© William R. Curtsinger / National Geographic Stock

Juan Carlos Cantu, Mexico Program Manager

Humans can regularly be seen on Mexico’s beaches, umbrella drink in hand. But we’re not the only ones who regularly hit the country’s beautiful sandy coastline. Literally, every sea turtle species on earth nests on Mexico’s beaches, save one that is only found in Australia. That’s why we’re known as the sea turtle capital of the world, and that’s why the way Mexico protects its sea turtles matters on a global scale.

Current Mexican law classifies all sea turtle species as endangered. But unfortunately this really only means turtles are protected from direct harvest—meaning they can’t be killed for their meat, skin, shell or eggs. Yet other factors pose serious dangers, including damage to and destruction of sea turtle habitat. Even nesting habitat, which is particularly important to the survival of these species, was not legally protected.

An endangered Olive Ridley sea turtle comes ashore to lay her eggs. (© Steven Price)

But not anymore, because in February, a new Mexican law (known as Official Norm-162) took effect, and it offers a whole slate of new protections for sea turtle nesting grounds in Mexico.

Previously, only the most important sea turtle nesting sites have been designated as sanctuaries and natural reserves, which allowed them some level of protection but left the majority of nesting habitat vulnerable.  But now, the new regulation extends habitat protections to all turtle nesting sites. Here are just some of the things that this new and unprecedented regulation has accomplished for sea turtle nesting habitat:

Protecting Native Habitat
The new regulation forbids the removal of native vegetation in the nesting habitat. When coastal vegetation is removed, especially from sand dunes, it allows increased erosion that could eventually destroy nesting beaches. In addition, some turtles like the critically endangered hawksbill sea turtle even prefer to crawl up the beach all the way up to the vegetation to nest.

Loggerhead Sea Turtle Hatchling (NPS)

Putting Out Artificial Lights
The regulation also addresses one of the main factors that disrupt nesting turtles: artificial lights from houses, hotels and roads. These light sources can not only disorient nesting females, but they can be lethal to emerging hatchlings. As they climb their way up from their sandy nest, newly-hatched turtles look for the subtle light reflecting off the surf and waves to orient themselves towards the sea. Artificial lighting can point them in the wrong direction and when you are that young, one wrong turn can force you to use up your limited energy stores, leading to an almost certain death. Even those that eventually make their way to the surf can be too exhausted to swim away, becoming easy pickings for fish and marine birds. For the first time in Mexico, this new regulation calls for moving, changing or eliminating any light sources that illuminates a nesting beach or creates a glow that could disorient the females or hatchlings. These changes won’t happen overnight, but authorities are already informing beachside homeowners and hotels of the new rules.

Off-Road Vehicles
The new regulation also helps address the use of heavy vehicles on the beach. Heavy vehicles may compact sand, destroy nests and eggs, create deep ruts that can become traps for nestlings and basically tear up nesting beaches. No more. From now on, vehicles on nesting beaches have to be less than 300 kg in weight and can only be used for patrolling and management of the nesting site.

In the U.S., sea turtle nesting grounds are often carefully protected. (© Robert S. Donovan)

Spectators
A less obviously threatening activity also outlawed by the new regulation is the release of newly hatched sea turtles. Many hotels near nesting beaches offer guests the opportunity to be part of the release of hatchlings into the sea. The problem is that they keep the hatchlings in confinement for many days until enough people sign up for the activity. So when they are released after being held in captivity, they are too weak to handle the surf or avoid predators. Hatchlings need to get into the water as soon as possible after hatching so they can use their limited energy to swim away. This tourism practice is now forbidden, and hatchlings have to be released immediately. Also for the first time, those who want to watch sea turtles laying their eggs during nesting season will have to follow strict rules.

All of these and many more regulations will help protect beaches, nests, female sea turtles, their eggs and hatchlings from now on. I am proud to say that Defenders of Wildlife played a key role in making this happen. We worked on this regulation for many years; in fact we were the ones who proposed its creation back in 2002. It took a decade of lobbying before we got the Environment Ministry to develop it, and Defenders is one of only four non-governmental organizations credited with helping to make these new protections a reality. It took a long time to get these regulations adopted but now when sea turtles hit Mexico’s beaches to nest, they will find it a safer place than ever.

