Minutes of the CITES Working Group Meeting
Tirgu Mures, Romania, 25-27 August, 2003
Participants
Name
Organization
Domuschiev, Dobromir
Birds of Prey Society
Grebieniow, Anna
Salamandra
Ivanov, Ivelin
Green Balkans
Ivanyi, Anna
CEEweb
Kelemen Marton
Milvus Group
Kepel, Andrzej
Salamandra
Klisurov, Ivailo
Green Balkans
Lengyel Peter
UNESCO Pro Natura
Papp Tamas
Milvus Group
Paskova, Tana
BROZ
Minute-taker
Anna Iványi, CEEweb
26 August, 2003 – Workshop Day 1
9:30
Opening of the meeting
Introduction by Marton Kelemen
After welcoming the participants, Marton Kelemen briefly presented
the current situation and the threats in the CEE countries regarding
the illegal wildlife trade, and the significance of CITES (Convention
on the Illegal Trade of Endangered Species) and the relevant EU regulations
in managing this situation.
10:00
Presentation of the structure of CEEweb
by Anna Ivanyi
The presentation gave an overview on the structure of the CEEweb
network, the position of the Working Groups within this structure
and the documents regulating their operation, such as the by-laws
and the Memorandum of Understanding. This latter is the document determining
the conditions and circumstances under which the Working Group implements
its activities, and it also covers the duties and obligations of both
the Chair of the Working Group and the CEEweb Secretariat.
10:15
Presentation of the NGOs
All participating NGO had the opportunity to introduce their present
and planned activities, with special regards to illegal wildlife trade.
The scope of activity of the NGOs includes fieldwork, education, awareness
raising and also the operation of rescue centers.
11:45
Evaluation of questionnaires
by Marton Kelemen
All participating organizations had to fill in a questionnaire before
the meeting. Marton Kelemen evaluated these questionnaires and presented
the conclusions drawn.
The composition of the Working Group is rather diverse with regards
to their experience and knowledge level in the field of CITES related
issues, but they are all active in a wide range of biodiversity and
species protection, and they are strong, opinion-leader organizations.
The expectations of the participants are the following:
experience and information exchange
transfer of know-how
capacity building in order to further train other stakeholders
creating a common awareness raising campaign
publishing instructive materials with a common message
The members of the Working Group find important to focus on the relevant
EU legislation as well, as the CITES itself would change due to the
more stringent EU regulations. Another important concern is that illegal
trade is not only a problem of the border crossings, but also native
species are threatened by the illegal internal trade. Some of these
species are not listed in CITES, nevertheless the Working Group cannot
neglect their protection. The participants also mentioned their intention
to build up an online database about the implementation of CITES in
the CEE countries. The collection of such information can provide a
solid base to the improvement of law enforcement and effective implementation.
The Working Group would like to act as an initiator and become the driving
force of international cooperation with regards to implementing the
provisions of relevant regulations on all levels.
The presentation also included the offer of the member organizations:
they could contribute with their experiences and are willing to be an
integrated part of an effective information sharing mechanism. They
are also ready to take part in common projects, to prepare all publications
in national languages, and to monitor the implementation of the relevant
regulations on the national level.
The following conclusions could be drawn after the evaluation of the
submitted questionnaires: the Working Group has a solid scientific ground
and expertise to build upon, still the different level of experience
on the field of wildlife crime and illegal trade makes an initial training
necessary for the members of the Working Group.
At the end of the evaluation some designs of the Working Group logo
were presented, and the group raised some ideas and plans concerning
the logo. The participants agreed to ask their designers at home to
come up with some designs and also Milvus Group would make some modifications
of their proposed logo. The logos would be published on the web and
an open call would be made to everyone who is interested or has any
suggestions with regards to the logo of the Working Group.
12:15
Definition of the goal of the Working Group
15:00
Discussion about and the formulation of
the objectives and tasks of the Working Group
The outcome of this lively and constructive discussion is the Work
Programme.
17:30
Closing of the day
27 August, 2003 – Workshop Day 2
9:00
Finalization and approval of the
Work Programme
11:00
Review of the Memorandum
of Understanding
The participants reviewed the Memorandum of Understanding regulating
the operation of the Working Group, defining the competencies and the
obligations of the Chair and the CEEweb Secretariat. The Memorandum
of Understanding with one minor modification was approved.
11:30
Election of the Chair
After collecting and reviewing the requirements that the members expect
from the Chair of the Working Group to comply with, Marton Kelemen was
elected unanimously.
12:00
Discussion on the
internal rules
The participants agreed that the internal rules should regulate the
reporting system of the Working Group, the sanctions in case a member
organization or the Chair fails to comply with an appointed task. The
conditions of these issues were discussed and some parts of the internal
rules were adopted. The members agreed that the rest of the internal
rules would be prepared by the Chair as a draft, circulated through
the mailing list and then finalized. These unclosed issues included
among others the prerequisites for the future members of the Working
Group. All participants agreed that organizations applying for membership
in the Working Group should fulfil certain requirements, and these requirements
should be clarified soon, as the Working Group is willing to extend
its geographical scope and would like to involve further NGOs in the
near future to create an efficient network in the CEE region.
12:30
Discussion on the
steps to be taken in the near future
The group decided to target interested and competent NGOs to join the
activities of the Working Group. In this matter all members should actively
look for and invite other NGOs who could contribute to the effective operation
of the Working Group. A decision was also made on the necessity of a training
for the members in order to ensure a common level of understanding among
the members. So the very first task is to identify available funding possibilities
and organize a "train the trainer" course for the – by that
time already enlarged – Working Group, so that they can further train
their members and partners. The direct tasks also included the preparation
for the conference of Eurogroup Against Bird Crime (EABC) held in Budapest
1-3 September, as the representative of the Working Group was invited
to present the Work Programme. As the Chair of the Working Group, Marton
Kelemen would take part in the conference, and he was asked by other members
of the Working Group to identify the possible ways of cooperation with
EABC.
