Share of CITES parties by max penalty for violation of CITES rules in 2015

This statistic shows the share of CITES member parties by the maximum penalty possible for violation of regulations of CITES in 2015. The maximum penalty possible for a violation of a CITES regulation in thirty-one percent of CITE member party countries was only a fine in 2015.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is a treaty designed to protect wild animal and plant species from extinction due to international trade. The treaty has been in effect since July 1, 1975. There are currently 182 member parties to the agreement and over 35,000 species covered under CITES traded as live animals or products derived from them.

Parties which have agreed to be bound to CITES are legally obligated to follow its regulations. The treaty provides a framework with which the member parties can create laws to ensure adherence within their nation. This framework is a licensing system through which all species covered under CITES must pass through in order to be imported or exported.

One of the shortcomings of CITES is that it approaches conservation from the angle of allowing unregulated trade in all species until they come under the review. This can allow a species to decline without hindrance in legal trade. With the expansion of wealth in Asian countries such as China, previously unthreatened species such as pangolin are now endangered.

Mammals, such as the pangolin are the most frequently seized category of the wild animal trade, while rosewood trees are the species most subject to illegal trade overall.