International Union for Conservation of Nature

• (IUCN) is an international organization (NGO) working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.
• It is involved in data gathering and analysis, research, field projects, advocacy, lobbying and education.
• The organization is best known for compiling and publishing the IUCN Red List, which assesses the conservation status of species worldwide.
• Its headquarters are in Gland, Switzerland.

BirdLife International

• BirdLife International is the world’s largest nature conservation Partnership.
• Together they are 120 BirdLife Partners worldwide.
• BirdLife International strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources.
• BirdLife International is the official Red Listauthority for birds, for the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
• It identifies the sites known/referred to as ‘Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas’.

CITES

• CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is also known as the Washington Convention)
• It is a multilateral treatydrafted as a result of a resolution adopted in 1963 at a meeting of members of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
• CITES entered into force in 1975.
• Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten the survival of the species in the wild, and it accords varying degrees of protection to more than 35,000 species of animals and plants.
• Although CITES islegally binding on the Parties – in other words they have to implement the Convention – it does not take the place of national laws.
• Rather it provides a framework to be respected by each Party, which has to adopt its own domestic legislation to ensure that CITES is implemented at the national level.
• Parties to the convention= 181
• Similar treaty: Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants – MIKE

TRAFFIC

• The Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network (TRAFFIC)
• TRAFFIC is a non-governmental organizationworking globally on trade in wild animals and plants in the context of both biodiversity conservation and sustainable development.
• TRAFFIC is a joint programme of World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)and IUCN.
• Traffic is complimentary to Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
• The programme was founded in 1976, with headquarters now located in Cambridge, United Kingdom.
• TRAFFIC’s mission is to ensure that trade in wild plants and animals is not a threat to the conservation of nature.
• It investigates and analyses wildlife trade trends, patterns, impacts and drivers to provide the leading knowledge base on trade in wild animals and plants.