[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 120 (Thursday, June 21, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37433-37438]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-15121]
[[Page 37433]]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R9-IA-2011-0087; 96300-1671-0000 FY12 R4]
Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES); Sixteenth
Regular Meeting: Proposed Resolutions, Decisions, and Agenda Items
Being Considered; Observer Information
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The United States, as a Party to the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
(CITES), may submit proposed resolutions, decisions, and agenda items
for consideration at meetings of the Conference of the Parties to
CITES. The United States may also propose amendments to the CITES
Appendices for consideration at meetings of the Conference of the
Parties. The sixteenth regular meeting of the Conference of the Parties
to CITES (CoP16) is scheduled to be held in Bangkok, Thailand, March 3-
15, 2013. With this notice, we describe proposed resolutions,
decisions, and agenda items that the United States is considering
submitting for consideration at CoP16; invite your comments and
information on these proposals; and provide information on how non-
governmental organizations based in the United States can attend CoP16
as observers.
DATES: We will consider written information and comments you submit
concerning proposed resolutions, decisions, and agenda items that the
United States is considering submitting for consideration at CoP16, if
we receive them by August 20, 2012.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments pertaining to proposed resolutions,
decisions, and agenda items for discussion at CoP16 by one of the
following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R9-
IA-2011-0087.
U.S. mail or hand-delivery: Public Comments Processing,
Attn: FWS-R9-IA-2011-0087; Division of Policy and Directives
Management; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, MS
2042-PDM; Arlington, VA 22203.
We will not consider comments sent by email or fax, or to an
address not listed in the ADDRESSES section. Comments and materials we
receive in response to this notice will be posted for public inspection
on http://www.regulations.gov, and will be available by appointment,
between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal
holidays, at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Management
Authority, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Room 212, Arlington, VA 22203;
telephone 703-358-2095.
Requests for approval to attend CoP16 as an observer should be sent
to the Division of Management Authority, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, 4401 North Fairfax Drive, Room 212, Arlington, VA 22203, or
via email at: managementauthority@fws.gov, or via fax at: 703-358-2298.
For the latest news and information regarding U.S. preparations for
CoP16, please visit our Web site at http://www.fws.gov/international/CITES/CoP16.html.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information pertaining to
resolutions, decisions, and agenda items, contact: Robert R. Gabel,
Chief, Division of Management Authority; telephone 703-358-2095;
facsimile 703-358-2298. For information pertaining to species proposals
contact: Rosemarie Gnam, Chief, Division of Scientific Authority;
telephone 703-358-1708; facsimile 703-358-2276. If you use a
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), call the Federal
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild
Fauna and Flora, hereinafter referred to as CITES or the Convention, is
an international treaty designed to control and regulate international
trade in certain animal and plant species that are now or potentially
may become threatened with extinction. These species are listed in
Appendices to CITES, which are available on the CITES Secretariat's Web
site at http://www.cites.org/eng/app/index.php. Currently, 175
countries, including the United States, are Parties to CITES. The
Convention calls for regular biennial meetings of the Conference of the
Parties, unless the Conference of the Parties decides otherwise. At
these meetings, the Parties review the implementation of CITES, make
provisions enabling the CITES Secretariat in Switzerland to carry out
its functions, consider amendments to the lists of species in
Appendices I and II, consider reports presented by the Secretariat, and
make recommendations for the improved effectiveness of CITES. Any
country that is a Party to CITES may propose amendments to Appendices I
and II, resolutions, decisions, and agenda items for consideration by
all the Parties at the meetings.
