Consensus classifications are crucial for conservation : how CITES utilizes checklists

Abstract

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is an end-user of the consensus classifications and checklists produced by global initiatives such as the World Flora Online (WFO). This paper provides a brief background on CITES and the impact of classification and nomenclature changes on the CITES processes and enforcement of CITES regulations, with a focus on plants. The importance of global consensus classifications for CITES-listed plants is highlighted and the ways in which CITES utilizes checklists are illustrated. The WFO and especially the Taxonomic Expert Networks can, and already do, make huge contributions towards the production of checklists for CITES.