The results of the International Expert Workshop on Non-detriment findings were examined and discussed by the Plants and Animals Committees, and the Report of the Committees was submitted to the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (Doha, Qatar, 2010).
The Plants Committee also submitted a specific document on Non-detriment Findings for timber, medicinal plants, and agarwood.
The Conference of the Parties adopted four decisions directed to the Parties (Decisions 15.23 and 15.26), to the Plants and Animals Committees (Decision 15.24), and to the Secretariat (Decision 15.27).
According to these Decisions, the Parties were to examine the outputs of the Workshop, report their findings to the next meeting of the Plants and Animals Committee, and organize workshops on timber species, Prunus africana, and agarwood-producing species in the Range States in order to further refine the guidelines provided by document CoP15 Doc. 16.3and Annexes thereto.
In the joint sessions at the 26th meeting of the Animals Committee and the 20th meeting of the Plants Committee (AC26/PC20, Dublin, March 2012), the Committees agreed that the discussion paper that they would prepare for submission to the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP 16), in compliance with Decision 15.24, paragraph b), should include a draft resolution on the establishment of non-binding guidelines for making Non-detriment findings.
Following a long, in-depth discussion, the Committees drew up and adopted a draft resolution on Non-detriment findings. The draft was edited by the Secretariat, and after receiving feedback from the Parties, was submitted to the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties [CoP16 Doc. 33 (Rev.1)] , with an addendum [Addendum (Rev.1)].
After almost forty years, at its 16th Meeting in Thailand on 3rd-14th March 2013, the Conference of the Parties adopted Resolution Conf. 16.7 on Non-detriment findings (NDF).
The Resolution includes concepts and non-binding guiding principles to be taken into account by Scientific Authorities when determining whether trade would be detrimental to the survival of an animal or plant species.
The Preamble to the Resolution notes as follows:
a) Concepts and non-binding guiding principles to be taken into account by the Scientific Authorities when determining whether trade would be detrimental to the survival of a species:
i)a non-detriment finding for an Appendix-I or -II species is the result of a science-based assessment that verifies whether a proposed export is detrimental to the survival of that species (sustainability of the total harvest will usually be a necessary consideration when determining whether an export might be detrimental).
ii) consider whether the species would be maintained throughout its range at a level consistent with its role in the ecosystems in which it occurs;
iii) consider the volume of legal and illegal trade (known, inferred, projected, estimated) in relation to the vulnerability of the species (intrinsic and extrinsic factors that increase the risk of extinction of the species);
iv) the data required to determine that trade is not detrimental to the survival of the species should be proportionate to the vulnerability of the species concerned (intrinsic and extrinsic factors that increase the risk of extinction of the species);
v) correct identification of the species concerned, and verification that the specimens to be exported belong to that species;
vi) the methodology used to make a non-detriment finding should reflect the origin and type of specimen, such that the method used to make a non-detriment finding for a specimen known to be of non-wild origin may be less rigorous than that for a specimen of wild origin for example;
vii) the methodology used should be flexible enough to allow for consideration of the specific and individual characteristics of different taxa;
viii) the implementation of adaptive management, including monitoring, is an important consideration in the making of a non-detriment finding;
vix) a non-detriment finding is based on resource assessment methodologies, which may include, but are not limited to, consideration of:
x) the sources of information that may be considered when making a non-detriment finding include, but are not limited to:
b) Scientific Authorities consider, as a reference for making non-detriment findings, the information included in the Annex to document AC26/PC20 Doc. 8.4 and any subsequent updates available on the CITES website.