This is our fourth in a series of Federal Register notices that,
together with an announced public meeting, provide you with an
opportunity to participate in the development of the U.S. submissions
to and negotiating positions for the sixteenth regular meeting of the
Conference of the Parties to CITES (CoP16). We published our first
CoP16-related Federal Register notice on June 14, 2011 (76 FR 34746),
in which we requested information and recommendations on species
proposals for the United States to consider submitting for
consideration at CoP16, and described our approach in determining which
species proposals to consider submitting. We published our second such
Federal Register notice on November 7, 2011 (76 FR 68778), in which we
requested information and recommendations on proposed resolutions,
decisions, and agenda items for the United States to consider
submitting for consideration at CoP16, described our approach in
determining which proposed resolutions, decisions, and agenda items to
consider submitting, and provided preliminary information on how to
request approved observer status for non-governmental organizations
that wish to attend the meeting. In our third CoP16-related Federal
Register notice, published on April 11, 2012 (77 FR 21798), we
requested public comments and information on species proposals that the
United States is considering submitting for consideration at CoP16. A
complete list of those Federal Register notices, along with information
on U.S. preparations for CoP16, can be found at http://www.fws.gov/international/CITES/CoP16.html. You may obtain additional information
on those Federal Register notices from the following sources: For
information on proposed resolutions, decisions, and agenda items,
contact the Division of Management Authority at the address provided in
the ADDRESSES section; and for information on species proposals,
contact the Division of Scientific Authority, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Room 110, Arlington, VA 22203. Our
regulations governing this public process are found in 50 CFR 23.87.
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Recommendations for Resolutions, Decisions, and Agenda Items for the
United States To Consider Submitting for CoP16
In our Federal Register notice published on November 7, 2011 (76 FR
68778), we requested information and recommendations on potential
resolutions, decisions, and agenda items for the United States to
submit for consideration at CoP16. We received information and
recommendations from the following organizations: The Animal Welfare
Institute; Gruhn Guitars, Inc.; the International Fund for Animal
Welfare; NAMM (the International Music Products Association); the
Natural Science Collections Alliance; the Ornithological Council and
the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections; Safari
Club International and the Safari Club International Foundation; the
Species Survival Network; the Species Survival Network's Amphibian
Working Group; and the World Wildlife Fund. We also received comments
from three individuals.
We considered all of the recommendations of the above individuals
and organizations, as well as the factors described in the U.S.
approach for CoP16 discussed in our November 7, 2011, Federal Register
notice, when compiling a list of resolutions, decisions, and agenda
items that the United States is likely to submit for consideration by
the Parties at CoP16. We also compiled lists of resolutions, decisions,
and agenda items for consideration at CoP16 that the United States
either is currently undecided about submitting, is not considering
submitting at this time, or plans to address in other ways. In
compiling these lists, we also considered potential submissions that we
developed internally. The United States may consider submitting
documents for some of the issues for which it is currently undecided or
not considering submitting at this time, depending on the outcome of
discussions of these issues in the CITES Standing Committee, additional
consultations with range country governments and subject matter
experts, or comments we receive during the public comment period for
this notice.
Please note that, in sections A, B, and C below, we have listed
those resolutions, decisions, and agenda items that the United States
is likely to submit, currently undecided about submitting, or currently
planning not to submit. We have posted an extended version of this
notice on our Web site at http://www.fws.gov/international/CITES/CoP16.html and at http://www.regulations.gov, with text describing in
more detail each of these issues and explaining the rationale for the
tentative U.S. position on each issue. Copies of the extended version
of the notice are also available from the Division of Management
Authority at the address in the ADDRESSES section.
We welcome your comments and information regarding the resolutions,
decisions, and agenda items that the United States is likely to submit,
currently undecided about submitting, or currently planning not to
submit.
A. What resolutions, decisions, and agenda items is the United States
likely to submit for consideration at CoP16?
1. Quota information on CITES permits and tags for leopard
trophies: Proposal we developed internally to revise Resolution Conf.
10.14 (Rev. CoP14), Quotas for leopard trophies and skins for personal
use, and Resolution Conf. 12.3 (Rev. CoP15), Permits and certificates,
to make them consistent with respect to what quota/quantity information
should be included on a leopard trophy tag and on the accompanying
CITES permit.
2. Retrospective permit process for certain Appendix-I specimens:
Proposal we developed internally to revise Resolution Conf. 12.3 (Rev.
CoP15), Permits and certificates, to include a retrospective permit
process for certain Appendix-I specimens with high conservation value.
3. Streamlined process for cross-border transport of musical
instruments containing CITES species: Proposal for a passport system
for individuals travelling internationally with their musical
instruments.
B. On what resolutions, decisions, and agenda items is the United
States still undecided, pending additional information and
consultations?
