Taxon

Species Common name

Proposal

Proponent(s)

WWF Position

Saiga tatarica

Saiga

Transfer from App. II to App. I

Mongolia and United States of America

Although we recognise that an error was made with the nomenclature, and that on the basis of a strict interpretation of the criteria, Saiga tatarica might not qualify, we consider that it would be regrettable if the proposal was rejected on these grounds. The reality is that the nomenclature will be updated in due course and saiga will revert to being considered as one species. It would be unfortunate, therefore, if the Parties did not avail of this opportunity at CoP18 to recognise that overall saiga antelope does meet the Appendix I criteria. Addressing the issue of the CMS Saiga MoU, which endorses the principle of sustainable use, this MoU was adopted in 2006, long before the major die-off that put the population in a critical state. WWF looks forward to resumption of sustainable use of saiga in the future but for now we consider that the species merits listing on Appendix I.

SUPPORT

Taxon

Species Common name

Proposal

Proponent(s)

WWF Position

Ceratotherium simum simum (population of Eswatini)

Southern White Rhinoceros

Remove the existing annotation for the population of Eswatini

Eswatini

WWF acknowledges Eswatini’s contributions to the conservation of southern white rhinos as well as the rising costs of protecting them, but we are concerned about the broader impacts that allowing legal trade in rhino horn to meet these costs would have. It is not likely that any consumer countries can effectively manage a regulated horn trade; in fact, it is not clear from the proposal how any such consumer countries, or “licensed retailers,” would be vetted or approved. On balance, we do not believe the potential benefits for Eswatini outweigh the broader threats to global rhino populations.

OPPOSE

 

Taxon

Species Common name

Proposal

Proponent(s)

WWF Position

Ceratotherium simum simum (population of Namibia)

Southern White Rhinoceros

Transfer of the population of Ceratotherium simum simum of Namibia from Appendix I to Appendix II with the following annotation:

“For the exclusive purpose of allowing international trade in: live animals to appropriate and acceptable destinations; and hunting trophies. All other specimens shall be deemed to be specimens of species included in Appendix I and the trade in them shall be regulated accordingly.”

Namibia

Namibia has a strong track record on rhino conservation and with this proposal seeks alignment on the listing of its southern white rhino population with neighboring Swaziland and South Africa (down listing from App I to App II). WWF is in principle supportive of this amendment. However, WWF recognizes the need to be pre-emptive regarding possible exploitation that could occur under the annotations for trophy hunting and trade in live specimens. Neighboring countries have been subjected to pseudo hunting as a mechanism to obtain rhino horns for illegal trade and, indeed, the IUCN SSC-TRAFFIC report to the Secretariat (COP18 Doc 83.1 Annex 2) highlights discrepancies between Namibia’s trophy export data and that of other Parties that may warrant further scrutiny. Additionally, WWF has concerns around rhinos exported from other range states used to stock Asian farms with plans for commercial harvest of their horns and seeks clarity from the proponents as to how they will eliminate the risk of similar exploitation.

CONDITIONAL SUPPORT