[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 59 (Wednesday, March 27, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14728-14729]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-7313]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service


Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International 
Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES); Twelfth 
Regular Meeting; Public Meeting; Observer Information

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The United States, as a Party to the Convention on 
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora 
(CITES), may submit proposed resolutions, decisions, and agenda items 
for consideration at meetings of the Conference of the Parties to 
CITES. The United States may also propose amendments to the CITES 
Appendices for consideration at meetings of the Conference of the 
Parties. The twelfth regular meeting of the Conference of the Parties 
to CITES (COP12) will be held in Santiago, Chile, November 3-15, 2002.
    With this notice we:
    Announce a public meeting to discuss proposed amendments to the 
CITES Appendices (species proposals), resolutions, decisions, and 
agenda items that the United States is considering submitting for 
consideration at COP12; and
    Provide information on how non-governmental organizations based in 
the United States can attend COP12 as observers.

DATES: The public meeting will be held on April 17, 2002, at 1:30 p.m. 
We will consider written information and comments you submit concerning 
potential species proposals, proposed resolutions, proposed decisions, 
and agenda items that the United States is considering submitting for 
consideration at COP12, and other items relating to COP12, if we 
receive them by May 17, 2002.

ADDRESSES:

Public Meeting

    The public meeting will be held in Sidney Yates Auditorium, in the 
Department of the Interior at 18th and C Streets, N.W., Washington, 
D.C. Directions to the building can be obtained by contacting the 
Division of Management Authority (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, 
below).

Available Information

    Information concerning potential species proposals, proposed 
resolutions, proposed decisions, and agenda items that the United 
States is considering submitting for consideration at COP12 is 
available upon request from the Division of Management Authority; U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 North Fairfax Drive; Room 700; 
Arlington, VA 22203. Effective April 1, 2002, this information will 
also be available from our World Wide Web site (http://international.fws.gov/cites/cites.html) and via our Faxback system. You 
may obtain the information via the Faxback system by dialing 703/358-
2400, our Faxback telephone number, following the automated 
instructions, and entering Document Number 5054 when prompted to enter 
a document number.

Comment Submission

    Comments pertaining to proposed resolutions, proposed decisions, 
and/or agenda items should be sent to the Division of Management 
Authority; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 North Fairfax Drive; 
Room 700; Arlington, VA 22203, or via E-mail at: fw9 [email protected], or 
via fax at: 703/358-2298. Comments pertaining to species proposals 
should be sent to the Division of Scientific Authority; U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service; 4401 North Fairfax Drive; Room 750; Arlington, VA 
22203, or via e-mail at: fw9 scientific [email protected], or via fax 
at: 703/358-2276. Comments and materials received will be available for 
public inspection, by appointment, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, at either the Division of Management Authority or the 
Division of Scientific Authority.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrea Gaski, Division of Management 
Authority, Branch of CITES Operations, phone: 703/358-2095, fax: 703/
358-2298, E-mail: fw9 [email protected]; or Robert R. Gabel, Division of 
Scientific Authority, phone: 703/358-1708, fax: 703/358-2276, E-mail: 
fw9 scientific [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild 
Fauna and Flora, hereinafter referred to as CITES or the Convention, is 
an international treaty designed to control and regulate international 
trade in certain animal and plant species that are now or potentially 
may be threatened with extinction if their trade is not controlled. 
These species are listed in Appendices to CITES, copies of which are 
available from the Division of Management Authority or the Division of 
Scientific Authority at the above addresses, from our World Wide Web 
site at http://international.fws.gov/cites/cites.html, or from the 
official CITES Secretariat Website at http://www.cites.org/eng/append/index.shtml. Currently, 157 countries, including the United States, are 
Parties to CITES. CITES calls for biennial meetings of the Conference 
of the Parties, which review its implementation, make provisions 
enabling the CITES Secretariat in Switzerland to carry out its 
functions, consider amendments to the list of species in Appendices I 
and II, consider reports presented by the Secretariat, and make 
recommendations for the improved effectiveness of CITES. Any country 
that is a Party to CITES may propose amendments to Appendices I and II, 
resolutions, decisions, and agenda items for consideration by the other 
Parties.
    This is our third in a series of Federal Register notices that 
provide you with an opportunity to participate in the development of 
the United States' negotiating positions for the twelfth regular 
meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES (COP12). We published 
our first such Federal Register notice on June 12, 2001 (66 FR 31686), 
and with it we requested information and recommendations on potential 
species amendments for the United States to consider proposing at 
COP12. Information on that Federal Register notice, and on species 
amendment proposals, is available from the Division of Scientific 
Authority at the above address. We published our second such Federal 
Register notice on July 25, 2001 (66 FR 38739), and with it we 
requested information and recommendations on potential resolutions, 
decisions, and agenda items for the United States to submit for 
consideration at COP12. You may obtain information on that Federal 
Register notice, and on proposed resolutions, proposed decisions, and 
agenda items, from the Division of Management Authority at the above 
address. You may locate our regulations governing this public process 
in 50 CFR 23.31-23.39.
    COP12 is scheduled to be held in Santiago, Chile, November 3-15, 
2002.