1. CoP Rules of Procedure: Voting records: Proposal to revise the
Rules of Procedure for meetings of the CoP to require that, except in
the case of a vote on a proposal by a secret ballot, electronic votes
be displayed to all CoP participants within minutes of the vote and the
Presiding Officer not announce the results of the vote until votes are
displayed and Parties have had time to verify them.
2. CoP Rules of Procedure: Secret ballots: Competing proposals
regarding whether to revise the Rules of Procedure for CoPs, aligning
them with those of other United Nations bodies to allow a secret ballot
vote only when the motion for the vote has been approved by a majority
of Parties present and voting (rather than by merely 10 Parties as is
currently the requirement in the CoP Rules of Procedure).
3. Climate change: Proposal for a resolution on climate change that
would allow for increased recognition of climate change and its impacts
or potential impacts on CITES-listed species.
4. National CITES laws made available on the web: Proposal for a
resolution or decision calling on the Secretariat to post all Party
CITES implementing laws on the CITES Web site.
5. CITES purpose codes: Comment supporting the position that
purpose codes should be used primarily to indicate whether the trade
covered by a particular permit is for commercial or noncommercial
purposes, while allowing for the use of purpose codes to gather useful
analytical information (such as the number and variety of hunting
trophies being shipped); also supporting the position that purpose
codes are not to be used as enforcement tools unless this is
accompanied by a willingness to resolve issues with coding between
Management Authorities and not putting the burden on the shippers in
the absence of evidence of fraudulent intent.
6. Equipment needs of Parties: Proposal for a resolution or
decision to authorize the development of a mechanism to identify
equipment needs of the CITES Parties for the effective enforcement of
the Convention, while allowing CITES observers and other interested
organizations and agencies an opportunity to try to meet those Party
needs.
7. Review of Significant Trade: Proposal to amend the Terms of
Reference for the evaluation of the Review of Significant Trade to
include assessment of the ``measures to be taken regarding the
implementation of recommendations'' contained in Resolution Conf. 12.8
(Rev. CoP13), Review of Significant Trade in specimens of Appendix-II
species.
8. Non-detriment findings: (a) Proposal for a resolution to
substantively improve and strengthen the non-detriment finding (NDF)
requirements; (b) comment supporting the CITES NDF Working Group, a
joint working group of the Animals and Plants Committees, and the fact
that the Working Group is currently considering a draft resolution on
NDFs for CoP16, and recommending that the United States lend its
support to the process to ensure that such a resolution is adopted at
CoP16; and (c) proposal for the development of guidance for making
NDFs, provided that such guidance is
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not mandatory, does not suggest ``pass or fail'' criteria for permit
issuance based on such findings, and is accompanied by a mechanism to
assess range States' needs for capacity-building to improve NDFs and to
provide such capacity-building assistance.
9. Captive-bred and ranched specimens: Proposal for a decision to
continue the intersessional Working Group on Implementation of the
Convention Relating to Captive-bred and Ranched Specimens and a
decision directing that the Working Group study problems with the use
of CITES source codes by selecting species and Parties to be addressed
as case studies.
10. Definitions of sawn wood and veneer for Appendix-II and -III
timber: Proposal that CITES develop clearer definitions of the terms
``sawn wood'' and ``veneer,'' which appear in the annotations for a
number of timber species listed in Appendices II and III.
11. Trade in hunting trophies of Appendix-I species: Proposal for
revisions to relevant resolutions to: (a) incorporate criteria that
must be met before quotas for Appendix-I species are approved; (b)
require that such quotas be reviewed and renewed at each CoP; (c)
require that quotas in place be regularly monitored to ensure that the
basis for assigning them remains valid; and (d) remove the presumptions
placed on the importing country that quotas may be accepted as
appropriate in the absence of direct evidence to the contrary.
12. Hunting trophy personal effects: Comment supporting the view
that hunting trophies that include manufactured items crafted from
animals taken by hunters are by their very nature personal effects and
qualify for the CITES personal effects and household effects exemption,
and supporting revising Resolution Conf. 13.7 (Rev. CoP14), Control of
trade in personal and household effects, to remove the requirement that
a hunting trophy must be carried by the hunter as accompanying baggage
in order to qualify as a personal effect.
