[Federal Register: March 11, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 47)]
[Notices]
[Page 11556-11557]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr11mr10-71]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R9-IA-2010-N048]
Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES); Fifteenth
Regular Meeting; Tentative U.S. Negotiating Positions for Agenda Items
and Species Proposals Submitted by Foreign Governments and the CITES
Secretariat
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: We, the United States, as a Party to the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
(CITES), will attend the fifteenth regular meeting of the Conference of
the Parties to CITES (CoP15) in Doha, Qatar, during March 13-25, 2010.
This notice announces the availability of tentative U.S. negotiating
positions on amendments to the CITES Appendices (species proposals),
draft resolutions and decisions, and agenda items submitted by other
countries and the CITES Secretariat for consideration at CoP15. All of
this information is on our website at http://www.fws.gov/international/
newspubs/fedregnot_list.html and is also available from the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, Division of Management Authority.
DATES: In further developing U.S. negotiating positions on these
issues, we will continue to consider information and comments submitted
in response to our notice of November 4, 2009 (74 FR 57190). We will
also continue to consider information received at the public meeting
announced in that notice, which was held on December 2, 2009.
ADDRESSES: Requests for copies of tentative U.S. negotiating positions
on amendments to the CITES Appendices (species proposals), draft
resolutions and decisions, and agenda items submitted by other
countries and the CITES Secretariat for consideration at CoP15 posted
on our website should be sent to the Division of Management Authority;
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 North Fairfax Drive; Room 212;
Arlington, VA 22203; or via e-mail at: cop15@fws.gov.
Available Information on CoP15
Information concerning the results of CoP15 will be available after
the close of the meeting on the Secretariat's website at http://
www.cites.org; or upon request from the Division of Management
Authority; or on our website (http://www.fws.gov/international/DMA_
DSA/CITES/CITES_home.html).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information pertaining to
resolutions, decisions, and agenda items contact: Robert R. Gabel,
Chief, Division of Management Authority; telephone, 703-358-2095; e-
mail, cop15@fws.gov. For information pertaining to species proposals
contact: Dr. Rosemarie Gnam, Chief, Division of Scientific Authority;
telephone, 703-358-1708; e-mail, scientificauthority@fws.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild
Fauna and Flora, hereinafter referred to as CITES or the Convention, is
an international treaty designed to control and regulate international
trade in certain animal and plant species that are now or potentially
may become threatened with extinction. These species are listed in
Appendices to CITES, which are available on the CITES Secretariat's
website at http://www.cites.org/eng/app/appendices.shtml. Currently,
175 countries, including the United States, are Parties to CITES. The
Convention calls for biennial meetings of the Conference of the Parties
to review its implementation, make provisions enabling the CITES
Secretariat to carry out its functions, consider amendments to the
lists 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, and draft resolutions,
decisions, and agenda items for consideration by all the Parties.
Accredited nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) may participate in the
meeting as approved observers and may speak during sessions when
recognized by the meeting Chairman, but they may not vote or submit
proposals.
This is our fourth in a series of Federal Register notices on the
development of U.S. submissions and tentative negotiating positions for
CoP15. In this notice we announce the availability on our website of
tentative U.S. negotiating positions on species proposals, draft
resolutions and decisions, and agenda items submitted by other Parties
and the Secretariat for consideration at CoP15. All of this information
is also available from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of
Management Authority (see ``ADDRESSES,'' above). We published our first
CoP15-related Federal Register notice on September 29, 2008 (73 FR
56605), and with it we requested information and recommendations on
species proposals, draft resolutions and decisions, and agenda items
for the United States to consider submitting for consideration at
CoP15. We published our second such Federal Register notice on July 13,
2009 (74 FR 33460), and with it we requested public comments and
information on species proposals, draft resolutions and decisions, and
agenda items that the United States was considering submitting for
[[Page 11557]]
consideration at CoP15. In our third Federal Register notice, published
on November 4, 2009 (74 FR 57190), we announced the provisional agenda
for CoP15, solicited public comments on items on the provisional
agenda, and announced a public meeting to discuss the agenda items.
That public meeting was held on December 2, 2009.
You may obtain information on the above Federal Register notices
from the following sources. For information on draft resolutions and
decisions, and agenda items, contact the Division of Management
Authority (see ``ADDRESSES,'' above); and for information on species
proposals, contact the Division of Scientific Authority (see
``ADDRESSES,'' above). Our regulations governing this public process
are found in 50 CFR 23.87. Pursuant to 50 CFR 23.87(a)(3)(iii), with
this notice we are posting on our website (http://www.fws.gov/
international/newspubs/fedregnot_list.html) a summary of our proposed
negotiating positions on the items included in the CoP15 agenda and
proposed amendments to the Appendices, and the reasons for our proposed
positions.
Tentative Negotiating Positions
On our website (http://www.fws.gov/international/newspubs/
fedregnot_list.html), we summarize the tentative U.S. negotiating
positions on proposals to amend the Appendices (species proposals),
draft resolutions and decisions, and agenda items that have been
submitted by other countries and the CITES Secretariat. Documents
submitted by the United States either alone or as a co-proponent for
consideration by the Parties at CoP15 can be found on the Secretariat's
website at: http://www.cites.org/eng/cop/index.shtml. Those documents
are: CoP15 Docs. 36, 41.3, 41.4, 41.5, 48, 54, and 67. The United
States, either alone or as a co-proponent, submitted the following
proposals to amend Appendices I and II: CoP15 Props. 2, 3, 15, 16, 21,
25, 28, and 31. We will not provide any additional explanation of the
U.S. negotiating position for documents and proposals that the United
States submitted. The introduction in the text of each of the documents
the United States submitted contains a discussion of the background of
the issue and the rationale for submitting the document.
AUTHOR: This notice was prepared by Clifton A. Horton, Division of
Management Authority; under the authority of the U.S. Endangered
Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Dated: March 5, 2010
Daniel M. Ashe
Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
[FR Doc. 2010-5458 Filed 3-9-10; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-S