VZCZCXRO7610
RR RUEHIK
DE RUEHRL #0162/01 0361434
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 051434Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY BERLIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6490
INFO RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BERLIN 000162
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR OES/ENRC - Lloyd Gamble
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV KSCA CITES AORC UNEP GM
SUBJECT: GERMAN RESPONSE TO CITES COP15 DEMARCHE
REF: STATE 6668
BERLIN 00000162 001.2 OF 002
1. This is an action request, please see paragraph 10.
2. (U) Summary. On January 27, Econoff conveyed reftel
points and non-paper on U.S. proposals for the upcoming CITES
COP15 to Gerhard Adams and Karoline Hess in the German Federal
Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear
Safety. On February 4, Mr. Adams conveyed German support for
the U.S coral, snake and polar bear proposals, but expressed
concerns with the U.S. bobcat proposal. Germany is
considering the U.S. shark proposal, but requests U.S. support
for the EU shark proposal. Germany's positions ultimately
will be in line with the common EU positions. End Summary.
3. (U) GERMAN DELEGATION TO CITES COP15
Dr. Elsa Nickel (Head of Delegation)
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Nature Conservation Division
Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and
Nuclear Safety
Responsible for issues of high political priority
Elsa.nickel@bmu.bund.de
+49-0228-99-305-2605/-2606
Gerhard Adams (Deputy Head of Delegation)
Section Head, Office of Species Conservation
Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and
Nuclear Safety
Responsible for all issues, especially those of high political
priority, such as elephants
Gerhard.adams@bmu.bund.de
+49-0228-99-305-2631
Karoline Hess
Desk Officer, Office of Species Conservation
Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and
Nuclear Safety
Responsible for all issues, especially those of high political
priority, including listing criteria and introduction from the
sea
Frank Barsch
Desk Officer, Office of Species Conservation
Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and
Nuclear Safety
Responsible for tigers and other issues
Dr. Irina Sprotte
Head Advisor, Export and Import of Animals and Plants
(Enforcement of Species Protection)
German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation
Responsible for implementation issues, including ranching,
purpose codes and introduction from the sea
Dr. Uwe Schippmann
Head Advisor, Conservation of Botanical Species
German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation
Responsible for botanical issues
Michael Mller-Boge
Head Advisor for Legal Issues (Enforcement of Species
Protection)
German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation
Responsible for implementation issues such as electronic
permitting
Franz BQhmer
Deputy Head Advisor for Legal Issues (Enforcement of Species
Protection)
German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation
Responsible for enforcement issues
Harald Martens
Desk Officer, Conservation of Zoological Species
German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation
Responsible for zoological issues, including sharks, bluefin
tuna, corals and polar bears
Ulrich Schepp
Desk Officer, Conservation of Zoological Species
German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation
Responsible for zoological issues, including snake trade and
bobcats
Hans-Josef Schmitz-Kretschmer
Desk Officer, Conservation of Botanical Species
German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation
Responsible for botanical issues, including tropical timber
BERLIN 00000162 002.2 OF 002
Christian Stang
Administrative Assistant
Nordrhein-Westfalen Ministry for Environment, Nature
Conservation, Agriculture and Consumer Protection
Responsible for financial issues
Dr. Ingo Strmer
Advisor to the German delegation on sharks
Petra Deimer
Advisor to the German delegation on various issues
Dr. Sarah Fowler
Advisor to the German delegation on sharks
Sharks: Germany Proposes Mutual Support
-------------------------------------
4. (U) Germany is considering the U.S. shark proposal, but
requests U.S. support for the EU shark proposal. The EU shark
proposal, which Germany initiated, proposes listing the
porbeagle (lamna nasus) and spiny dogfish (squalus
acanthias)in CITES Appendix II. The German government
believes that the U.S. will support the porbeagle proposal,
but has no clear information on the U.S. position on the spiny
dogfish proposal. In addition, Germany has proposed a joint
EU/U.S. side event on shark proposals during the COP15. They
have not yet received an answer from the U.S.
Corals
------
5. (U) Germany supports the U.S. coral proposal, as the EU is
a co-sponsor. Germany has doubts as to whether there is
sufficient scientific information to support the coral
proposal, but supports listing corals in Appendix II as a
precaution.
Polar Bears
----------
6. (U) Germany supports the U.S. polar bear proposal, but
requests additional information to defend the proposal within
the EU. Germany questions if the trade in polar bear products
and the threats to polar bear habitats truly fulfill the
criteria to list polar bears in Appendix I.
Bobcats
-------
7. (U) Germany does not support the U.S. proposal. Experts
from the German Environment Ministry and German Customs Agency
do not believe that they have adequate guidelines to
distinguish lynx furs from bobcat furs. They have reviewed
the proposed U.S. guidelines, but do not think they are
sufficient, especially for furs without tails or ears. They
suggested that other European countries agree with this
assessment.
Snakes
------
8. (U) Germany supports the joint U.S./China proposal.
German Requests
--------------
9. (U) Germany requested U.S. assistance to reach agreement
on document 27, "Introduction from the Sea" and document 63,
"Criteria to Include Species in Appendices I and II." Germany
supports the CITES secretariat's position on introduction from
the sea and hopes to develop common procedures to handle
marine species harvested in international waters. Germany
believes that strengthening the criteria for including marine
species in the CITES appendices to match those for including
land species will prevent overexploitation of marine species.
Action Request
-------------
10. (U) Action Request. Post requests guidance on the U.S.
position on the EU shark proposal, CITES document 27 and
document 63. In addition, Post requests guidance on the
German proposal for joint EU/U.S. shark event at the COP15.
MURPHY