The European Union wants tighter trade restrictions on some marine species, but remains undecided about Namibia’s proposal to ease rules on ivory sales, officials said on Tuesday.
The 25 EU countries will vote together on suggested changes to an international treaty on wildlife conservation, giving the bloc significant clout, said Julio Garcia Burgues, a European Commission environmental official.
The countries are among 166 nations that have signed the United Nations Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or Cites and that have sent delegates to Bangkok for two-weeks of talks that opened on Saturday.
”All 25 member states are effectively coordinating their positions and speaking with a single voice,” Burgues said.
The treaty, introduced in 1975, is intended to protect some 30 000 animals and plants, some of which face extinction because of commercial trade. About 50 proposals to legitimise or prohibit trade are being presented during the talks.
Together with Fiji and the United States, the EU will propose stricter rules for trade in the humphead wrasse, a Pacific reef
fish that can grow to up to two meters in length and is threatened by overfishing because of demand in Asia. A similar proposal by the US was rejected two years ago, but officials were optimistic of sucess this year.
”We believe this fish is an excellent candidate for regulated trade within Cites, and we will be looking for parties to support
the proposal,” said Colman O’Criodain, an EC wildlife specialist.
The EU also appeared ready to block a proposal by Japan to allow it to hunt some populations of minke whales for commercial trade.
The International Whaling Commission (IWC) banned commercial whaling in 1986 to protect the endangered mammals, but later approved restricted hauls for research programs. Japan has tried to overturn the ban, saying some populations can sustain limited hunting.
In July, the IWC rejected a plan that critics said would end the moratorium on whale hunts, and Burgues said the Bangkok conference ”should not be adopting a position which would be inconsistent”.
The EU will also support proposals by Italy and Slovenia for new trade guidelines for the European date mussel, found throughout the Mediterranean, a Thai call for restrictions on the Irrawaddy dolphin and an Indonesian move to protect the ramin tree.
European countries, however, were waiting to see what position African nations will take on Namibia’s request to export two tons of ivory annually, said Guissepe Raaphorst, the Netherlands’ chief delegate and a representative of the EU presidency. – Sapa-AP