Regulations Amending the Wild Animal and Plant Trade Regulations – Updates to Schedule I

Key findings from the strategic environmental and economic assessment (SEEA) conducted in respect of the amendments to the Wild Animal and Plant Trade Regulations (WAPTR), as published in the Canada Gazette.

The amendments to Schedule I of WAPTR (the amendments) reflect the decisions made by the 19th Conference of the Parties (CoP19) and comply with subsection 21(2) of the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act (WAPPRIITA). These amendments contribute to international efforts for the conservation of endangered species, and ensure that Canada’s regulations align with that of other Parties of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

CITES is an international treaty, adopted on March 3, 1973, to help ensure that international trade in wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. CITES sets controls on the import and/or export of animal and plant species that are, or may be, threatened due to international trade. There are currently 185 Parties to the Convention. CITES includes three appendices, known as Appendices I, II and III. The appendices list all species that are protected under CITES. There are currently over 40,900 species of animals and plants listed in the three appendices. Each appendix affords varying degrees of protection through different import and/or export controls. The Parties have agreed to a set of biological and trade criteria to help determine whether a species should be included in Appendix I or II. CITES also allows individual Parties to unilaterally list species for which they have implemented domestic controls in Appendix III.

The Parties to CITES meet every two or three years at the Conferences of the Parties (CoP) to decide on amendments to be made to CITES Appendices I and II, based on a set of biological criteria and import and/or export information. CITES CoP19 was held in Panama City, Panama, from November 14 to 25, 2022. During CoP19, the Parties adopted 45 amendments, affecting 558 species. The changes resulting from the modifications to CITES Appendices I and II include the following:

Table 1: Uplisting and additions to CITES Appendix I

Change	Description of change	Number of species affected
Addition to Appendix I	New import and export controls	3 species
Uplisting from Appendix II to Appendix I	New import controls and increased export controls	4 species

Table 2: Uplisting, downlisting, and additions to CITES Appendix II

Change	Description of change	Number of species affected
Downlisting from Appendix I to Appendix II	Removal of import controls; and Reduced export controls	7 species, including: 1 species that naturally occurs in Canada: Short-tailed Albatross (Phoebastria albatrus) 1 species with very limited distribution in Canada: Aleutian Cackling Goose (Branta canadensis leucopareia)
Addition to Appendix II	New export controls	534 species, including: 4 species that naturally occur in Canada: Common musk turtle (Sternotherus odoratus), Greater short-horned lizard (Phrynosoma hernandesi), Pygmy short-horned lizard (Phrynosoma douglasii), and Rhodiola (Rhodiola integrifolia) 2 species that naturally occur in Canada and are known to be traded in Canada: Blue shark (Prionace glauca), and Rhodiola (Rhodiola rosea) 132 species some of which are known to be traded in Canada: Bonnethead shark (Sphyrna tiburo), African padauk (Pterocarpus soyauxii), East African mahogany (Khaya anthotheca), Lagos mahogany (Khaya ivorensis), African mahogany (Khaya senegalensis), ipe wood (Handroanthus spp., Roseodendron spp., Tabebuia spp.), and cumaru wood (Dipteryx spp.)
Uplisting from Appendix III to Appendix II	Increased export controls	10 species, including : 2 species that naturally occur in Canada: Common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina), and Spiny softshell turtle (Apalone spinifera)

Table 3: Other amendments to CITES Appendices I and II

Change	Description of change	Number of species affected
Modifications to annotations	Reduced export and re-export controls	All species of flora included in Appendix I and Appendix II, and specific Annotation for 1 species

The amendments also reflect updates to CITES Appendix III, as were requested by Australia, Cuba, the European Union, France, Israel, Japan, Seychelles, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and Ukraine between November 2020 and February 2023.

Table 4: Amendments to CITES Appendix III

Change	Description of change	Number of species affected
Addition to Appendix III	New export controls	303 species, including: 36 species some of which are known to be traded in Canada: Northern blue-tongued skink (Tiliqua scincoides intermedia), Shingleback lizard (Tiliqua rugosa), Common thick-tailed gecko (Underwoodisaurus milii), Northern leaf-tailed gecko (Saltuarius cornutus), phasmid geckos (Strophurus spp.), and knob-tailed geckos (Nephrurus spp.)
Modification to an annotation	Reduced export controls	1 species
New annotation	Reduced export controls	7 species

The amendments harmonize international trade controls for endangered species between Canada and other Parties to CITES. This harmonization contributes to the conservation of endangered species, both in Canada and abroad, by discouraging excessive exploitation of the listed species. Conservation of these endangered species benefits the overall ecosystem by increasing international biodiversity and improving the health of a variety of ecosystems.

The amendments contribute to Target 5 of Canada’s 2030 Nature Strategy, which pertains to the exploitation of species, wild species harvesting, use, and trade. The amendments also contribute to Goal 14 and Goal 15 of the 2022 to 2026 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy, which emphasize the importance of conserving and protecting Canada’s oceans, as well as protecting and recovering species and conserving Canadian biodiversity, respectively.

The amendments support the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 15: Life on Land. Specifically, target 15.5: Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity and, by 2020, protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species; target 15.7: Take urgent action to end poaching and trafficking of protected species of flora and fauna and address both demand and supply of illegal wildlife products; and target 15.c: Enhance global support for efforts to combat poaching and trafficking of protected species, including by increasing the capacity of local communities to pursue sustainable livelihood opportunities. They also support UN SDG 14: Life Below Water, specifically target 14.4: By 2020, effectively regulate harvesting and end overfishing, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and destructive fishing practices and implement science-based management plans, in order to restore fish stocks in the shortest time feasible, at least to levels that can produce maximum sustainable yield as determined by their biological characteristics.

Engagement with Indigenous communities and stakeholders has indicated general support for the amendments.

Follow-up and monitoring will occur through permitting, enforcement activities, and compliance promotion activities. In the case of permits, permitting requirements (import and/or (re)export permits) for species listed in the CITES Appendices leads to verification of documents and, in some cases, inspection of shipments by relevant authorities at international border crossings and ports of entry. The Department of the Environment reports annually on the administration of WAPPRIITA via the “Wild Animal and Plant Trade and Protection Act Annual Report”, covering the following topics: assessing the risk to species from trade, management of wild animals and plants in trade, compliance promotion, enforcement of CITES and WAPPRIITA, and international cooperation.