13. Asian big cats: Proposal for several actions to strengthen
enforcement of CITES with regard to Appendix-I Asian big cat species.
14. Tiger farming and domestic trade: Recommendation that the
United States call for the full implementation of the spirit and letter
of Decision 14.69, directing Parties with operations breeding tigers on
a commercial scale to implement measures to restrict the captive
population to a level supportive only of conserving wild tigers, and
proposal to revise Resolution Conf. 12.5 (Rev. CoP15) to support the
Standing Committee call for ``such measures as are required to halt the
illegal trade in tigers and tiger parts and derivatives.''
15. Illegal trade in specimens of Appendix-I bear species: Proposal
to revise Resolution Conf. 10.8 (Rev. CoP14), Conservation of and trade
in bears, and/or submit decisions to establish a process by which range
and consumer States that are identified in the new report of TRAFFIC
Southeast Asia on illegal trade in Asian bear species as being involved
in illegal trade in Appendix-I bear species must report to the Standing
Committee on progress made to address the problems identified in the
report.
16. Rhinoceroses: Enforcement pertaining to trade in products:
Comment supporting strict enforcement of CITES controls on trade in
rhinoceros products, without unnecessary limitations on the legitimate
hunting of rhinoceroses.
17. Rhinoceroses: Export of horn for commercial purposes:
Recommendation that the United States take all action within its power
to carefully scrutinize trade in rhinoceros parts to ensure that parts
originating in the United States do not enter Traditional Chinese
Medicine markets in East Asia and that the United States make
recommendations to the Standing Committee and to CoP16 that all CITES
Parties take similar action.
18. Rhinoceroses: Definition of ``appropriate and acceptable'' in
the annotation to the Appendix-II listing of the South African
population of the white rhinoceros: Proposal for adding a safeguard in
the annotation to the Appendix-II listing of the South African
population of the white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum simum) to
ensure that, if exports of live rhinoceroses from any Party are to be
authorized in the future, they should be exclusively to in-situ
conservation programs.
19. Reporting on rhinoceros issues (Resolution Conf. 9.14 (Rev.
CoP15)): Proposal that all CITES Parties include the following
information in the data they provide for the annual reports by IUCN/
TRAFFIC as requested in Resolution Conf. 9.14 (Rev. CoP15),
Conservation of and trade in African and Asian rhinoceroses: The
locations, domestic transfer, and the births and deaths of all live
rhinoceroses that have been subject to international trade.
20. Pangolins: Proposal for a decision and resolution recommending
a number of actions to strengthen enforcement of CITES with regard to
Asian pangolins.
21. Elephants: Panel of Experts: Proposal for a revision of
Resolution Conf. 10.9, Consideration of proposals for the transfer of
African elephant populations from Appendix I to Appendix II, to
establish a standing Panel of Experts to ensure that the Panel can be
convened and deployed in a timely fashion as soon as a proposal to
transfer a population of the African elephant from Appendix I to
Appendix II is received by the Secretariat, and to include a deadline
for the Secretariat to forward submitted proposals to the Panel.
22. Elephants: Ivory-trading partners: Proposal to recommend a
regular comprehensive review of the status of all CITES-approved ivory-
trading partners by an independent consultant in order to determine
whether there is a need for their trading partner status to be amended
or revoked, and recommending that trading partner status should not
exceed a defined period of time.
23. Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE): Proposal to
direct the Standing Committee to: Commission a full independent review
of MIKE; develop recommendations on the future and improvement of MIKE;
and develop recommendations to ensure regular monitoring of the MIKE
program by the Standing Committee.
C. What resolutions, decisions, and agenda items is the United States
not likely to submit for consideration at CoP16, unless we receive
significant additional information?
1. Streamlined process for trade in pre-CITES, pre-ESA, and pre-
Lacey Act specimens: Proposal that businesses engaged in trade in parts
and derivatives of species listed under CITES, the Endangered Species
Act (ESA), or the Lacey Act be licensed and that trade in pre-CITES,
pre-ESA, and pre-Lacey Act parts and derivatives be allowed with a
simple declaration of this on the commercial invoice (no permit), and
that all personal items in international trade receive an automatic
exemption from CITES, ESA, and Lacey Act.
