Following the 18th CITES meeting of the Conference of the Parties (“CoP18”) of last August 2019, on 26th November 2019 New CITES Appendices and new suites of Resolutions and Decisions entered into force.
Amendments to the Appendices are detailed by the Secretariat in Notification to the Parties No. 2019/052 of 3 October 2019 and a provisional version of the new Appendices was provided in Notification to the Parties No. 2019/055 of 16 October 2019.
In particular, regarding the Appendices, it is important to underline new provisions for Vicugnas. Indeed international trade in fibre from vicuñas (Vicugna vicugna) and their derivative products, will be possible only if the fibre comes from the shearing of live vicuñas. Trade in products derived from the fibre may only take place in accordance with specific authorisation from the country of origin and using special wording, mark or logo adopted by the range States of the species that are signatories to the Convention for the Conservation and Management of the Vicuña.
On the other hands, Resolutions and Decisions cover a wide range of issues, from the enhancement of the regulation of trade in various species of plants and animals and efforts needed to combat illegal trade, compliance, and law enforcement. While CoP’s decisions contain short-term tasks addressed to the Parties, Permanent Committees and the Convention Secretariat Resolutions set out statements of long-term policy and the interpretation of terms used in the text of the Convention.
We recall that according to the CITES Convention of 1973and parallel Regulations n. 338/97/EC and n. 865/2006/EC regulatory and documental requirements for all actors in the supply and distribution chain are numerous. They are intended to guarantee and prove the legal origin of the raw materials used, at the time of importation into the territory of the European Union as well as during the following detention, use, trade and re-export activities. Compliance with these regulations require contact with the customs authorities and the relevant ministries to reach the police authorities responsible for carrying out the on-the-spot checks (in Italy the national forest administration, which is now part of the Arma dei Carabinieri) and the possible obstacles in terms of certifications of origin and authorizations and licenses for raw materials used are constantly increasing.
In Italy, in addition to the risk of damage to the reputation and image of the company, which may derive from the use of materials not fully compliant, the infringement of said legislation is also accompanied by criminal sanctions under Law no. 150 of 1992, and included among the environmental infractions envisaged in the Legislative Decree 231/2001 on liability of legal entities.
For all (large and small) companies using this type of raw material it is therefore essential a continuous update and to activate a whole series of procedures allowing not only the constant updating of the species concerned by the regulations but also the good execution and the control of all regulatory and documentation requirements. This ensures the full traceability and compliance of the raw materials used during each phase of the productive and commercial chain in order to constantly monitor compliance with regulations, while respecting its own ethical standards.
