Healthy, intact forests are essential for biodiversity, the global climate, and Indigenous Peoples and forest-dependent communities around the world that rely on them for their lives, livelihoods, and cultural survival. Tropical forests are particularly vital as habitats for species, territories for Indigenous Peoples, and immense (and vulnerable) storehouses of carbon. But the onslaught of illegal logging, agricultural deforestation, and climate-fueled wildfires is turning tropical forests from carbon sinks into carbon bombs.
CIEL has been active in the movement to prevent deforestation of tropical forests for nearly three decades. A critical avenue for this work is the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). CITES is one of the earliest and most effective multilateral environmental agreements, and over the years, CIEL has worked with partners and governments to further strengthen it.
As a result of our movement’s advocacy, a landmark resolution to CITES was approved in 2019 — the biggest step since the Convention was signed nearly half a century ago, to address a gap in how countries verify legality of their exports of endangered species. Now, CIEL is working to translate that resolution into meaningful action to protect forests and halt the trade of illegally harvested timber.
This year, in partnership with Forest Trends, CIEL launched two pilot projects to put the legal acquisition findings resolution into practice in regions with critical tropical forests. Working with local consultants and national authorities, we undertook detailed analyses of the current legal framework in both Thailand and Malawi, and made recommendations to ensure that they were fully aligned with CITES requirements.
The process of applying for permits to export endangered species in many countries is opaque and informal, allowing illegal practices to go undetected. Our pilot projects focused on improving the transparency, accessibility, and legal strength of export requirements and procedures so that companies fully understand their legal obligations before harvesting endangered species — and so that governments can enforce those obligations.
Our work in Thailand and Malawi has provided a vital example of how countries can align domestic laws with CITES requirements. In tandem, we also created a detailed, practical handbook to provide a roadmap for other governments to create similar frameworks. In the year ahead, we will build on this progress and support partners in enacting national best practices that will protect endangered species and forests.