It’s with great joy that we wrapped up this year’s Convention on Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) Conference of the Parties. It proved to be an historic meeting, especially for the conservation of the marine species we’ve been focusing on for so many years. We worked hard to disseminate information and advocate for these species to be included in CITES Appendices that regulate or prohibit their trade — and all our work paid off!

An oceanic whitetip shark, one of five shark species we supported at CITES this year (©Peter Koelbl)

We are thrilled to report that the listing proposals of several species of sharks that we were supporting were approved, including oceanic whitetips (despite opposition from delegates representing Japan, Gambia and India, among others), and three species of hammerhead sharks (despite opposition from delegates representing Grenada and China, among others). At the end of the conference, at least two-thirds of the delegates voted in favor of including those species under the protection of CITES. Porbeagle sharks and two species of manta rays were also approved. The amount of support for these proposals was so overwhelming that the opponents did not even get an opportunity to reopen the debate later in the conference.

This was the first time since 2004 that the trade of commercially valuable shark species has been regulated. While an Appendix II listing does not entirely ban the trade of these species, it puts new regulations in place that require permits for exporting the fins and other parts of these animals, giving officials the data on the numbers being traded and an account of the specific species traded. Listing them in CITES will help shut down illegal trade in these species and give these vulnerable sharks an opportunity to begin recovering their numbers from the impact of the fin trade.

This meeting will also be remembered because of the unprecedented number of endangered and threatened tropical trees that were listed by consensus in Appendix II: 125 species of rosewood, ebony and sandalwood from Southeast Asia, Africa and Central America were added under CITES. These historic votes meant that finally, the countries of the world, exporters and importers, recognized that the international trade of precious tropical woods needed immediate regulation to put a stop to overexploitation and illegal harvesting before it is too late to save these species.

Spotted turtle (c)John J. Mosesso/NBII

We are also delighted that delegates adopted other proposals we worked on, such as the decision to list the Ecuadorean Machalilla’s frog (Epipedobates machalilla). Many other species gained placement on the CITES Appendices this year as well, including three U.S. species of turtles: Blanding’s turtle, the spotted turtle and the diamondback terrapin, all of which have been declining due to overexploitation. A proposal to uplist to Appendix I and therefore ban the international commercial trade of the West African manatee was approved by consensus, thanks to the wide support of many countries. New Zealand’s green geckos – a species declining because collectors find the animal’s color so appealing – was also listed, as were several species of snakes. In a proposal from Australia, freshwater sawfish were also protected by a new listing that bans the international trade of the species unless for scientific research purposes or under other extenuating circumstances.

Much of the meeting’s success came from the collaboration between Latin American countries, some African nations (mainly from the West), the United States and Europe. It was rewarding to see so many nations recognize the importance of basing their decisions for these proposals on sound science, and to watch them respond to the excessive international trade that is taking a great toll on many species and cannot be allowed to continue unchecked. Now comes the next step for Juan Carlos, our colleague in Mexico, and myself: assisting with training and capacity building in Latin American Parties to CITES to help implement of these decisions and allow the listings to be not only historic, but also truly successful.

Illegally-logged rosewood in Madagascar (c)Erik Patel

Whenever you buy tropical hardwoods, chances are that it comes with a far higher cost than you know. Tropical tree species in Southeast Asia, Africa and Central America are being logged out of existence, and precious endangered tropical woods like rosewood and ebony are the target of one of the largest growing economies in the world: China.

About 90 percent of all tropical timber harvested is illegal and has many negative effects. Valuable natural resources are ransacked, habitat for hundreds of species of wildlife is lost, and foreign criminals enter local communities and national parks, creating an environment of violence and corruption. In addition to all this, the terrible reality of illegal logging is that it is one of the bloodiest industries in the international wildlife and plant trade. People die – loggers, forest owners trying to defend the trees, and law enforcement officials fighting loggers and crime syndicates. All of this is why the recent victory for tropical trees at the latest meeting of the International Convention on Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) was a fantastic step towards halting this vicious cycle.