2. Financing and budgeting of the Secretariat: Proposal that, when
reporting on its expenditures and on its projected Costed Program of
Work, the Secretariat report on costs per project and method of
implementation, provide a separate chart on staff costs to allow
Parties to better evaluate work priorities for Secretariat staff,
provide a list of meetings attended by Secretariat staff and associated
costs, and provide feedback on which activities/methods of
implementation have been completed and whether core and high-priority
activities have received precedence over medium- and low-priority
activities. The proposal also addresses the creation of regular
financial auditing procedures of the Secretariat and the submission of
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auditing reports to the Standing Committee.
3. Increased transparency within the Secretariat: Proposal for a
resolution mandating that the Secretariat make available all
communications, correspondence, and other documents to all Parties and
observers in order to improve the transparency of the Secretariat.
4. Human population growth and wildlife trade: Proposal for a
resolution linking human population growth to impacts to wildlife and
wildlife trade, to encourage countries to consider human population
growth and potential efforts to reduce growth rates in their broader
planning efforts, to ensure that these impacts are considered when
countries are preparing NDFs and export quotas, and when making other
decisions required by CITES.
5. Evaluating enforcement capacity: Proposal for a document and
decision to facilitate increased CITES enforcement capacity of the
Parties.
6. Reporting against new indicators of effective enforcement:
Proposal that Parties reporting to the Standing Committee and the CoP
under species-specific resolutions and decisions be required to provide
evidence that the following is taking place: Proactive, covert,
intelligence-led operations that build up a profile of wildlife
criminals and their associations and networks; generation of the right
kind of intelligence to enable the mapping of such associations and
networks; multiagency and transnational sharing of intelligence through
swift and secure means; development of national and transnational
operations on the basis of intelligence; use of controlled deliveries
as an evidence-gathering tool to disrupt networks; recovery of assets
from wildlife crime through the use of proceeds of crime legislation;
and increased detection and prosecution rates.
7. Gathering and analysis of data on illegal trade: Proposal that
the reporting of illegal trade data should become a matter of
compliance and that Parties provide their data to INTERPOL's
Environmental Crime Programme, where it can be securely accessed by
enforcement officers from all CITES Parties.
8. Enforcement matters: Controlled deliveries expertise:
Recommendation that the United States take the lead among Parties to
lend momentum to the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife
Crime's ongoing work on controlled deliveries as a method of reaching
the ``big players'' in wildlife trafficking.
9. Elevating the profile of wildlife crime: Proposal for a
resolution recognizing wildlife crime as a ``serious'' crime, whereby
Parties agree to change their CITES-implementing legislation as
necessary to provide for the maximum deterrent.
10. Multilateral measures in CITES: Comment supporting the use of
the various multilateral measures that are available within CITES to
deal with concerns about permit issuance and trade, and opposing the
use of ``stricter domestic measures.''
11. Uniform application of CITES: Proposal that the CoP urge
Parties to refrain from imposing greater restrictions on international
wildlife trade than those required under CITES.
12. Livelihoods: Recommendation that the United States support the
review of the effects of CITES on livelihoods, specifically with regard
to the benefits of sustainable use of CITES species to local
communities.
13. Measurements and units used in reporting: Proposal for a
resolution describing in detail the volume- or weight-based
measurements needed for each CITES description of specimens in order to
comply with the Guidelines for the Preparation and Submission of CITES
Annual Reports, and recommending that Parties report trade using two
units of measurement when possible.
14. An alternative to CITES: Proposal for a document soliciting
discussion of the possibility of either substantively revising CITES or
replacing it with a new Convention that would prohibit international
trade in all species except for those designated as capable of
sustaining regulated trade.
15. Streamlining the Review of Significant Trade process: Proposal
for a resolution to restructure the Review of Significant Trade process
to make it more streamlined and expeditious and also to include an
automatic recommendation for a suspension of trade in species under
review from those countries going through the review.
