Indonesia Hosts Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species

Jakarta, MINA — Indonesia is hosting Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in Yogyakarta on June 25-29, 2018.

“CITES aims to review the progress of the implementation of the CITES Tree Species Program in the Asian region and the implementation of individual country projects,” Director of Conservation of Biodiversity of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry Indra Exploitasia was quoted by Antara News as saying in a written statement on Tuesday.

In his opening remarks, he said the activity served as a conservation step towards the sustainability of endangered plant species.

He stated the Second Regional Workshop on the Management of Wild and Planted Agarwood Taxa aimed to share experiences of various countries in the management of forest plantations and agar tree population in nature, as well as to prevent over-exploitation and ensure that legal trade of agarwood does not exceed its sustainability level.

“This meeting is important for Indonesia, not only to manage sustainable forests, but also to seek a balance between conservation, economy and human welfare through trade of wood products and their derivatives,” he said.

In addition, the meeting also aimed to establish a network of inter-state collaboration both in safeguarding plant species and law enforcement for environmental and forest crimes, especially illegal trade of protected crops inside and outside of sustainable forest areas.

CITES is an international agreement between countries based on World Conservation Union (IUCN) resolution. This activity is a collaboration of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry with the Secretariat of CITES and International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), which is funded by the European Union.

A total of 40 participants representing CITES Asia Range States that have a list of plant species included in the protection list of CITES Appendix were present at the meeting, among others from Indonesia, Malaysia, China, India, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Nepal, as well as the CITES Secretariat, ITTO, and representatives from the European Union. (T/RS5/RS1).

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency *MINA)