1973 CITES Convention & Approaches to the Marine Environment: New Science, Old Treaties & Regional Governance

1/3 Take a look at the readings on the varying meanings of conservationism, environmentalism (or preservation) and sustainability under 2/3 of the Readings page. What is more striking, and why, that the Forest Service says the divergent emphases on conservation versus preservation reach back all the way to the founding of the U.S. Forest Service and John Muir, or that sustainability under the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) seems to unite the developing countries and environmentalists, or do they really? The SDGs may be regarded 30+ years later as the operationalization of the 1987 Brundtland Report. Is that accurate? What do you make of the differing views you see articulated in the four readings under 2/3?

2/3 Please work up individually the Exoticwood CITES Petition Problem, paying attention to the idea that an NGO is approaching the US government, suggesting that it present a proposal on listing Exoticwood in Appendix II of CITES. Why not just have the NGO present the petition itself at the next COP? Why did they suggest Appendix II versus Appendix I or III? How would you suggest the US government officials actually evaluate the suggestion made by Orangesegment? Is it a good or bad one, and why?

3/3 CITES was originally about land-based living organisms, so what drives its current extension to marine fauna like sharks? Why bother going to CITES, when there is an entire structure of LOS 1982 law and institutions, why not pursue matters via what might be considered core maritime or LOS agreements and institutions? You have read about ICCAT as a regional fisheries management commission for tuna under LOS 1982, plus ICCAT’s 2016 evaluation document, so why not form something similar for sharks, if the problem is that they are being overfished to make shark-fin soup? Or is there simply no difference between the largely land-based CITES approach (hold CBD, since that will be next week), and even LOS governance institutions? Why go to CITES instead of LOS 1982 for an answer to your shark problems?

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