[Federal Register: February 26, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 38)] [Notices] [Page 9523-9524] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr26fe99-88] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Fish and Wildlife Service Announcement of the Time and Place of the Eleventh Regular Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES); Announcement of the Times and Places of the Next Meetings of the CITES Plants and Animals Committees; Announcement of Public Meeting AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: This notice announces the time and place of the eleventh regular meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP11) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). This notice also announces that the next meeting of the CITES Plants Committee will be held June 7-11, 1999, in Darwin, Australia, and the next meeting of the CITES Animals Committee will be held July 5-9, 1999, in Madagascar. A public meeting will be held to discuss issues that will be raised at the next meetings of the CITES Plants and Animals Committees. DATES: The public meeting will be held on May 6, 1999, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. For COP11 and Committee meeting dates, see the Supplementary Information section of this notice. ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held in Room 200 of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Arlington Square building at 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22203. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Office of Scientific Authority, phone 703/358-1708, fax 703/358-2276, E-mail: r9osa@mail.fws.gov; or Office of Management Authority, Branch of CITES Operations, phone 703/358- 2095, fax 703/358-2298, E-mail: r9oma__cites@mail.fws.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Arlington Square building is accessible to the handicapped. Persons requiring interpretation for the hearing impaired should notify the Office of Scientific Authority as soon as possible, so that arrangements can be made. You may obtain directions to the building or other information on the Plants and Animals Committees by contacting the Office of Scientific Authority; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 North Fairfax Drive; Room 750; Arlington, Virginia 22203, or via E-mail at: r9osa@mail.fws.gov. You may obtain logistical information on COP11 by contacting the Office of Management Authority; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 North Fairfax Drive; Room 700; Arlington, Virginia 22203, or via E-mail at: r9oma__cites@mail.fws.gov. Background The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, TIAS 8249, hereinafter referred to as CITES, is an international treaty designed to control and regulate international trade in certain animal and plant species that are now or potentially may be threatened with extinction. These species are listed in Appendices to CITES, copies of which are available from the Office of Management Authority at the above address, from the Service's World Wide Web site http://www.fws.gov/r9dia/applinks.html, or from the official CITES Web site at http://www.wcmc.org.uk/CITES/english. Currently, 145 countries, including the United States, are Parties to CITES. CITES calls for biennial meetings of the Conference of the Parties, which review its implementation, make provisions enabling the CITES Secretariat in Switzerland to carry out its functions, consider amendments to the list of species in Appendices I and II, consider reports presented by the Secretariat, and make recommendations for the improved effectiveness of CITES. Any country that is a Party to CITES may propose amendments to Appendices I and II, resolutions, or agenda items for consideration by the other Parties. This is our third in a series of Federal Register notices which, together with announced public meetings, provides you with an opportunity to participate in the development of the United States' negotiating positions for the eleventh regular meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES (COP11). We published our first such Federal Register notice on January 30, 1998 (63 FR 4613), and with it we requested your information and recommendations on potential species amendments for the United States to consider submitting for discussion at COP11. Information on that Federal Register notice, and on species amendment proposals, is available from the Office of Scientific Authority at the above address. We published our second such Federal Register notice on September 4, 1998 (63 FR 47316), and with it we requested your information and recommendations on potential resolutions and agenda items for the United States to consider submitting for discussion at COP11. You may obtain information on that Federal Register notice, and on proposed resolutions and agenda items, from the Office of Management Authority at the above address. You may locate our regulations governing this public process in 50 CFR Secs. 23.31-23.39. The CITES Animals and Plants Committees are technical committees established by the CITES Conference of the Parties. They meet to discuss scientific and technical issues pertaining to CITES implementation for animals and plants, respectively. The Animals Committee provides scientific expertise on animal- related issues, develops and maintains a standardized list of animal species, reviews trade impacts on heavily traded Appendix II species; and analyzes and makes recommendations to the CITES Parties on a number of issues directed to it by the Conference of the Parties. The Committee meets several times between COPs (usually once a year) to work on resolving CITES animal related issues carried over from past Animals Committee meetings and COPs, as well as identifying new issues in need of resolution. The members of the Animals Committee are individuals with scientific and technical expertise selected by the countries in each of the six CITES geographic regions. The regional representative for North America (selected by the United States, Canada, and Mexico) is Dr. Susan Lieberman, Chief of the Office of Scientific Authority (OSA). She is also the Vice-Chair of the Animals Committee. A list of other regional representatives is available upon request from OSA. The Chair of the Animals Committee is Hank Jenkins, with the Government of Australia, and the regional representative for Oceania. The [[Page 9524]] next meeting of the Animals Committee will be July 5-9, 1999, in Madagascar. Non-governmental organizations