16. Periodic Review of the Appendices, Lions: Recommendation that
the United States support the inclusion of the African lion (Panthera
leo) in the Periodic Review of Felidae.
17. Definition of hunting trophy: Proposal for a document
explaining the implementation and enforcement problems created by
including processed and manufactured products and the term ``readily
recognizable'' in the definition of ``hunting trophy'' included in
Resolution Conf. 12.3 (Rev. CoP15), Permits and certificates, and
proposal for the deletion of processed and manufactured products from
the definition and replacement of the term ``readily recognizable''
with the term ``identifiable.''
18. Validation of permits for trade in scientific research
materials: Proposal for a document aimed at improving the permit
validation process for CITES scientific specimens.
19. Unlisted species: Proposal for a mechanism to select and review
unlisted species subject to significant levels of international trade
for possible listing in the CITES Appendices.
20. Newly discovered species: Proposal for a resolution that would
automatically prohibit trade in a newly-discovered species until the
status of the species could be properly assessed and a determination
made as to whether the species requires protection under CITES.
21. U.S. captive tigers: Recommendation that the United States
report at CoP16 on the status of its captive tiger population,
including information about recently promulgated regulations requiring
all persons and facilities holding tigers in the United States to
annually report their year-end inventories and activities conducted
with tigers and removing the current exemption for ``generic'' tigers.
22. Bear bile trade: Proposal for a resolution that would reduce
the cruel confinement of bears for the bear bile trade by imposing
requirements that bears be farmed only if there is a legitimate
conservation benefit to wild populations.
23. Creation of artificial ice floes for polar bears: Comment
supporting the creation of artificial ice floes that would provide
polar bears with places to rest and recuperate as they migrate to the
sea ice.
24. Rhinoceroses: Annotation to the Appendix-II listing of the
populations of South Africa and Swaziland of the southern white
rhinoceros: Recommendation that the United States approach South Africa
and request that they impose a unilateral suspension on export of both
live rhinoceroses and rhinoceros hunting trophies (the specimen types
from South Africa downlisted to Appendix II in the annotation).
25. Elephant ivory trade mechanism: Comment supporting the vigorous
development of an apolitical mechanism for approving trade in elephant
ivory.
26. Elephants: Broadening of the debate beyond the issue of
allowing legal ivory trade: Recommendation that the United States lend
its weight to broadening the debate concerning elephants beyond the
issue of allowing
[[Page 37437]]
legal ivory trade, which while important, should be seen in a wider
context of other problems that are currently more significant in
driving poaching and illegal trade.
27. Sharks, rays, and skates (elasmobranchs): Proposal for a
decision directing the Secretariat to contract appropriate technical
experts to prepare a report to determine the most vulnerable
elasmobranch species found in international trade in order to determine
which species would most benefit from CITES listings.
28. Amphibians: Proposal for a document for CoP16 requesting that
range States initiate better monitoring and management of wild frog
populations.
Request for Information and Comments
We invite any information and comments concerning any of the
possible CoP16 proposed resolutions, decisions, and agenda items
discussed above. You must submit your information and comments to us no
later than the date specified in DATES above to ensure that we consider
them. Comments and materials received will be posted for public
inspection on http://www.regulations.gov, and will be available by
appointment, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, at the
Division of Management Authority. Our practice is to post all comments,
including names and addresses of respondents, and to make comments,
including names and home addresses of respondents, available for public
review during regular business hours. Individual respondents may
request that we withhold their home addresses from public review, which
we will honor to the extent allowable by law.
There also may be circumstances in which we would withhold from
public review a respondent's identity, as allowable by law. If you wish
for us to withhold your name and/or address, you must state this
prominently at the beginning of your comment. We will make all comments
and materials submitted by organizations or businesses, and by
individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of
organizations or businesses, available for public inspection in their
entirety.
Observers
Article XI, paragraph 7 of CITES states the following:
``Any body or agency technically qualified in protection,
conservation or management of wild fauna and flora, in the following
categories, which has informed the Secretariat of its desire to be
represented at meetings of the Conference by observers, shall be
admitted unless at least one-third of the Parties present object:
(a) international agencies or bodies, either governmental or
non-governmental, and national governmental agencies and bodies; and
(b) national non-governmental agencies or bodies which have been
approved for this purpose by the State in which they are located.
