CITES and the EU Wildlife Trade Regulation
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) aims to ensure by means of suitable controls that trade in wild fauna or flora or in their parts or derivatives does not endanger their survival.
The EU, which is not a party to CITES, has issued Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 on the Protection of Species of Wild Fauna and Flora by Regulating Trade Therein (the Wildlife Trade Regulation), which is consistent with CITES and has direct application in all EU member states.
Alongside 
enforcement of the EU Wildlife Trade Regulation and consequently of CITES, BfN also serves as Germany’s scientific authority under the Regulation.
Tasks of the scientific authority:
- Assessing applications for import permits for compatibility with conservation requirements
- Compiling basic data on the conservation status of individual traded species
- Advising on and conducting training, and compiling enforcement aids and checklists
Assessment of applications for import permits for compatibility with conservation requirements
For imports of Annex B species , a scientific assessment is performed to ensure that importation is not detrimental to the survival of the species, that any live specimens will be suitably housed and cared for, and that other factors relating to the conservation of the species do not weigh against granting an import permit.
For imports of Annex A species, the purpose for which the species are imported must also satisfy the requirements of the EU Wildlife Trade Regulation.
Criteria for permitting imports of Annex A and B species
Import not detrimental to survival
For an import permit to be issued in accordance with CITES, the import must not be detrimental to the survivalof the species. The principle of sustainable consumptive use of wildlife allows this requirement to be met for animal species by the application of strict criteria. 
The International Standard for the Sustainable Wild Collection of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (ISSC-MAP) lays down corresponding criteria and indicators for wild plants.
Purpose of import
- Advancement of science or essential biomedical purposes, provided that the species in question is the only one suitable for those purposes and there are no specimens of the species which have been born and bred in captivity
- Breeding or propagation purposes from which conservation benefits will accrue to the species concerned
- Research or education aimed at the preservation or conservation of the species
Accommodation of live specimens
The competent scientific authority must satisfy itself that the intended accommodation for a live specimen at the place of destination is adequately equipped to conserve and care for it properly.
Other factors relating to the conservation of the species
This heading covers aspects of species conservation not taken into account when the Convention came into force.
CITESwoodID identification tool for CITES timber
The annexes to CITES list a range of tropical tree species whose timber is traded to a greater or lesser extent. Effective and practicable enforcement of CITES for these timber species – which are also traded in Germany – requires an ability to identify them and distinguish them from similar types of timber.
Most CITES enforcement authorities have little or no knowledge of timber. This combined with a lack of practical identification aids has led to severe enforcement gaps in the timber sector.
To remedy this situation, BfN in its capacity as a scientific authority under CITES commissioned the development of CITESwoodID, an interactive CD-ROM for the identification of CITES timber species.
The first tool of its kind, CITESwoodID allows trade timber species protected under CITES to be identified from easily recognised macroscopic characteristics and direct comparison with images. Macroscopic characteristics are features that are visible to the naked eye or with a magnifying glass providing about 10x magnification.
Special care was taken to provide high-quality photographic images. The characteristics and the timber species are illustrated in colour. The illustrations supplement definitions and explanatory notes for use in identification.
Alongside the information on individual timber species protected under CITES, the database also contains descriptions and illustrations of other types of timber that are easily mistaken for them.
In practical enforcement, macroscopic identification using the CD is often the only quick and economic way of telling timber species apart.
The CD is primarily intended for customs and nature conservation authorities, but is also useful for timber industry enterprises and employees, and for consumers and public institutions in raising awareness of species conservation issues relating to the timber trade.
The CD has been successfully used at national and international training events and has met with strong approval and demand in various national and international CITES bodies.
An updated version of the CD in all CITES official languages can be obtained.
Contact: 
hajo.schmitz-kretschmer@bfn.de
Compilation of basic data on the conservation status of individual traded species
The Federal Agency for Nature Conservation compiles data on an ongoing basis on the conservation status of species that are internationally traded. This is done to monitor potential effects of trade on conservation status and makes it possible to determine at an early stage if a species needs to be given stricter protection status, or alternatively if it needs to be protected under CITES at all. The annexes are updated accordingly at the regular meetings of the Conference of the Parties to CITES, at which all EU member states vote the same way.
Endangered shark species: Situation analysis
Many shark species are already endangered due to overexploitation by the fishing industry and international trade. Their late sexual maturity and low fertility also conspire to make sharks particularly vulnerable to overexploitation. The trend is a cause of concern to conservation organisations nationally and internationally.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), a specialised agency of the United Nations based in Rome, has compiled an International Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks. The FAO has also proposed to shark-fishing nations that they enact similar action plans at national level and carry out censuses of the species concerned.
The BfN is an arm of the German government with special responsibility for the conservation of German fauna, including native shark species. With the aid of TRAFFIC Europe, BfN therefore gathers information on the conservation status and international trade in the porbeagle (Lamna nasus) and the spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias). Both of these species are native to German waters and their survival is threatened by fishing and international trade.
The data thus gathered form a basis for better protection of sharks by enabling fishing of and trade in the species to be reduced to a level that is acceptable for conservation purposes.
The spiny dogfish
The spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias) occurs in coastal waters of the temperate zone in the northern and southern hemisphere. It is characterised by late sexual maturity (12-23 years of age in females), an extremely low reproduction rate and very long generations (25-40 years). Females give birth only after a gestation period of 18 to 24 months. They produce small litters comprising two to eleven pups. Spiny dogfish are usually found in schools of fish of the same age and sex. All these factors increase the risk of the species’ extinction if unsustainably harvested. In Germany, spiny dogfish meat is sold primarily as See-Aal (‘sea eel’) or as smoked belly flaps (‘Schillerlocken’).
Due to overfishing, populations in the Northeast Atlantic (especially the North Sea) have declined to such an extent that the catch in 2002 was only 18 percent of the level recorded in 1963. Fishing for the Atlantic spiny dogfish therefore shifted to the north-east coast of North America, where stocks have since shown a similarly marked decline. The main beneficiaries are European consumers. Some 92 percent of spiny dogfish landed on the Atlantic coast of the United States are exported to the European Community. Despite attempts by the FAO in recent years to urge states to implement the International Plan Of Action for Sharks (IPOA Sharks) to ensure sustainable use, fisheries management organisations in Europe and North America have been unable to effectively halt overexploitation. The Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) has therefore prepared a proposal for the spiny dogfish to be listed in Annex II of CITES. This listing would enable international control and monitoring of trade in products of the species and would provide a basis for its sustainable exploitation.
