed in Annex A, and a few species from CITES Appendix III or not listed in CITES.
– **Annex C**: It corresponds to species from CITES Appendix III that are not listed in Annex A or Annex B.
– **Annex D**: It consists of species that are not listed in CITES, but which the EU considers that import volumes justify monitoring.
The documents required for the border crossing of specimens depend on the Annex to which the species is listed:
| EU Annex | IMPORTATION into France (necessarily from a country or territory outside the EU) |
| :— | :— |
| **Annex A** | CITES export permit issued by the third country of origin (The specimen is then directly exported by the country of origin, which is also the country of provenance) **OR** CITES re-export certificate issued by the third country of provenance **+** CITES import permit issued by the destination EU Member State |
| **Annex B** | CITES export permit issued by the third country of origin (The specimen is then directly exported by the country of origin, which is also the country of provenance) **OR** CITES re-export certificate issued by the third country of provenance **+** Import permit issued by the destination EU Member State (for species listed in Annex B, there are certain exemptions from the import permit requirement for personal effects) |
| **Annex C** | CITES export permit issued by the State that requested listing in Appendix III or, if the specimen originates from another country, certificate of origin **OR** CITES re-export certificate issued by the third country of provenance **+** Import notification prepared by the importer in the destination EU Member State (import notifications are not required for personal effects traveling with their owner) |
| **Annex D** | Import notification |