In Cambodia, the high profits earned from illegal rosewood have led loggers to cut down most of their country’s rosewood trees. Now they are focusing their criminal activities on Thailand, crossing the border to log forests and national parks. Thailand has lost 70 percent of their rosewood population to illegal logging in just six years. The same thing is happening in Laos and Vietnam, which have seen their forests dwindle by 50 to 60 percent and are serving as points of entry for illegal logs destined for China. Belize has also been the focus of illegal loggers, which in the past five years have cut down 30 percent of the country’s rosewood trees for export to China.

Lemurs, like this silky sifaka, are heavily impacted by illegal logging (c) Simponafotsy

Earlier this year, in an action reminiscent of Kenya’s burning of illegal ivory, Belize’s Environment Ministry burned 700 logs of confiscated rosewood to send a message to illegal loggers that enough is enough, Belize will not let them profit from their crime. And they aren’t the only ones fed up with seeing their native forests plundered. In October of 2012, Mexico seized a shipping container in the port of Manzanillo filled with illegal rosewood logs headed for China. In Nicaragua, eco-battalions have been formed to defend the forests from illegal loggers. And Guatemala has announced a crackdown on illegal logging and confiscated several shipments destined for China.

If CITES deals with regulated trade, and the biggest problem here is with illegal trade, then how can CITES help? As boring as it initially might sound, it all comes down to paperwork. When a CITES trade authorization permit is not required (they are issued only for CITES-listed species), customs officers generally have to accept any document accompanying a given shipment. These documents can come in many languages and forms, which customs officers generally are forced to accept either because they can’t read them, or, if they are forged, because they have absolutely no way of determining their validity on the ground. When species are listed under CITES, however, every single shipment needs to be accompanied by the exact same paperwork in order to be traded: a valid CITES export permit. All importing countries, including China, will have to reject any shipment that has not been validated by CITES authorities, and the customs officers in all 178 member countries will be able to readily identify illegal shipments if they try to enter their country without a CITES permit. Chinese customs officers will not be able to play dumb anymore when faced with an illegal shipment of ebony or rosewood.

Juan Carlos testifies during the proposal for Rosewood species.

This year at the CITES Conference of the Parties, several countries presented proposals to list tree species in Appendix II of CITES. Madagascar presented proposals for all their endemic species of ebony and rosewood (a total of 121 species!); Thailand and Vietnam presented a proposal to list the Siamese rosewood, which also inhabits Cambodia and Laos; and Belize presented a proposal for another three species of rosewood from Central America.

As chair of the Tree Working Group of the Species Survival Network, I coordinated the effort of Defenders and several other NGOs to lobby for support for these proposals before and during the CITES conference. Everyone worked unbelievably hard, and it helped to achieve a historic result: ALL of the tree proposals were adopted by consensus! In fact, it was the largest number of tree species entering Appendix II during any CITES meeting since its creation. While the proposals were presented and discussed during the Conference, China’s delegation observed quietly. When the vote came, China didn’t support the proposals, but for the first time they did not oppose them. Their silence spoke volumes, and we believe it signaled a hopeful change for the future of these endangered tree species and the wildlife that rely on them in their native forests.

Alejandra and others who worked to gather support for the shark proposals at CITES celebrate a long-awaited victory.

Sharks are finally getting the attention they deserve. Six years ago (which means two Conferences ago), or even at the last CITES Conference of the Parties (CoP), CITES delegates did not even think that it was possible to include shark species in the CITES Appendices. These ancient marine predators have always been an especially heated topic in the world of wildlife trade, with such strong opposition to listing them that it has been nearly a decade since a shark species was included in a CITES Appendix. Until this year, the whale shark was the last species listed, back in 2003. Since then, millions of sharks have continued to be killed each year to meet the demands of the shark fin trade, which has little to no regulation.

A NOAA agent counts confiscated shark fins.

