MOROCCO UNDECIDED ON CITES PROPOSALS, WILL NOT

UNCLAS RABAT 000097 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR OES/ENRC - L GAMBLE, OES/OMC - D HOGAN DOC FOR NOAA/INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - R LENT E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SENV EFIS ETRD AORC KSCA CITES MO SUBJECT: MOROCCO UNDECIDED ON CITES PROPOSALS, WILL NOT ATTEND MANILA CMS MEETING REF: A. STATE 6668 ¶B. STATE 10014 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - CITES Conference of Parties - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶1. (SBU) EconOff delivered Ref A demarche to Hayat Mesbah, Head of the Service of Conservation of Wild Flora and Fauna of Morocco's High Commission for Water and Forests and Combating Desertification on January 28, inviting Morocco's comments on the U.S. proposals for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Conference of Parties (CoP-15). On February 5, Mesbah informed EconOff that Morocco's position on the proposals has not yet been determined, and will be decided only after internal consultations in late February among the CITES Management Authority (the High Commission),the four institutions that share responsibilities as CITES Scientific Authorities, and other concerned entities such as the Department of Fisheries. ¶2. (SBU) Mesbah stated that due to the "delicate" economic and political considerations of the proposals, some of which involve species of commercial importance, Morocco's decision will not be made public until the Doha CoP-15 meeting. The U.S. is not the only country interested in Morocco's position, she added, noting that European and Japanese diplomats have been contacting her frequently to press Morocco to adopt their positions. ¶3. (SBU) Mesbah informed us that she is currently the only official slated to represent Morocco at the CoP-15, but she has encouraged the Department of Fisheries to send a representative as well due to the large number of marine species being considered at the meeting. However, she commented, due to limited budgets this year, it is unlikely that other officials will be able to attend. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Convention on Migratory Species - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶4. (SBU) EconOff discussed Ref B proposal for a Convention on Migratory Species Memorandum of Understanding on shark conservation with Zakia Driouich, Director of Maritime Fisheries at the Department of Fisheries on February 2. Driouich responded that Morocco does not plan to send representatives to the February 8 - 12 meeting in Manila. ***************************************** Visit Embassy Rabat's Classified Website; http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Moro cco ***************************************** KAPLAN