Traceability in Wildlife Trade Chains -Be Careful What You Wish For!

Grahame WebbChairman, IUCN-SSC Crocodile Specialist Group

What is CITES about?

Ensuring International Trade does not lead to the extinction of wild plants and animals

CITESTrade is:

1. Legal (Domestic laws)

2. Verifiable (Export documents can be checked)

3. Not Detrimental to Survival (= sustainable)

(Parties are not required to “trace” anything)

What is Traceability about?

The ability to detect the originand route by which an item has arrived at a point in the supply chain

AGRICULTURALdisease and source.

CITES compliance [eg legal, no detriment (Article IV)].

LUXURY BRANDS –Compliance with “SOCIAL LICENSES” …..“fit and happy” until killed in a painless way

Traceability in Illegal Trade?ILLEGAL PRACTICES CONSERVATION

SCALE SIGNIFICANCE SCALE

1. None (Ho Hum!) None (liars)

2. Minor None, Minor, Major

3. Common None, Minor, Major

4. Major None, Minor, Major

We have the TECHNOLOGY to trace the criminals! BUT ….

• Are the costs commensurate with the problem?

• Is it “process” (strict legal compliance) out of balance with the “product” (social harm)?

• Could the limited resources be used in better ways?

Chronology

1992 - Resolution Conf 8.14. Universal tagging for crocodilian skins.

No equivalent resolution forlizards or snakes.

2010 (March) - effectiveness of crocodilian tagging for complying with CITES confirmed (CoP15Doc. 34).

But still not applied to snakes and lizards

Chronology2010 (October) – Swiss film creates “moral outrage”

“dead but moving” snakes give illusion of liveskinning

2011+ High end manufacturers distant themselves from“wild” snakes.Seek CITES Export Permits with “captivebred” source codes. String of consultancy studies initiated toovercome loss of “social license”

Chronology

2011+ UNCTAD-CITES and ITC-CITES collaborations. Genesis of RESP and push for newtraceability systems for ALL reptiles (includingcrocs).

SOLUTION TO PROBLEM (IGNORED) – extend the universal tagging to snakes

“Success breeds success” – more attacks.

“Traceability” advanced – “We have the Technology”

2016 CoP17 Doc. 45 – SecretariatCoP17 Doc.46 – Mexico/RESP

“Legal, sustainable, traceable” [versus “verifiable”]

“Solutions looking for problems” versus“Problems looking for solutions”

Complicated & Expensive

Transaction Costs

High transaction costs will go higher

• CITES Permit to export a croc head = $30

• CITES Permit cost to export the individual teeth of one head (n = 70 teeth) = $2100

• Full cost recovery costs $318 per permit (not $30) – ie$288 Government transaction costs

• New permit costs to export teeth of one $10 head = $22,260

CONSERVATION VALUE = ZERO

Traceability with Reptiles

• Not necessary to comply with CITES

• Should not be introduced just to assist high-end companies overcome “social license” problems.

• No guarantee 100% legal, sustainable and verifiable. Ratchet Effect

• Costs will be born by producers

• No need for more “middlemen”

The End