CHINA ON U.S. PROPOSALS AT CITES COP 15

UNCLAS BEIJING 000349

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR OES/ENRC
INTERIOR FOR USFWS CITES GABEL AND GNAM
COMMERCE FOR NOAA/NMFS INTERNATIONAL LENT

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV ETRD KSCA CITES AORC UNEP CH
SUBJECT: CHINA ON U.S. PROPOSALS AT CITES COP 15

REF: A) STATE 6668 B) 09 STATE 125262


1. (U) Post relayed on February 2 the background information and
points regarding U.S. proposals at the March 13-25 Conference of
Parties (COP) of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species (CITES) contained in REF A to the CITES Management Authority
Office of the China State Forestry Administration (SFA). On
February 5, Deputy Director General MENG Xianlin provided the below
written response.


2. (SBU) Begin text (edited for fluency):

Dear Colleague,

Thank you for the materials provided along with your fax of February
2, 2010--it is helpful to review the U.S. positions on relevant
proposals before the COP.

We have done a preliminary review and also sent these materials to
relevant wildlife authorities for further review.

Regarding the positions on certain species, please take the
following general principles for your reference:

--China is in favor of comments and proposals from range countries
in most cases. This will guide our decisionmaking on species like
polar bears and bobcats. The polar bear's major threat is habitat
loss and habitat quality, which is already reflected in your own
explanation. Therefore the comments of large exporting countries
and those with the healthiest wild populations must also be
thoroughly examined and considered before we reach a final decision.
Regarding bobcats, we have indicated our general support for this
proposal during frequent discussions in the past. Our final
decision will be made based on the principle that CITES listings
should be more related to the status of wild populations.

--For the shark proposal, we are concerned about several issues,
including how "introduction from the sea" concerns would be
addressed, identification problems for enforcement purposes, the
difference between fisheries resources and terrestrial species, and
also misleading information about the consumption of fins, which the
proposal currently focuses on Asia.

--Regarding the coral proposal, we have not reached a consensus for
our final position, which is currently being discussed with our
colleagues in the Fisheries Bureau (under the Ministry of
Agriculture).

--For CITES/COP 15, SFA's CITES Management Authority office will
take the lead coordinating position. Generally, the Wildlife
Conservation Department of the State Forestry Administration (SFA)
will lead on terrestrial species and the Fisheries Bureau of the
Ministry of Agriculture will lead on aquatic species. Nonetheless,
for all COP 15 issues, we prefer that you contact the CITES
Management Authority of China (within SFA),which will deal with all
inquiries according to internal procedures.

Thank you very much for the information and we look forward to
seeing and working together with you in Qatar.

Best Regards,

(Mr.) MENG Xianlin
Deputy Director General
CITES Management Authority of China

END TEXT


3. (U) In addition, SFA's CITES Office indicated to ESTHOff that
due to scheduling difficulties, the proposed digital video
conference (DVC) involving Chinese authorities, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, and State/OES/ENRC the week of February 22 would
not be possible. SFA further stated that the background information
provided in REF A, as well as the in-person consultation they had
with OES/ENRC Officer Danielle Wood on January 20, now preclude the
need for an in-depth bilateral discussion via DVC.

HUNTSMAN