1 National Reporting CITES Secretariat

2 Overview National reporting in CITES falls under the following categories: –Annual report on trade in CITES species –Biennial report on measures taken to enforce the Convention –Special reports, required by Resolutions, Decisions, or Committees

3 Overview Legally-binding –Annual and biennial reports Article VIII, paragraph 7 –Responses to requests for further information from the Secretariat after the study of reports Article XII, paragraph 2(d) Not legally-binding –General information requested in Resolutions –Species-specific information requested in Resolutions –Information requested through Notifications or direct requests

4 Annual/biennial reports Parties are obliged to submit periodic reports under the provisions of Article VIII, paragraph 7 The annual reports and biennial reports are the only available means of monitoring the implementation of the Convention and the level of international trade in specimens of species included in the Appendices However, –Compliance with annual reports has improved but timeliness is still a problem –A number of Parties have not submitted regular biennial reports, but a new format may improve submission rates

5 Annual/biennial reports Resolution Conf (Rev. CoP16) on National reports urges all Parties to submit their annual reports in accordance with the Guidelines for the preparation and submission of CITES annual reports distributed by the Secretariat by Notification to the Parties (see Notification to the Parties No. 2011/019) The Resolution also urges all Parties to submit their biennial reports in accordance with the Biennial report format distributed by the Secretariat (see Notification to the Parties No. 2005/035) Both reports should now cover the same 1 January December period

6 Annual/biennial reports The Resolution urges Parties with multiple Management Authorities to submit a coordinated annual report and a coordinated biennial report (e.g. including information from all sectoral and subnational bodies) to the extent possible The Resolution also acknowledges that the Conference of the Parties may request that Parties provide special reports not required by the Convention, if additional information is needed that cannot be sought via the annual or biennial report

7 Annual reports The Resolution also: –Recommends that each Party to the Convention that is a member of a regional trade agreement include in its annual reports information on trade with other member States of that regional trade agreement, unless the record-keeping and reporting duties of Article VIII are in direct and irreconcilable conflict with the provisions of the regional trade agreement –Urges every Party to consider whether the preparation of its reports could be computerized and submitted in electronic format

8 Annual reports The Resolution also: –Urges Parties experiencing problems with the regular preparation and submission of reports to seek assistance from the Secretariat to produce those reports –Recommends that Parties studying or developing computer programmes for licensing and reporting trade as well as managing other information under the Convention consult with each other, and with the Secretariat, in order to ensure optimal harmonization and compatibility of systems

9 Deadlines Reports are due by 31 October of the year following the year for which the report is due The Secretariat may approve a valid request from a Party for a reasonable extension of the deadline for the submission of annual or biennial reports provided the Party submits a written request containing adequate justification before that deadline

10 Deadlines Failure to submit an annual report by 31 October of the year following the year for which the report was due constitutes a major problem with the implementation of the Convention, which the Secretariat is required to bring to the attention of the Standing Committee Parties are recommended to not authorize trade in specimens of CITES-listed species with any Party that the Standing Committee has determined has failed to provide their annual reports for three consecutive years and without an adequate justification

11 Submission Annual reports should be sent either to the Secretariat or to the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), which maintains the computer database of annual report statistics on behalf of the Secretariat However, if the annual report is sent directly to UNEP-WCMC, a note of transmission of the report must be sent to the Secretariat

12 General principles Annual reports must contain information on imports, exports, re-exports and introductions from the sea of specimens of all species included in Appendices I, II and III Records of trade in manufactured specimens of species in Appendices II and III may be summarized Annual reports should be prepared in English, French or Spanish

13 General principles As far as possible, the data in the report should record the actual trade that took place, i.e. the quantity of specimens that entered or left the country If it is not possible to report the actual exports and re- exports, the data on such trade should come from each permit and certificate issued The report should state clearly whether the data used for the records of imports and exports/re-exports are based on permits/certificates issued or on actual trade

14 General principles Any record relating to a specimen that was traded in accordance with an exemption under Article VII of the Convention (e.g. Pre-Convention specimens), should be annotated to show this

15 Annual reports may be submitted in the form of printed or hand-written reports or in electronic format, with the following information: Imports General principles Appendix Species Description Quantity Country of export or re- export Number of export permit or re- export certificate Country of origin of re-exports Purpose Source Remarks

16 Annual reports may be submitted in the form of printed or hand-written reports or in electronic format, with the following information: Exports/Re-exports General principles Appendix Species Description Quantity Country of destination Number of export permit or re- export certificate Country of origin of re-exports Purpose Source Remarks

