[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 40 (Thursday, February 28, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13694-13695]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-04573]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R9-IA-2011-0087; FF09A30000 FXIA16710900000 134]


Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International 
Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES); Sixteenth 
Regular Meeting; Tentative U.S. Negotiating Positions for Agenda Items 
and Species Proposals Submitted by Foreign Governments and the CITES 
Secretariat

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: We, the United States, as a Party to the Convention on 
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora 
(CITES), will attend the sixteenth regular meeting of the Conference of 
the Parties to CITES (CoP16) in Bangkok, Thailand, during March 3-14, 
2013. This notice announces the availability of tentative U.S. 
negotiating positions on amendments to the CITES Appendices (species 
proposals), draft resolutions and decisions, and agenda items submitted 
by other countries and the CITES Secretariat for consideration at 
CoP16.

ADDRESSES: Copies of tentative U.S. negotiating positions on amendments 
to the CITES Appendices (species proposals), draft resolutions and 
decisions, and agenda items submitted by other countries and the CITES 
Secretariat for consideration at CoP16 are available:
     Electronically at: http//www.regulations.gov at Docket No. 
FWS-R9-IA-2011-0087, or on our Web site at http://www.fws.gov/international/cites/cop16/index.html;
     By email request to: [email protected]; or
     By postal mail or in person, by appointment, at: Division 
of Management Authority, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 4401 North 
Fairfax Drive, Room 212, Arlington, VA 22203.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information pertaining to 
resolutions, decisions, and agenda items contact: Robert R. Gabel, 
Chief, Division of Management Authority; telephone, 703-358-2095; 
email, [email protected]. For information pertaining to 
species proposals contact: Dr. Rosemarie Gnam, Chief, Division of 
Scientific Authority; telephone, 703-358-1708; email, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild 
Fauna and Flora, referred to here 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 become threatened with extinction. These species are listed in 
Appendices to CITES, which are available on the CITES Secretariat's Web 
site at http://www.cites.org/eng/app/index.php. Currently (as of 
January 29, 2013), 177 countries, including the United States, are 
Parties to CITES. The Convention calls for a meeting of the Conference 
of the Parties at least once every 2 years to review its 
implementation, make provisions enabling the CITES Secretariat to carry 
out its functions, consider amendments to the lists 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, and draft resolutions, decisions, and agenda items for 
consideration by all the Parties. Accredited nongovernmental 
organizations (NGOs) may participate in the meeting as approved 
observers and may speak during sessions when recognized by the meeting 
Chairman, but they may not vote or submit proposals.
    This is our seventh in a series of Federal Register notices on the 
development of U.S. submissions and tentative negotiating positions for 
CoP16. In this notice, we announce the availability of tentative U.S. 
negotiating positions on species proposals, draft resolutions and 
decisions, and agenda items submitted by other Parties and the 
Secretariat for consideration at CoP16. The ADDRESSES section, above, 
explains how to obtain a copy of all of this information. We published 
our first CoP16-related Federal Register notice on June 14, 2011 (76 FR 
34746), and with it we requested information and recommendations on 
species proposals for the United States to consider for submission to 
CoP16, and we also outlined our approach for the meeting. We published 
our second CoP16-related Federal Register notice on November 7, 2011 
(76 FR 68778), and with it we requested information and recommendations 
on resolutions, decisions, and agenda items for the United States to 
consider submitting for consideration at CoP16. We published our third 
such Federal Register notice on April 11, 2012 (77 FR 21798), and with 
it we announced taxa that the United States was considering submitting 
for consideration at CoP16. In our fourth Federal Register notice, 
published on June 21, 2012 (77 FR 37433), we informed the public of 
proposed resolutions, decisions, and agenda items that we were 
considering for submission for CoP16. This notice took into account all 
public comments received in response to the Federal Register notice 
published on November 7, 2011. In our fifth Federal Register notice, 
published on November 9, 2012 (77 FR 67390), we announced the 
provisional agenda for CoP16, solicited

[[Page 13695]]

comments on the items on the provisional agenda, and announced a public 
meeting for December 5, 2012. In our sixth Federal Register notice, 
published on November 28, 2012 (77 FR 71012), we announced a revised 
date for the public meeting: December 13, 2012.
    You may obtain information on the above Federal Register notices 
from the following sources. For information on draft resolutions and 
decisions, and agenda items, contact the Division of Management 
Authority (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, above); and for 
information on species proposals, contact the Division of Scientific 
Authority, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; 4401 North Fairfax Drive; 
Room 110; Arlington, VA 22203; telephone 703-358-1708; email, 
[email protected]. Our regulations governing this public 
process are found in 50 CFR 23.87. Pursuant to 50 CFR 23.87(a)(3)(iii), 
with this notice we are posting on http://www.regulations.gov (see 
Docket No. FWS-R9-IA-2011-0087) and on our Web site (http://www.fws.gov/international/publications-and-media/federal-register-notices.html) a summary of our proposed negotiating positions on the 
items included in the CoP16 agenda and proposed amendments to the 
Appendices, and the reasons for our proposed positions.

Tentative Negotiating Positions

    On http://www.regulations.gov (see Docket No. FWS-R9-IA-2011-0087) 
and on our Web site (http://www.fws.gov/international/publications-and-media/federal-register-notices.html), we summarize the tentative U.S. 
negotiating positions on proposals to amend the Appendices (species 
proposals), draft resolutions and decisions, and agenda items that have 
been submitted by other countries and the CITES Secretariat. Documents 
submitted by the United States either alone or as a co-proponent for 
consideration by the Parties at CoP16 can be found on the Secretariat's 
Web site at: http://www.cites.org/eng/cop/16/doc/index.php. Those 
documents are: CoP16 Doc. 40 and (co-sponsored with Botswana and South 
Africa) Doc. 52. The United States, either alone or as a co-proponent, 
submitted the following proposals to amend Appendices I and II: CoP16 
Props. 3, 28-32, 36-38, 42, 53, and 57. We will not provide any 
additional explanation of the U.S. negotiating positions for documents 
and proposals that the United States submitted. The introduction in the 
text of each of the documents the United States submitted contains a 
discussion of the background of the issue and the rationale for 
submitting the document.

Available Information on CoP16

    Information concerning the results of CoP16 will be available after 
the close of the meeting on the Secretariat's Web site at http://www.cites.org; or upon request from the Division of Management 
Authority (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, above); or on our Web 
site (http://www.fws.gov/international/cites/cop16/index.html).

Author

    This notice was prepared by Bruce J. Weissgold, Division of 
Management Authority.

Authority

    This notice is published under the authority of the U.S. Endangered 
Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

    Dated: February 21, 2013.
Rowan W. Gould,
Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-04573 Filed 2-27-13; 8:45 am]
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