Last week, a number of countries – including regions of Latin America, Europe, Africa and the U.S. – presented three shark proposals: Oceanic whitetip, hammerheads and porbeagle. All of these species have been heavily impacted by the shark fin trade. Populations of hammerhead sharks declined by 83 percent from 1981 to 2005 in the Northwest Atlantic, and similar declines are being seen in populations around the world. Porbeagles have also declined, thanks to unregulated longline fishing. Oceanic whitetips are exceptionally threatened by the fin trade, where the distinctive, easily-identifiable white-tipped fins of this species range can be worth up to $85 per kilogram.

The discussions around these shark proposals took all day long. Many delegates and representatives testified (something called an “intervention” at CITES) in favor of the proposals, presenting compelling arguments and information on the impacts that international trade has on these sharks. Most of all, they addressed the arguments that led similar proposals to fail at the last CoP in 2010. At that time, the opposition – which included China (a major shark importer), Thailand, Cambodia, Japan and others – trotted out all kinds of misinformation to keep the proposals from passing. They even claimed that one can’t identify the species of shark from the fins alone, which would make it impossible to judge imports from the shark fin trade.

Hammerhead shark.

This year, we came prepared. Defenders and our partners created shark identification guides that clearly show how to identify species of sharks and their fins. We also spent a great deal of time and effort reaching out to a number of nations before the Conference to encourage them to support these proposals, including all the Latin American and West African countries, which turned out to be crucial in getting enough votes. This time we finally saw some real progress for sharks. With an historic two-thirds vote in favor, all three proposals were approved! Oceanic whitetip, porbeagle sharks and three species of hammerheads will be listed in Appendix II of CITES, finally setting strict regulations to protect these species from the demands of the trade.

The same day also saw a similar victory for two species of mantas. Both are found only in fragmented populations across the tropics, but their tendency to gather in large numbers makes them exceptionally easy targets for fishermen – and especially vulnerable to overfishing. People catch mantas for their gill plates, also called “gill rakers,” which are used for medicinal purposes in East Asia. Places like Indonesia and Mozambique have seen their manta populations decline more than 80 percent in some places over the past eight years. Installing regulations on this trade, which kills thousands of mantas every year, is a great step toward ensuring a future for these two species. The proposal to list mantas passed the same day as the shark proposals, with even more votes than the sharks making it a great day for marine animals.

Unfortunately, freshwater rays did not fare as well. We worked hard to get support for a proposal to list three species of freshwater rays from South America in the CITES Appendix to better regulate the international trade of these animals, which are mainly imported for the pet trade in the US, Thailand, China, Europe and others. Sadly, the proposal did not get the support it needed to pass, mostly due to Europe’s negative vote and heavy opposition from pet trade organizations.

Frogs, newts and salamanders all have one very important thing in common: they’re amphibians, and that means they’re members of the most endangered group of animals in the world. Amphibians are indicator species, very sensitive to changes in the environment, and their status helps scientists see how an ecosystem is functioning.

Alejandra presents her report at CITES CoP 16.

Today one-third of all amphibian species are considered threatened or endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and the specific threats to this group of animals is as varied as the species themselves. It includes habitat loss, climate change, pollution, disease and more, but one thing making it all worse is the wildlife trade. Not only are frogs removed from the wild to be placed in the pet and food trades, but moving these species around the globe has contributed a great deal to the spread of diseases that affect amphibians, such as the chytrid fungus that has led to the decline in populations of countless species of frogs.

At every CITES conference, there are a number of side events — presentations to educate those attending the conference on a number of issues pertaining to wildlife and trade. Last week, we teamed up with ProWildlife and the Animal Welfare Institute to put on a presentation to highlight the impact of international trade in amphibians – a trade that amounts to millions of live frogs, newts and other amphibians traded every year for the pet and food market. The event focused a great deal on the increasing trade in live amphibians to the United States, as well as the increase in frozen frog legs to the European Union. Sandra Altherr from ProWildlife and I presented a report [PDF] that we authored together about impacts of the frog leg trade. Even in the U.S., more than half of the 25 million live frogs imported every year are part of this culinary practice.

Toad Mountain harlequin frog.

