The invitation, presented on behalf of the President and Secretary of the Interior Manuel Lujan by John Turner, head of the U.S. delegation and Director of the Interior Departments Fish and Wildlife Service, was offered March 9 to the Secretary General of CITES at the Eighth Conference of Parties currently underway in Kyoto, Japan.
"This invitation not only underscores the Bush Administrations strong, continuing commitment to international wildlife conservation programs," Lujan said, "it also affords CITES the opportunity to return to the country where it
originated to mark its 20th anniversary."
As examples of the Administrations commitment to conservation of global flora and fauna, Lujan cited President Bushs leadership in restricting trade in sea turtles, the worldwide ban on driftnet use on the high seas, efforts to secure restricted trade in wild birds, and its widely praised initiatives to conserve wetlands and tropical forests in developing countries.
The international treaty that became CITES was drawn up in Washington in 1973 to protect wildlife against exploitation and to prevent international trade from threatening species with extinction. The convention went into effect in 1975. More than 112 nations are now party to the convention.
"CITES accomplishments to date have been invaluable," Turner said. "There are literally hundreds of species of plants and animals alive and flourishing today that otherwise might have been severely harmed by unrestrained trade."
A specific location and meeting dates for the Ninth Conference of the Parties to CITES will be announced later.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 93-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses more than 530 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies. For further information about the programs and activities of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region, please visit our home page at: http://midwest.fws.gov