Announcement of Public Meeting

    We announce that we will hold a public meeting to discuss with you 
species proposals, proposed resolutions, proposed decisions, and agenda 
items

[[Page 14729]]

that the United States is considering submitting for consideration at 
COP12. The public meeting will be held on April 17, 2002, from 1:30 
p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Sidney Yates Auditorium of the Department of the 
Interior at 18th and C Streets, NW., Washington, DC. You can obtain 
directions to the building by contacting the Division of Management 
Authority (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, above). Sidney Yates 
Auditorium is accessible to the handicapped. Persons planning to attend 
the meeting who require interpretation for the hearing impaired should 
notify the Division of Management Authority as soon as possible. All 
persons planning to attend the meeting will be required to present 
photo identification when entering the building.

Observers

    Article XI, paragraph 7 of CITES states the following:
    ``Any body or agency technically qualified in protection, 
conservation or management of wild fauna and flora, in the following 
categories, which has informed the Secretariat of its desire to be 
represented at meetings of the Conference by observers, shall be 
admitted unless at least one-third of the Parties present object:
    (a) International agencies or bodies, either governmental or non-
governmental, and national governmental agencies and bodies; and
    (b) National non-governmental agencies or bodies which have been 
approved for this purpose by the State in which they are located.
    Once admitted, these observers shall have the right to participate 
but not to vote.''
    Persons wishing to be observers representing international non-
governmental organizations (which must have offices in more than one 
country) at COP12 may request approval directly from the CITES 
Secretariat. Persons wishing to be observers representing U.S. national 
non-governmental organizations at COP12 must receive prior approval 
from our Division of Management Authority. Once we grant our approval, 
a U.S. national non-governmental organization is eligible to register 
with the Secretariat and must do so at least one month prior to the 
opening of COP12 to participate in COP12 as an observer. Individuals 
who are not affiliated with an organization may not register as 
observers. An international non-governmental organization with at least 
one office in the United States may register as a U.S. non-governmental 
organization if it prefers.
    A request submitted to us for approval as an observer should 
include evidence of technical qualifications in protection, 
conservation, or management of wild fauna and/or flora, on the part of 
both the organization and the individual representative(s). The request 
should also include copies of the organization's charter and/or bylaws, 
and a list of representatives it intends to send to COP12. An 
organization that we have previously approved as an observer at a 
meeting of the Conference of the Parties within the past five years 
must submit a request but does not need to provide as much detailed 
information concerning its qualifications as an organization seeking 
approval for the first time. Organizations seeking approval for the 
first time should detail their experience in the protection, 
conservation, or management of wild fauna and/or flora, as well as 
their purposes for wishing to participate in COP12 as an observer. 
These requests should be sent to the Division of Management Authority 
(see ADDRESSES, above).
    Once we approve an organization as an observer, we will send the 
organization instructions for registration with the CITES Secretariat 
in Switzerland, including a meeting registration form and relevant 
travel and hotel information. Any organization requesting approval for 
observer status at COP12 will be added to our CITES Mailing List if it 
is not already included, and will receive notice of all future Federal 
Register notices and other information pertaining to COP12. A list of 
organizations approved for observer status at COP12 will be available 
upon request from the Division of Management Authority just prior to 
the start of COP12. The deadline for registration of an organization as 
an observer at COP12 is one month prior to the opening of the COP.

Future Actions

    The United States must submit any species proposals, proposed 
resolutions, proposed decisions, and agenda items for consideration at 
COP12, to the CITES Secretariat 150 days prior to the start of the 
meeting (i.e., by June 6, 2002). We are planning to soon publish a 
Federal Register notice announcing species proposals, proposed 
resolutions, proposed decisions, and agenda items that the United 
States is considering submitting to COP12, and soliciting further 
information and comments on them. We will consider all available 
information and comments, including those presented at the public 
meeting (see DATES above) or received in writing during the comment 
period, in deciding which species proposals, proposed resolutions, 
proposed decisions, and agenda items warrant submission by the United 
States for consideration of the Parties. Those we decide to submit for 
consideration at COP12 will be submitted to the CITES Secretariat by 
June 6, 2002.
    We expect the CITES Secretariat to provide us with a provisional 
agenda for COP12 within the next several months. Once we receive the 
provisional agenda, we will publish it in a Federal Register notice. We 
will also plan to provide it through our Website, if it is available.
    Approximately four months prior to COP12, we plan to announce those 
species proposals, proposed resolutions, proposed decisions, and agenda 
items submitted by the United States to the CITES Secretariat for 
consideration at COP12 by posting a notice on our Website, if it is 
available.
    Through a Federal Register notice approximately two months prior to 
COP12, we will publish the provisional agenda for COP12 and inform you 
about proposed U.S. negotiating positions on proposals to amend the 
Appendices, draft resolutions, draft decisions, discussion papers, and 
other issues before the Parties for consideration at COP12. We will 
also publish an announcement of a public meeting that we expect to hold 
approximately 30 to 45 days prior to COP12, to receive public input on 
our positions regarding COP12 issues.
    Prior to COP12, we plan to post on our Website (if it is available) 
any changes the United States makes to its proposed negotiating 
positions contained in the Federal Register notice referred to in the 
above paragraph.

    Authority: The primary author of this notice is Mark Albert, 
Division of Management Authority; under the authority of the U.S. 
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

    Dated: March 12, 2002.
Steve Williams,
Director.
[FR Doc. 02-7313 Filed 3-26-02; 8:45 am]
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