[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 185 (Friday, September 23, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65667-65668]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-23008]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-HQ-IA-2014-0018; 96300-1671-0000-R4]
Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES);
Seventeenth 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: The United States, as a Party to the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
(CITES), will attend the seventeenth regular meeting of the Conference
of the Parties to CITES (CoP17) in Johannesburg, South Africa,
September 24 to October 5, 2016. 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 CoP17.
ADDRESSES: 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 CoP17 are available:
Electronically at: http://www.regulations.gov in Docket
No. FWS-HQ-IA-2014-0018, or on our Web site at http://www.fws.gov/international/cites/cop17;
By email request to: managementauthority@fws.gov; or
By postal mail or in person, by appointment, between 8
a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays, at:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters, Division of Management
Authority, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803; telephone
703-358-2095.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information pertaining to
resolutions, decisions, and other agenda items, contact Craig Hoover,
Chief, Division of Management Authority; telephone: 703-358-2095;
email: managementauthority@fws.gov; facsimile: 703-358-2298. For
information pertaining to species proposals, contact Rosemarie Gnam,
Chief, Division of Scientific Authority; telephone: 703-358-1708;
email: scientificauthority@fws.gov; facsimile: 703-358-2276.
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 Web
site at http://www.cites.org/eng/app/index.php.
Currently 182 countries and the European Union have ratified,
accepted, approved, or acceded to CITES; these 183 entities are known
as Parties. The Convention calls for regular biennial meetings of the
Conference of the Parties, unless the Conference of the Parties decides
otherwise. At these meetings, the Parties review the implementation of
CITES, make provisions enabling the CITES Secretariat in Switzerland to
carry out its functions, consider amendments to the lists of species in
Appendices I and II, consider reports presented by the Secretariat and
the permanent CITES committees (Standing, Animals, and Plants
Committees), 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, decisions, and other agenda items for
consideration by all of the Parties at the meetings. 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 sixth in a series of Federal Register notices on the
development of U.S. submissions and tentative negotiating positions for
CoP17. In this notice, we announce the availability 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 CoP17. The ADDRESSES section, above,
explains how to obtain a copy of all of this information.
We published our first CoP17-related Federal Register notice on
June 27, 2014 (79 FR 36550), in which we requested information and
recommendations on species proposals for the United States to consider
submitting for consideration at CoP17. In that notice, we also
described the U.S. approach to preparations for CoP17. We published our
second such Federal Register notice on May 11, 2015 (80 FR 26948), in
which we requested information and recommendations on proposed
resolutions, decisions, and other agenda items for the United States to
consider submitting for consideration at CoP17, and provided
preliminary information on how to request approved observer status for
nongovernmental organizations that wish to attend the meeting. In our
third CoP17-related Federal Register notice, published on August 26,
2015 (80 FR 51830), we requested public comments and information on
species proposals that the United States is considering submitting for
consideration at CoP17, and in our fourth such notice, published on
December 4, 2015 (80 FR 75873), we requested public comments and
information on proposed resolutions, decisions, and other agenda items
that the United States was considering submitting for consideration at
CoP17, and provided more information on how to request approved
observer status for nongovernmental organizations that wish to attend
the meeting. In our fifth Federal Register notice, published on June
23, 2016 (81 FR 40900), we announced the provisional agenda for CoP17,
solicited comments on the items on the provisional agenda, and
announced a public meeting for July 19, 2016.
A link to the complete list of those Federal Register notices,
along with
[[Page 65668]]
information on U.S. preparations for CoP17, can be found at http://www.fws.gov/international/cites/cop17. The notices and public comments
received can be viewed at http://www.regulations.gov in Docket No. FWS-
HQ-IA-2014-0018. You may obtain additional information on those Federal
Register notices from the following sources: For information on
proposed resolutions, decisions, and other agenda items, contact the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Management Authority, 5275
Leesburg Pike, MS-IA, Falls Church, VA 22041; and for information on
species proposals, contact the Division of Scientific Authority, 5275
Leesburg Pike, MS-IA, Falls Church, VA 22041. Our regulations governing
this public process are found in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
at 50 CFR 23.87. Pursuant to 50 CFR 23.87(a)(3)(iii), with this notice
we are posting on http://www.regulations.gov (see Docket No. FWS-HQ-IA-
2014-0018) and on our Web site (http://www.fws.gov/international/publications-and-media/federal-register-notices.html) a summary of our
proposed negotiating positions on the items included in the CoP17
agenda and proposed amendments to the Appendices, and the reasons for
our proposed positions.
Announcement of Provisional Agenda for CoP17
The provisional agenda for CoP17 is currently available on the
CITES Secretariat's Web site at http://www.cites.org/eng/cop/17/doc/index.php. The working documents associated with the items on the
provisional agenda, including proposed resolutions, proposed decisions,
and discussion documents, are also available on the Secretariat's Web
site. To view the working document associated with a particular agenda
item, access the provisional agenda at the above Web site, locate the
particular agenda item, and click on the document link for that agenda
item in the column entitled ``Document.'' Finally, the species
proposals that will be considered at CoP17 are also available on the
Secretariat's Web site. Proposals for amendment of Appendices I and II
can be accessed at the web address given above.
Tentative Negotiating Positions
On http://www.regulations.gov (see Docket No. FWS-R9-IA-2014-0018)
and on our Web site (http://www.fws.gov/international/publications-and-media/federal-register-notices.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 CoP17 can be found on the Secretariat's
Web site at: http://www.cites.org/eng/cop/17/doc/index.php. Those
documents are: CoP17 Docs. 18.1, 27, 40, and 52, and (co-sponsored with
South Africa) Doc. 20. The United States, either alone or as a co-
proponent, submitted the following proposals to amend Appendices I and
II: CoP17 Props. 9-12, 19, 27, 36, 44, 48, 52, 60, and 62. We will not
provide any additional explanation of the U.S. negotiating positions
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.
Available Information on CoP17
Information concerning the results of CoP17 will be available after
the close of the meeting on the Secretariat's Web site at http://www.cites.org, or upon request from the Division of Management
Authority (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, above), or on our Web
site (http://www.fws.gov/international/cites/cop17).
Author
The primary author of this notice is Clifton A. Horton, Division of
Management Authority.
Authority
This notice is issued under the authority of the U.S. Endangered
Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Dated: September 15, 2016.
Stephen Guertin,
Acting Director, Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-23008 Filed 9-22-16; 8:45 am]
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