HUNGARIAN RESPONSE TO CITES COP15 DEMARCHE ON U.S. SPECIES

UNCLAS BUDAPEST 000047 SIPDIS DEPT FOR OES/ENRC - Lloyd Gamble E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SENV KSCA CITES AORC UNEP SUBJECT: HUNGARIAN RESPONSE TO CITES COP15 DEMARCHE ON U.S. SPECIES PROPOSALS REF: STATE 6668 ¶1. On January 25, post conveyed reftel points and non-paper on U.S. proposals for the upcoming CITES COP-15 to Zoltan Czirak, Counselor at the Ministry of Environment's Department of Biodiversity. On January 27, Mr. Czirak provided a written response, as well as information on Hungary's delegation to CITES COP-15. Post's informal translation of Czirak's response follows: ¶2. HUNGARIAN DELEGATION TO CITES COP15 Dr Katalin Rodics (Head of Delegation) Ministry of Environment Deputy Head of Department of Biodiversity Budapest 1011 Fo utca 44-50 Tel:0036-1-457-3555 Fax:0036-1-275-4505 Email:Rodics@mail.kvvm.hu Mr Levente Korosi Ministry of Environment Department of Biodiversity Expert Advisor Mr Zoltan Czirak Ministry of Environment Department of Biodiversity Counselor ¶3. SHARK PROPOSALS: Hungary is not directly affected by this issue. However, Hungary traditionally stands up for global nature conservation goals including measures addressing sea species. The GOH supports both U.S. shark proposals. ¶3. CORALS: The GOH supports the listing of the red and pink corals in Appendix II, for the same reasons as above. Concerning this proposal the EU is a co-sponsor along with the U.S. ¶4. TRANSFER OF POLAR BEAR (Ursus maritimus) FROM CITES APPENDIX II TO APPENDIX I: Hungary supports the transfer of the polar bear from CITES Appendix II to Appendix I. It is important to note that EU Member States will vote uniformly in every question. Within the EU, the GOH supports this proposal, although several other EU member states oppose it. How Hungary will vote on this will depend on the final outcome of internal discussions among EU member states. To be able to vote YES, the U.S. does not need to convince Hungary, but rather other EU member states. ¶5. DELETION OF BOBCAT (Lynx rufus) FROM APPENDIX II: Hungary is strongly opposed to this U.S. proposal. Contrary to the U.S. position, the GOH believes the bobcat cannot be distinguished from the Eurasian lynx which is an indigenous species in Hungary and highly protected. The U.S. proposal has been investigated by authorities that take part in the practical implementation of CITES including the nature conservation authority, customs office, and animal health authority. The uniform opinion of the executive authorities is that distinguishing varieties within the lynx species is very difficult and requires expertise. Therefore the de-listing of the bobcat from Appendix II would create a serious problem from a CITES implementation point of view and would threaten the lynx species that is found in Hungary. The Hungarian position is firm on this question. The GOH cannot accept the U. S. proposal and would support its withdrawal from consideration. According to the GOH's information, as a compromise some countries may propose to list the bobcat in Appendix III in the event its removal from Appendix II gains support during the conference. In the GOH view, this cannot be a solution since listing a species on the basis of resemblance is not among the criterion for Appendix III, and conversely is an unambiguous criterion for listing a species under Appendix II. Furthermore, controlling the import into and trading within the EU would not be extremely difficult or impossible. ¶6. SNAKE TRADE AND CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT: The GOH supports this U.S. proposal. KOUNALAKIS