Once admitted, these observers shall have the right to participate
but not to vote.''
Persons wishing to be observers representing international non-
governmental organizations (which must have offices in more than one
country) at CoP16 may request approval directly from the CITES
Secretariat. Persons wishing to be observers representing U.S. national
non-governmental organizations at CoP16 must receive prior approval
from our Division of Management Authority. Once we grant our approval,
a U.S. national non-governmental organization is eligible to register
with the Secretariat and must do so at least 6 weeks prior to the
opening of CoP16 to participate in CoP16 as an observer. Individuals
who are not affiliated with an organization may not register as
observers. An international non-governmental organization with at least
one office in the United States may register as a U.S. non-governmental
organization if it prefers.
Any organization that submits a request to us for approval as an
observer should include evidence of their technical qualifications in
protection, conservation, or management of wild fauna or flora, for
both the organization and the individual representative(s). The request
should include copies of the organization's charter and any bylaws, and
a list of representatives it intends to send to CoP16. Organizations
seeking approval for the first time should detail their experience in
the protection, conservation, or management of wild fauna or flora, as
well as their purposes for wishing to participate in CoP16 as an
observer. An organization that we have previously approved as an
observer at a meeting of the Conference of the Parties within the past
5 years must submit a request, but does not need to provide as much
detailed information concerning its qualifications as an organization
seeking approval for the first time. These requests should be sent to
the Division of Management Authority at the address provided in the
ADDRESSES section, or via email at: managementauthority@fws.gov, or via
fax at: 703-358-2298.
Once we approve an organization as an observer, we will inform them
of the appropriate page on the CITES Web site where they may obtain
instructions for registration with the CITES Secretariat in
Switzerland, including a meeting registration form and travel and hotel
information. A list of organizations approved for observer status at
CoP16 will be available upon request from the Division of Management
Authority just prior to the start of CoP16.
Future Actions
We expect the CITES Secretariat to provide us with a provisional
agenda for CoP16 within the next several months. Once we receive the
provisional agenda, we will publish it in a Federal Register notice and
provide the Secretariat's Web site URL. We will also provide the
provisional agenda on our Web site at http://www.fws.gov/international/CITES/CoP16.html.
The United States will submit any proposed resolutions, decisions,
and agenda items, as well as any species proposals, for consideration
at CoP16 to the CITES Secretariat 150 days prior to the start of the
meeting (i.e., by October 4, 2012). We will consider all available
information and comments received during the comment period for this
notice as we decide which proposed resolutions, decisions, and agenda
items warrant submission by the United States for consideration by the
Parties. With respect to our notice published on April 11, 2012 (77 FR
21798), we will consider all available information and comments
received during the comment period for that notice as we decide which
species proposals warrant submission by the United States for
consideration by the Parties. Approximately 4 months prior to CoP16, we
will post on our Web site an announcement of the species proposals and
proposed resolutions, decisions, and agenda items submitted by the
United States to the CITES Secretariat for consideration at CoP16.
Through an additional notice and Web site posting in advance of
CoP16, we will inform you about preliminary negotiating positions on
resolutions, decisions, agenda items, and amendments to the Appendices
proposed by other Parties for consideration at CoP16. We will also
publish an announcement of a public meeting tentatively to be held
approximately 2-3 months prior to CoP16, to receive public input on our
positions regarding issues on the agenda for CoP16. The procedures for
developing U.S. documents and negotiating positions for a meeting of
the Conference of the Parties to CITES
[[Page 37438]]
are outlined in 50 CFR 23.87. As noted in paragraph (c) of that
section, we may modify or suspend the procedures outlined there if they
would interfere with the timely or appropriate development of documents
for submission to the meeting of the Conference of the Parties and of
U.S. negotiating positions.
Author: The primary author of this notice is Mark Albert, Division
of Management Authority; under the authority of the U.S. Endangered
Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
Date: June 8, 2012.
Daniel M. Ashe,
Director.
[FR Doc. 2012-15121 Filed 6-20-12; 8:45 am]
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