The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) requires that international trade in protected species be authorized through a permitting system. In order for international trade to be legal under CITES, the issuance of valid CITES permits and certificates, and control of these documents at the border, are necessary. Requirements on the issuance of CITES permits vary depending on the listing of the species in Appendix I, II, or III.

Customs and enforcement officers at the border play a vital role in CITES enforcement. Their role includes, among other duties, identifying CITES specimens to detect illegal trade, inspecting shipments and checking the validity of CITES documents, seizing illegal specimens, and ensuring that live animals are transported in accordance with applicable welfare standards.

The complex and technical nature of CITES rules, combined with the lack of programs targeting wildlife crime in this region, resulted in a critical lack of knowledge about CITES among wildlife authorities and law enforcement officers. Customs and police officers working in wildlife trafficking hotspots, including those in West and Central Africa, are very rarely trained to adequately fight against highly organized wildlife traffickers. Born Free USA has therefore developed a CITES enforcement training program tailored to the needs of countries in that region.

Our training program typically aims to give the following competencies to targeted national authorities:

• Understanding what conditions apply to the issuance of CITES permits;
• Identifying CITES-listed species and knowing how to use the existing CITES identification tools;
• Understanding CITES requirements;
• Developing cooperation between relevant authorities involved in CITES enforcement;
• Knowing what CITES documentation to request;
• Knowing how to check CITES permits and related paperwork;
• Identifying fraudulent CITES permits;
• Understanding and checking the enforcement of basic transport requirements;
• Performing controls allowing the detection of concealed/illegal CITES specimens; and
• Understanding wildlife smuggling methods and targeting controls.

After assessing needs, we work with the authorities of each country to define training objectives, which prioritize education through a train-the-trainer approach. Our primary goal is to support countries by giving them the ability to repeat trainings at the national level based on their most urgent priorities. We aim to ensure that the training team we use is composed of peers with in-depth knowledge about CITES enforcement and significant field experience. We also prioritize practical exercises, “on the job” training, and site visits (e.g., on-site trainings, hands-on manipulation of CITES specimens by trainees to demonstrate understanding of species identification techniques, having trainees check illegal permits to practice detection of fraudulent permits, having trainees demonstrate the ability to use the CITES identification manual, and other identification resources).

Click here to see an example of a Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Identification Guide.

As of 2018, around 5,800 species of fauna and 30,000 species of flora are regulated by CITES and listed in CITES Appendices I, II, or III. The listing of species in the Appendices is based in part on their conservation status and on the urgency of their need for protection from international trade. Trade in CITES species is diverse and includes, among other things, trade in live animals and plants, food products, traditional medicine, leather goods, skins or furs, timber, wooden instruments or furniture, roots or essence, and raw or processed wildlife products.

West and Central African countries have recognized that the development of tools and resources facilitating the identification of CITES-protected species, including identification guides, is key to successful CITES enforcement. Born Free USA is therefore developing country-specific CITES species identification guides for Cameroon, Chad, Congo, Gabon, Benin, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.

Because of limited internet and computer access in the region, the identification guides are developed in a format which allows their distribution on paper to all national authorities dealing with CITES enforcement. The purpose of these guides is to give authorities from different government sections a user-friendly visual representation of the species that are protected by CITES in their country and basic information facilitating CITES permits control and issuance such as:

• Vernacular names of the listed species in English and in French;
• Scientific name of the species;
• Status of endangerment of the species (International Union for Conservation of Nature [IUCN] ranking);
• The CITES Appendix in which the species is listed;
• The form of the species in trade, including products that are trafficked;
• Basic information about CITES;
• Basic information about CITES permit controls; and
• List of useful enforcement contacts within the CITES Secretariat, regionally and nationally.