wishing to attend must obtain approval from the Chair of the Committee. Interested organizations should contact Dr. Jenkins directly; his address and contact information are available upon request from OSA (see the For Further Information Contact section of this notice), or directly from the CITES Secretariat. The Plants Committee provides scientific expertise on plant species, develops and maintains a standardized list of plant species, reviews trade impacts on species of particular concern, and analyzes and makes recommendations to the CITES Parties on a number of issues directed to it by the Conference of the Parties. It meets several times between COPs (usually once a year) to work on resolving CITES plant related issues carried over from past Plants Committee meetings and COPs, as well as identifying new issues in need of resolution. The members of the Plants Committee are individuals with scientific and technical expertise selected by the countries in each of the six CITES geographic regions. The regional representative for North America (selected by the United States, Canada, and Mexico) is Dr. Bertrand von Arx, with the Government of Canada. A list of regional representatives is available upon request from OSA (see the For Further Information Contact section of this notice). The Chair of the Plants Committee is Dr. Margarita Clemente Munoz, with the Government of Spain. The next meeting of the Plants Committee will be June 7-11, 1999, in Darwin, Australia. Non-governmental organizations wishing to attend must obtain approval from the Chair of the Committee. Interested organizations should contact Dr. Clemente Munoz directly; her address and contact information are available upon request from OSA (see the For Further Information Contact section of this notice), or directly from the CITES Secretariat. The United States is an active participant in all CITES matters and attends both the Plants and Animals Committee meetings. The U.S. delegation to the Animals Committee meeting will be comprised of representatives of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service. The U.S. delegation to the Plants Committee meeting is expected to include representatives of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, and the U.S. Forest Service. Announcement of the Eleventh Regular Meeting of the Conference of the Parties The eleventh regular meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES (COP11) will be held at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, April 10-20, 2000. The CITES Secretariat will host the meeting. In our Federal Register notice of January 30, 1998 (63 FR 4613), we announced that we expected COP11 to be held in November 1999, in Indonesia. Since the publication of that notice, the CITES Secretariat informed us and all Party countries via Notification to the Parties No. 1998/22, dated May 25, 1998, that Indonesia, through Diplomatic Note of April 29, 1998, withdrew from hosting COP11. As a result, the Secretariat invited Parties that might be interested in hosting COP11 to indicate this to the Secretariat by June 20, 1998. In Notification to the Parties No. 1998/55, dated October 30, 1998, the Secretariat announced that, since no CITES Party was in a position to host COP11, UNEP agreed to make its Conference Centre available for this meeting. Issues at the Next Meetings of the Plants and Animals Committees We expect to obtain draft agendas for the meetings of the two committees in early Spring, 1999. Copies of the agendas of the previous meetings are available upon request from OSA. Some of the many issues to be discussed at the Animals Committee meeting include: implementation of CITES, particularly scientific non-detriment findings for heavily traded ``significant trade'' species; implementation of CITES for animals that are bred in captivity; transport of live animals; marking of sturgeon specimens (particularly caviar); tagging of crocodilians; ranching; trade in coral; international trade in sharks; invasive species; marking of animals, including the use of microchips; and the use of CITES-listed species in traditional medicines. Some of the many issues to be discussed at the Plants Committee meeting include: review of selected plant species included in the Appendices in light of the new CITES listing criteria (Resolution Conf. 9.24); implementation of the inclusion of bigleaf mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) in Appendix III; other timber-related issues; and the definition of artificial propagation. Future Actions We have developed a tentative U.S. schedule to prepare for COP11. The United States must submit any proposals to amend Appendix I or II, or any draft resolutions or agenda items for discussion at COP11, to the CITES Secretariat 150 days prior to the start of the meeting (i.e. by November 12, 1999). In order to accommodate this deadline, we plan to publish a Federal Register notice approximately 10 months prior to COP11 (approximately June, 1999) to: (a) Provide the provisional agenda of COP11; (b) Announce tentative species proposals, draft resolutions, and agenda items to be submitted by the United States, and to solicit further information and comments on them; and (c) Provide information on how to obtain approval to attend COP11 as an observer. Approximately nine months prior to COP11 (approximately July 1999), we will hold a public meeting to allow for additional public input. We will announce in another Federal Register notice approximately four months prior to COP11 our decisions on those species proposals, resolutions, and agenda items submitted by the United States to the CITES Secretariat. The deadline for submission of the proposals, resolutions, and agenda items to the Secretariat is November 12, 1999. Through a series of additional notices in advance of COP11, we will inform you about preliminary and ``final'' negotiating positions on resolutions and amendments to the Appendices proposed by other Parties for consideration at COP11. We will also publish announcements of public meetings expected to be held approximately nine months prior to COP11, and approximately two months prior to COP11, to receive public input on our positions regarding COP11 issues. Author: This notice was prepared by Mark Albert, Office of Management Authority, under the authority of U.S. Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). Dated: February 2, 1999. Jamie Rappaport Clark, Director. [FR Doc. 99-4834 Filed 2-25-99; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310-55-P