17 General principles Terminology is standardized for: –Description of specimens and units of quantity E.g. –Names of countries and territories –Purpose of trade –Source of specimens

18 Annual report data Data from annual reports are compiled into the CITES trade database managed on behalf of the CITES Secretariat by the UNEP- World Conservation Monitoring Centre To date, the database has over 12 million records (compiled since 1975)

19 … an under-utilized resource Parties put a significant amount of time and effort into compiling annual reports However, few take advantage of the wealth of information to be found within the larger database, compiled subsets of which are available on request, or obtained through the CITES Website access

20 Why analyse trade data? Parties can compare their records of national exports with import records submitted by their trading partners This could provide indications on problems with enforcement or reporting

21 What data analyses can demonstrate Detrimental trade could be indicated by: changes in numbers of species in trade serial shifts in countries of export lack of correspondence of reported trade with quotas

22 What data analyses can demonstrate Trade shifts in response to harvest/trade controls could be indicated by: declines in reported trade in the target taxa shifts amongst range States that supply the target taxa increase in trade volumes of similar species or specimens

23 What data analyses can demonstrate Changing market trends could be indicated by changes in time in reported sources or purposes, trading partners, product types or volumes of certain specimens

24 What data analyses can demonstrate CITES data can help highlight situations where more detailed investigation of harvests, trade and/or associated controls is required in order to ensure that trade is not detrimental and is conducted in accordance with CITES and national laws Annual reports are an essential element of trade management and monitoring

25 Main limitation Analyses supported by CITES trade data are only as accurate and comprehensive as the data submitted in CITES annual reports

26 Biennial report Each Party is required to submit a biennial report on legislative, regulatory and administrative measures taken to enforce the provisions of the Convention The biennial report has three main objectives: –To enable monitoring of the implementation and effectiveness of the Convention –To facilitate the identification of major achievements, significant developments, or trends, gaps or problems and possible solutions –Provide a basis for substantive and procedural decision- making by the Conference of the Parties and various subsidiary bodies

27 Biennial report The biennial report format is divided into five parts: –General information –Legislative and regulatory measures: related to adoption and review of laws and regulations –Compliance and enforcement measures: related to compliance monitoring as well as administrative, civil or criminal enforcement –Administrative measures: related to the structure and activities of CITES authorities –General feedback

28 Biennial report The current format has been distributed to the Parties in Notification No. 2005/035 of 6 July 2005 –The reporting format is intended to be completed by making use of tick boxes and expandable space, so that a reporting agency can take as much space as required to give a full answer

29 Special reports A number of reporting requirements appear in Resolutions, Decisions, Notifications, or result from direct requests for information These may be of a general nature, or they may be species-specific These reporting requirements, together with annual and biennial reports, can represent a sizeable demand on the time of CITES authorities

30 Special reports Resolution Conf. 4.6 (Rev. CoP16) on Submission of draft resolutions and other documents for meetings of the Conference of the Parties recommends that when drafting resolutions and decisions which require the gathering of information, a Party consider whether such information could be sought via the annual or biennial report, or if a special report is needed, and generally ensure that the reporting burden is kept to a minimum

31 Examples of Special reports Examples of Special reports requested through Resolutions: –Stricter domestic measures Conf –All known manufacturers of microchip implants and associated equipment within the country Conf (Rev.) –Any inconsistencies in trade involving non-Parties Conf. 9.5 (Rev. CoP16) –Decisions taken on disposal of confiscated live specimens Conf (Rev. CoP15) –Regional reports Conf (Rev. CoP16) –Significant cases of illegal trade, convicted illegal traders and persistent offenders Conf (Rev. CoP16) –Implementation problems presented by national plant trade organizations to the Plants Committee Conf (Rev. CoP15) –Registration of scientific institutions Conf (Rev. CoP12) –Reports on ranching operations Conf (Rev. CoP15) –Responses to significant trade selections / recommendations Conf (Rev. CoP13)

32 Review of reporting Constraints to reporting: –A lack of staff, time and/or money –Lack of overall record of permits being issued, used and accepted –Computerization problems –Institutional restructuring, changes in the responsibilities of staff, changes in the designated Management Authorities –Poor or no institutional collaboration and clear central focal point where information is brought –Lack of guidance, format and/or examples –Too many reporting requirements under different conventions –Lack of clear purpose or usefulness of reporting –Lack of available information –Civil unrest

33 CITES Secretariat Geneva