Conservation - CITES CoP17 (67) Images supplémentaires...
CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement between 183 nations, which aims to ensure that international trade in wild animals and plants doesn't threaten their survival.

Between 24 September - 5th October 2016, the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES (CoP17) took place in Johannesburg, South Africa, resulting in several victories for conservation.

The Parties of CITES voted to give all eight species of pangolin, the most illegally trafficked mammals in the world, the highest level of protection (known as Appendix I). The complete ban on international trade in pangolins and pangolin parts (such as meat and scales, which are used in traditional Chinese medicine) is a crucial step in saving these animals from the brink of extinction.
• African grey parrots - which have dwindled due to their popularity as pets and destruction of their habitat - were also moved to Appendix I, alongside the endangered Barbary macaque, which is poached illegally for circuses, pets, and sometimes zoos.
• By a consensus decision, the CITES Parties placed all 300 species of rosewood under international trade restrictions. The demand for rosewood, driven by a booming luxury furniture market in China, has made it the world's most trafficked wild product, with an annual market value of $2.2bn. Rampant logging has devastated forests in Southeast Asia, but traffickers will no longer be able to pass off illegally felled rosewood timber as legitimate.
• Three species of thresher shark, as well as silky sharks and nine species of devil ray also won new protections at the global wildlife summit. Around 100 million sharks are caught every year, mostly for their fins which are used to make soup. Devil rays are targeted because their gill plates are in high demand for their supposed medicinal properties. Shark fins and ray gills are among the world's most profitable fish commodities (the annual trade in shark fins is worth $1bn alone) but the new trade restrictions are a big step towards conserving these 13 species.
Elephants and rhinos were hotly debated by the CITES nations, who agreed unanimously that all domestic ivory markets should be closed and denied a proposal by Swaziland to allow a regulated trade in white rhino horn (sought after due to the misplaced belief it can increase fertility).
Temminck's ground pangolin, Botswana
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Pete Oxford / Temminck's ground pangolin, Botswana
Malayan / Javan / Sunda Pangolin (Manis javanica). Mulhouse Zoo, France. Endemic to Thailand, Burma, Indonesia and other South-East Asian localities. Endangered due to hunting for the Chinese traditio...
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Roland Seitre / Malayan / Javan / Sunda Pangolin (Manis javanica). Mulhouse Zoo, France. Endemic to Thailand, Burma, Indonesia and other South-East Asian localities. Endangered due to hunting for the Chinese traditio...
Nocturnal tree pangolin (Phataginus tricuspis) resting during the day in hollow tree. Lokoue, Odzala-Kokoua National Park, Cuvette, Republic of Congo.
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Jabruson / Nocturnal tree pangolin (Phataginus tricuspis) resting during the day in hollow tree. Lokoue, Odzala-Kokoua National Park, Cuvette, Republic of Congo.
THIS VIDEO CLIP WILL BE AVAILABLE TO VIEW ONLINE SOON. TO VIEW NOW, PLEASE CONTACT US. -Hunters putting a Tree pangolin (Phataginus tricuspis) into a sack to go to Bayanga market, Dzanga-Ndoki Nationa...
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Jabruson Motion / THIS VIDEO CLIP WILL BE AVAILABLE TO VIEW ONLINE SOON. TO VIEW NOW, PLEASE CONTACT US. -Hunters putting a Tree pangolin (Phataginus tricuspis) into a sack to go to Bayanga market, Dzanga-Ndoki Nationa...
THIS VIDEO CLIP WILL BE AVAILABLE TO VIEW ONLINE SOON. TO VIEW NOW, PLEASE CONTACT US. -Hunters putting a Tree pangolin (Phataginus tricuspis) into a sack to go to Bayanga market, Dzanga-Ndoki Nationa...
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Jabruson Motion / THIS VIDEO CLIP WILL BE AVAILABLE TO VIEW ONLINE SOON. TO VIEW NOW, PLEASE CONTACT US. -Hunters putting a Tree pangolin (Phataginus tricuspis) into a sack to go to Bayanga market, Dzanga-Ndoki Nationa...
White bellied tree pangolin. (Manis tricuspis) Congo. Epulu Ituri rainforest
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Jabruson / White bellied tree pangolin. (Manis tricuspis) Congo. Epulu Ituri rainforest
Long-tailed Pangolin (Uromanis tetradactyla) unfurling itself from protective posture Lokoue Bai. Odzala-Kokoua National Park, Republic of Congo.
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Jabruson / Long-tailed Pangolin (Uromanis tetradactyla) unfurling itself from protective posture Lokoue Bai. Odzala-Kokoua National Park, Republic of Congo.
Cape pangolin (Smutsia temminckii) foraging at night. South Luangwa National Park, Zambia.
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Luke Massey / Cape pangolin (Smutsia temminckii) foraging at night. South Luangwa National Park, Zambia.
Nocturnal tree pangolin (Phataginus tricuspis) with wet nose standing on tree during the day in hollow tree. Lokoue, Odzala-Kokoua National Park, Cuvette, Republic of Congo.
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Jabruson / Nocturnal tree pangolin (Phataginus tricuspis) with wet nose standing on tree during the day in hollow tree. Lokoue, Odzala-Kokoua National Park, Cuvette, Republic of Congo.
Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) in a tree at dusk, Komodo National Park, Indonesia.
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Michael Pitts / Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) in a tree at dusk, Komodo National Park, Indonesia.
Nocturnal tree pangolin (Phataginus tricuspis) resting during the day in hollow tree. Lokoue, Odzala-Kokoua National Park, Cuvette, Republic of Congo.
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Jabruson / Nocturnal tree pangolin (Phataginus tricuspis) resting during the day in hollow tree. Lokoue, Odzala-Kokoua National Park, Cuvette, Republic of Congo.
African Grey Parrot (Psittacus erithacus) flock taking off, Lake Lobak / Lobeke National Park, Cameroon, July.
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Cyril Ruoso / African Grey Parrot (Psittacus erithacus) flock taking off, Lake Lobak / Lobeke National Park, Cameroon, July.