Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is a treaty that regulates international trade in wild animals and plants to help ensure their survival.

CITES Appendices: The three CITES lists that assign species different levels of protection from international trade. Appendix placement determines how strictly trade in a listed species is controlled.
International trade law: The rules and institutions governing trade across national borders. CITES operates within a wider system of cross-border trade rules.
IUCN: The International Union for Conservation of Nature, a membership union that assesses biodiversity and supports conservation. IUCN helped advance proposals for an international wildlife trade agreement.
Ivory trade: The commerce in elephant tusks and ivory products, regulated internationally under CITES controls. Elephant listings and trade decisions make ivory a prominent CITES issue.
CITES implementation: The domestic laws, institutions, and practices through which a party carries out CITES obligations. Treaty controls depend on parties translating international commitments into national rules.
CITES permit: An official document authorizing a particular international trade transaction involving a CITES-listed specimen. Permits provide the treaty’s case-by-case mechanism for allowing or refusing trade.
Wildlife trade: The exchange of wild animals, plants, and their products, whether legal or illegal. CITES targets the international trade dimension of wildlife use.
Washington, D.C.: The capital of the United States and the city where the CITES text was adopted in 1973. The treaty takes its name from the city where it was signed.
African elephant: A large African mammal whose populations and ivory trade are subject to differing CITES rules. Its Appendix placement varies by population and has shaped ivory trade restrictions.
Sustainable use: Use of biological resources at a rate that does not cause their long-term decline. CITES permits trade when its rules deem the use compatible with species survival.

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