[NHCOLL-L:4946] Re: CITES advice needed

Tue Aug 31 09:58:47 EDT 2010

Hello,

Thank you very much Ellen for your helpful comments. The same Japanese colleague would like to ask a follow-up question to the community as below. You may respond on- or off-list.

-------
I would like to ask a more general question to the natural history community. Do you have a success story to share with us regarding export/import of preserved museum specimens of CITES Appendix I species solely for the purpose of acquiring (or exchanging, donating) voucher specimens to add permanently to another ornithological or any vertebrate zoological collection for future benefit to the scientific community (rather than for the purpose of conducting proposed scientific research, or a combination of both research and depositing the study material to a permanent collection in an importing country after research is completed)? Exporting country could be any scientific institution in any CITES Parties (or even non-Parties, like our pending case). An importer could be any scientific institution in the U.S. or from any CITES Parties. I am interested to learn whether "the purpose" really does not matter: if the treaty text does not differentiate between
 "for research" vs "for collection" to issue import/export permits for CITES Appendix I species, that could be a strong point of argument for us in conjunction with your success stories next time we speak with the Japanese government official at the Management Authority. Many thanks in advance.
---------------

--- On Thu, 8/26/10, Ellen Paul <ellen.paul at verizon.net> wrote:

From: Ellen Paul <ellen.paul at verizon.net>
Subject: CITES advice needed
To: "Mariko Kageyama" <aspeciosus at yahoo.com>
Cc: PERMIT-l at gold.sdsmt.edu
Date: Thursday, August 26, 2010, 12:47 PM

  I'm not aware of/not finding any provision in the text of the treaty
    itself that distinguishes between "for collection" vs. "for
    research" in terms of when it is OK to accept an import from a
    country that is not a party to CITES. 

    Article X says:

     Article X 

      Trade with States not Party to the Convention 

    Where export or re-export is to, or import is from, a State not a
    Party to the present Convention, comparable documentation issued by
    the competent authorities in that State which substantially conforms
    with the requirements of the present Convention for permits and
    certificates may be accepted in lieu thereof by any Party. 

    If the exporting country has a functioning wildlife authority, it
    seems that this provision would cover the acceptance by the
    importing country, regardless of the purpose, so long as the purpose
    is covered by Appendix I, i.e., "

    the specimen is not to be used for primarily commercial purposes and
    if the import will be for purposes that are not detrimental to the
    survival of the species.

    There may be something more specific in the resolutions, but just
    scanning the list quickly, I don't see anything. 

    Ellen Paul
Executive Director
The Ornithological Council
Email: ellen.paul at verizon.net
"Providing Scientific Information about Birds"
http://www.nmnh.si.edu/BIRDNET"

    On 8/26/10 1:25 PM, Mariko Kageyama wrote:

            Hello,

              I am posting this for a Japanese colleague (anonymous) who
              works at a natural history collection institution in
              Japan. I hope you can give any suggestions to her.

              ********

              A researcher who is affiliated with an academic
              institution in the country that is NOT a member of the
              CITES Parties intends to donate a bird specimen,
              specifically a skeleton of a bird species that is listed
              on the Appendix I. He initially approached our bird
              collection in Japan as a permanent repository of the
              voucher specimen because there is no adequate natural
              history collection facility at his institution or
              elsewhere in his country and he desires to deposit the
              specimen to an overseas collection institution that can
              provide proper care and storage. He and his colleagues
              legally acquired this specimen (which was captured live
              and kept and died in captivity during rehabilitation) and
              already reported this bird as the first record from an
              island of the country and also included information as to
              how they obtained it, in a paper on an international
              ornithological journal. 

              We consulted with the officials at the Ministry of
              Economy, Trade and Industry in Tokyo, which is CITES
              Management Authority of Japan (a member of the Parties).
              According to their advice, it would be difficult to
              approve this particular case and a CITES import permit
              won't be granted as long as we describe the purpose of
              import as "accessioning the voucher specimen to our
              permanent collection for future scientific use in the
              ornithological community."  In other words, the Management
              Authority "might" consider issuing an import/export permit
              when the specimen is meant to be used primarily for a
              proposed or ongoing scientific research project. This
              interpretation may apply only to cases in Japan, and I am
              curious about the situation in other countries. If we
              learn that it is very difficult to get an import permit
              for whatever reason, we will have to tell the donor to
              consider other museum options in a different country, that
              may provide an easier path for overseas transport of a
              CITES-listed animal from a non-CITES state. But we are
              still interested in getting this voucher specimen over to
              Japan legally, and continue discussing the matter with the
              Management Authority. We would greatly appreciate your
              advice in this matter and sharing your experience in
              similar circumstances.

              ************

              translated and posted by

              Mariko Kageyama

              Collections Manager, Vertebrate Zoology

              University of Colorado Museum of Natural History

              Boulder, Colorado 80309-0265

              U.S.A.

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