The other two experts we invited spoke not only about the direct impacts of the international amphibian trade, but also its indirect effects. Jonathan Kolby from the James Cook University of Australia and Mark Auylia from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research spoke about the spread of amphibian diseases through the international wildlife trade and the Risk Assessment of Chytridiomycosis to European amphibian diversity, respectively. Many CITES delegates and other non-governmental organizations attended the event. We were able to distribute our report to the attendees and even handed out frog pens to give people a physical reminder that amphibians are at risk from international trade. We will continue to keep this crucial issue on the conference radar.

One of the proposals we helped work on this year was for the Machalilla’s frog (Epipedobates machalilla), and I’m happy to report that it passed! I worked very closely with officials from Ecuador to help this proposal be presented and adopted – I was even able to speak on the Conference floor in support of it. Ecuador presented the proposal to list the Machalilla’s frog in Appendix II, and the Committee adopted the proposal by consensus.

One of the opening events at the 16th CoP of CITES.

Alejandra Goyenechea, International Counsel

This week, people from all over the world are meeting in Bangkok, Thailand to discuss how we can better protect wildlife. The Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is conducting its 16th Conference of the Parties, also called a CoP. During the Conference, delegates from 178 countries will have the opportunity to vote on a number of proposals that deal with the regulation of international trade of various endangered species. These events take place every three years at various locations around the world, and this year’s CoP is especially significant, since 2013 marks the 40th anniversary of CITES.

This is one of the most important environmental treaties in the world, and the only one created to regulate international wildlife trade. Through CITES, nations all over the world have been able to protect a number of endangered species by decreasing or banning the international trade of the animals and plants or their parts, cutting down on the demand for these items and putting fewer animals and plants at risk. For instance, CITES regulates the trade in elephant ivory. Other species and products being regulated by CITES include tiger and crocodile skins; the live trade in endangered parrots and macaws; the pet trade of pythons and iguanas; the aquarium trade of corals and sea horses; the collector’s trade of butterflies and beetles; the ornamental plant trade of orchids and cacti; the timber trade of mahogany and rosewood, among others. In total, CITES regulates the trade of more than 34,000 species of fauna and flora.

Alejandra and Juan Carlos at the CITES CoP in Thailand.

Defenders staff members have been attending these conferences and working on CITES issues since the 8th CoP in 1992. We have advocated for the protection of elephants, sea turtles, polar bears, macaws and parrots, mahogany, sharks, whales, frogs and other species. This time, we’re focusing our efforts on five species of sharks; two mantas rays; three freshwater rays; fifty species of rosewood from Madagascar, Belize, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia; and the Machalilla frog (Colostethus machalilla) from Ecuador.

Two of us are representing Defenders at CITES this year: myself (International Counsel) and Juan Carlos Cantu, director of our Mexico program. Both of us have been working on international wildlife conservation issues for a number of years. We’ll also be working alongside other members of the Species Survival Network (SSN), a group of more than 90 international NGOs of which Defenders is a member, to distribute scientific and trade information on the life history and recorded decline of several wildlife species to all of the delegates attending the conference. To ensure that the material is available in United Nations recognized languages, we produced all our information in three languages: English, Spanish and French. Juan Carlos and I are also multilingual, so we will be able to answer questions the delegates might have about the issues.

A hammerhead shark, one of five shark species we’re covering at CITES this year.

For the past two years, we have been working to encourage other nations to sponsor proposals on several species. We gathered information on each of these species and created materials to educate people on the issues and give them the opportunity to show their support. We created fact sheets, shark identification guides, posters with information about the proposals, USB drives (which included information on the species and proposals) in the shape of hammerhead sharks, and even lapel pins in the form of a manta, hammerhead shark and rosewood tree. From our booth at the convention center, we’ll be able to display and hand out these materials to the Conference delegates and other interested parties.

Our goal for the Conference is to ensure the delegates are well informed on why the proposals we are supporting are important. Delegates have the task of voting on more than 70 different species proposals, as well as 75 working documents that deal with the application and enforcement of CITES rules that regulate the trade of thousands of species. With such a job ahead of them, it is vital to provide delegates with the best information available so that they can cast an informed vote. With so many proposals on the table, and so many plants, animals and issues that need attention at CITES, our task is not easy, but we are ready to take it on to ensure protections for these vulnerable species.