Appendix I
Definition
The highest protection tier in CITES, listing species threatened with extinction. Commercial international trade is prohibited; non-commercial trade requires both export and import permits.
- Framework
- CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species)
- Protection level
- Highest tier, species threatened with extinction
- Commercial trade
- Prohibited
- Non-commercial trade
- Requires both export and import permits
Common questions
What kind of trade is still allowed for Appendix I species?+
Non-commercial exchanges such as accredited scientific research, zoo breeding loans, or personal effects can proceed, but only with permits issued by both the exporting and importing country's CITES management authorities.
What happens if a species listed in Appendix I is seized without permits?+
The specimen or product is treated as contraband under the importing and exporting states' domestic wildlife statutes, which typically carry criminal penalties, and forensic wildlife labs are called on to confirm species identity from morphology or DNA.
Related terms
- Appendix II
- The intermediate CITES tier, covering species not yet threatened but requiring controlled trade. Export permits require a non-detriment finding from the exporting...
- CITES
- The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, a multilateral treaty signed in 1973 now with over...
- EU Regulation 338/97
- The European Union's main wildlife trade instrument, implementing CITES and in many respects going further, applying to internal as well as international...
- Lacey Act
- US federal legislation originally from 1900, substantially amended in 1981 and 2008, that prohibits trade in wildlife taken in violation of any...
- Non-Detriment Finding (NDF)
- A Scientific Authority's determination that a proposed export will not be detrimental to the survival of the species in the wild, required...