The 17th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Trade in Endangered Species (CITES CoP17) will take place between 24 September and 5 October 2016 in Johannesburg, South Africa.It provides a forum for Parties to review the implementation of the CITES Convention, which covers more than 35 000 plants and animals, ensuring that trade remains legal, traceable and sustainable, and to adopt new binding measures for wildlife protection.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) (‘the Convention’) to which 178 countries, including all Member States, are a party, is a major international environmental instrument aiming to protect endangered species of fauna and flora through controls on international trade in specimens of those species.

In particular, the Commission should be empowered to adopt certain measures regulating trade in species of wild fauna and flora, to adopt certain amendments to the Annexes to Regulation (EC) No 338/97 and to adopt additional measures to implement resolutions of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on international trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora (CITES) (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Convention’), decisions or recommendations of the Standing Committee of the Convention and recommendations of the Convention Secretariat.

At the species level, 42% of Europe’s native mammals, 43% of birds, 45% of butterflies, 30% of amphibians, 45% of reptiles and 52% of freshwater fish are threatened with extinction; most major marine fish stocks are below safe biological limits; some 800 plant species in Europe are at risk of global extinction; and there are unknown but potentially significant changes in lower life forms including invertebrate and microbial diversity.

adopt appropriate measures to avoid, reduce and minimize waste, discards, catch by lost or discarded gear, catch of non-target species (both fish and non-fish species) and impacts on associated or dependent species, in particular endangered species;

(1) At the 12th session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (hereinafter referred to as the Convention), held in Santiago (Chile) from 3 to 15 November 2002, amendments were made to the Appendices to the Convention by way of the transfer of certain species or certain populations of species to Appendix I from Appendix II and vice versa, the transfer of certain species from Appendix III to Appendix II, the addition of species to Appendices I and II that were not previously listed in any of the Appendices, the deletion of certain species from Appendix II, an ...[+++]d the addition, deletion or amendment of certain annotations accompanying the listing of certain species.