Commission Regulation (EC) No 1332/2005 of 9 August 2005 amending Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 of 9 December 1996 on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein^f1, and in particular Article 19(3), thereof,

Whereas:

At the 13th session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, hereinafter ‘the Convention’, held in Bangkok (Thailand) in October 2004, certain amendments were made to the Appendices to the Convention.

The species Orcaella brevirostris, Cacatua sulphurea, Amazona finschi, Pyxis arachnoides and Chrysalidocarpus decipiens were transfered from Appendix II to the Convention to Appendix I thereto.

The species Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Cattleya trianaei and Vanda coerulea, the Swaziland population of Ceratotherium simum simum (for the exclusive purpose of allowing international trade in hunting trophies and in live animals to appropriate and acceptable destinations), the Cuban population of Crocodylus acutus and the Namibian population of Crocodylus niloticus were transfered from Appendix I to the Convention to Appendix II thereto.

The annotations for the listings in Appendix II to the Convention of the species Loxodonta africana (populations of Namibia and South Africa), Euphorbia spp., Orchidaceae, Cistanche deserticola and Taxus wallichiana were amended.

The species Malayemis subtrijuga, Notochelys platynota, Amyda cartilaginea, Carettochelys insculpta, Chelodina mccordi, Uroplatus spp., Carcharodon carcharias (currently listed on Appendix III), Cheilinus undulatus, Lithophaga lithophaga, Hoodia spp., Taxus chinensis, T. cuspidata, T. fuana, T. sumatrana), Aquilaria spp. (except for A. malaccensis, which was already listed in Appendix II), Gyrinops spp. and Gonystylus spp. (previously listed in Appendix III) were included in Appendix II to the Convention.

The species Agapornis roseicollis was deleted from Appendix II to the Convention.

Subsequent to the thirteenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention, the Chinese populations of the species Chinemys megalocephala, C. nigricans, C. reevesii, Geoemyda spengleri, Mauremys iversoni, M. pritchardi, Ocadia glyhpistoma, O. philippeni, O. sinensis, Sacalia bealei, S. pseudocellata, S. quadriocellata, Palea steindachneri, Pelodiscus axenaria, P. maackii, P. parviformis, P. sinensis and Rafetus swinhoei were subsequently been added to Appendix III of the Convention at the request of China .

None of the Member States have entered a reservation in respect of any of those amendments.

The thirteenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention also adopted new taxonomic references which necessitate the renaming and taxonomic reordering of some of the species listed in the Appendices to the Convention.

The amendments made to Appendices I, II and III to the Convention therefore necessitate amendments to Annexes A, B and C of the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 338/97.

Despite the fact that the species Haliaeetus leucocephalus was transfered to Appendix II to the Convention, Article 6(1) of Council Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979 on the conservation of wild birds^f2 justifies its retention in Annex A of the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 338/97.

In accordance with the requirements of Article 12(2) of Council Directive 92/43/EEC of the 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora^f3, Orcaella brevirostris is already listed in Annex A of the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 338/97.

The species Arisaema jacquemontii, A. speciosum, A. triphyllum, Biaris davisii ssp. davisii, Othonna armiana, O. euphorbioides, O. lobata, Adenia fruticosa, A. spinosa, Ceraria gariepina, C. longipedunculata, C. namaquensis, C. pygmaea, C. schaeferi, Trillium catesbaei, T. cernuum, T. flexipes, T. grandiflorum, T. luteum, T. recurvatum and T. undulatum - all currently included in Annex D of the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 338/97 - are not imported into the Community in such numbers as to warrant monitoring. Those species should therefore be deleted from Annex D.

On the other hand, Selaginella lepidophylla, not currently listed in Annexes A, B, C or D of the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 338/97 is being imported into the Community in such numbers as to warrant monitoring. That species should therefore be included in Annex D of the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 338/97.

The nature of the trade in Harpagophytum spp., currently listed in Annex D of the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 338/97, is such that the trade in dead plant material, as well as in live plants, warrants monitoring. The listing of that genus should therefore be amended by the insertion of an annotation to this effect.

In view of the extent of the amendments it is appropriate, for clarity purposes, to replace the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 338/97 in its entirety.

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee on Trade in Wild Fauna and Flora,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: