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Significant Trade in CITES Plants

RBG Kew's orchid greenhouse at the National Botanic Garden PBZT, where displays inform the public about Orchids and CITES © Tiana Randriamboavonjy

The purpose of this project is to identify CITES plant species in significant trade and subject to levels of exploitation that may be detrimental to their long term survival in the wild. The project was part of a larger country wide review of trade in CITES species from Madagascar co-ordinated and funded by the CITES Secretariat.

The project was carried out on the basis of an overview of trends in trade of CITES Appendix II plant species from Madagascar, previous actions carried out by the CITES Authorities of Madagascar, recommendations of the CITES Plants and Standing Committees, then concerns about compliance with the provisions of CITES Article IV paragraphs 2a) and 3, institutional and administrative arrangements relating to the implementation of CITES Article 4 (the non-detriment statement) for exports of CITES Appendix II species, and the effectiveness of relevant national legislation and its implementation.

Kew’s role was to complete a desk survey to:

·        Review the data available on international trade in species from Madagascar held in the CITES database at UNEP-WCMC;

·        Collect data on species in cultivation and ease of cultivation;

·        Assess the conservation status of the species in trade; and

·        Identify key species in international trade.

A database was built to hold data from the desktop survey, on taxa recorded in the CITES official trade data. Taxa not found in the official CITES data were also included if they were recorded in an internet trade survey. The database and all results of the survey were handed over to the CITES Authorities in Madagascar for use in planning future sustainable trade in the species concerned. The project ran from 2000 to 2003 and was completed following handover of the results and databases and a presentation of the results at the Madagascar Significant Trade Stakeholders Workshop on the 26-28 May 2003 held in the Madagascar Hilton in Antananarivo, Madagascar.

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