Implementation and Enforcement of CITES: An Assessment of Tiger and Rhinoceros Conservation Policy in Asia

Authors

Julie Cheung

Abstract

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora ("CITES") came into force in 1975 as a mechanism for controlling the international trade of threatened and endangered wildlife. In recent years, the international community has become increasingly concerned about the trade of endangered species, particularly tiger and rhinoceros parts, for use in traditional oriental medicines. The market for traditional oriental medicine is growing and has become the main threat to tiger and rhinoceros populations in Asia. This Comment examines the efforts Asian states have undertaken to control the tiger and rhinoceros trade within their borders and explores the factors that impede CITES enforcement in Asia. In evaluating the main, divergent approaches to wildlife conservation within CITES, it proposes that a continued trade ban on endangered wildlife species would serve the best interests of tiger and rhinoceros conservation as well as the long-term aims of the Convention.

First Page

125

Recommended Citation

Julie Cheung, Comment, Implementation and Enforcement of CITES: An Assessment of Tiger and Rhinoceros Conservation Policy in Asia, 5 Pac. Rim L & Pol'y J. 125 (1995).
Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/wilj/vol5/iss1/4