Qatar set to host Cites meeting

QATAR will host the next meeting of the United Nations Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites).

The conference will be held in Doha from March 13 to 25.Cites is an international agreement between governments, aimed at ensuring that global trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.Namibia is an active member of Cites.States adhere to Cites voluntarily. Although Cites is legally binding on its members, it does not take the place of national laws.Rather, it provides a framework to be respected by each member, which has to adopt its own domestic legislation to ensure that Cites is implemented at the national level.Cites has placed wild plants and animals in three Appendices. Appendix I lists species that are most endangered and no trade is allowed in them, while Appendix II is a list of species that are not necessarily threatened with extinction but may become so unless trade is closely controlled.Cites Appendix III is a list of species included at the request of a member that already regulates trade in the species and needs the cooperation of other countries to prevent unsustainable or illegal exploitation.The convention came into force on March 3 1973 and it now has 175 members.