§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the voting position registered by the United Kingdom delegation to the CITES Conference of the Parties in Harare on each of the species listing proposals and draft resolutions presented to the conference for which a vote was called. [8165]
§ Angela EagleI refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment to my hon. Friend the Member for Barnsley, East and Mexborough (Mr. Ennis) on 8 July,Official Report, column 449, which reports the main decisions taken by the Conference. The United Kingdom's position in the final votes taken on substantive matters is set out below. The UK delegation voted in accordance with the European Union's Common Position on all the species proposals and on those draft resolutions or decisions for which there was EU competence.
Of the 34 substantive votes listed, 12 were taken by secret ballot. Under the current rules of procedure in CITES, any vote can be determined by secret ballot if at least 10 Parties request this. The UK is opposed to the use of secret ballots for votes on policy issues in CITES, especially on such a large scale, and we will be seeking to persuade other Parties to limit their use in future.
12W
Issue Support Oppose Abstain Downlisting of Eschrichtius robustus (Gray whale) to Appendix II — X — Downlisting of the Okhotsk Sea West Pacific stock of Balaenoptera acutorostrata (Minke whale) to Appendix II — X —
Issue Support Oppose Abstain Downlisting of the Southern Ocean population of Balaenoptera acutorostrata (Minke whale) to Appendix II — X — Downlisting of two Atlantic populations of Balaenoptera acutorostrata (Minke whale) to Appendix II — X — Uplisting of all remaining European, Eurasian, Caucasian and Asian populations of Ursos arctos (Brown bear) to Appendix I — — X Separate consideration of the uplisting of various individual populations of Ursos arctos (Brown bear) to Appendix I — X — Amendment to annotation on the South African population of Ceratotherium simum simum (southern White Rhinoceros) to allow trade in rhino products — X — Uplisting of Vini kuhlii (Kuhl's lorikeet) to Appendix I X — — Uplisting of Vini peruviana (Blue lorikeet) to Appendix I X — — Uplisting of Vini ultramarina (Ultramarine lorikeet) to Appendix I X — — Inclusion in Appendix II of Liocichla omeiensis (Omei Shan liocichla) X — — Inclusion in Appendix I of Padda oryzivora (Java sparrow) X — — Inclusion in Appendix II of Graptemys spp (Map turtles) — X — Downlisting of the Cuban population of Eretmochelys imbricata (Hawksbill turtle) to Appendix II — X — Downlisting of the Bangladesh population of Varanus bengalensis (Bengal monitor) to Appendix II — X — Downlisting of the Bangladesh population of Varanus flavescens (Yellow monitor) to Appendix II — X — Inclusion of Pristiformes (Sawfish) in Appendix I — X — Amendment to an annotation to indicate that seeds and pollen with the exception of seeds from Mexican cacti originating in Mexico, were included in Appendix II X — — Inclusion of all neotropical populations ofSwietenia macrophylla (American mahogany) on Appendix II X — — Inclusion of Hydrastis canadensis (Goldenseal) on Appendix II X — — Inclusion of Picrorhiza kurrooa (Kutki) in Appendix II X — — Inclusion of Nardostachys grandiflora (Spikenard) on Appendix II X — — Proposals to downlist the Botswanan, Namibian and Zimbabwean populations of Loxodonta africana (African elephant) to Appendix II — — X Conditions for the resumption of trade in African elephant ivory from populations transferred to Appendix II — — X Conditions for the disposal of ivory stocks and generating resources for conservation in elephant range states X — — Principle of drawing down on the Convention Trust Fund to fund the Budget for 1998–2000 X — — Budget for 1998–2000—0 per cent. increase in contributions — X — Budget for 1998–2000—5 per cent, increase in contributions X — — Establishment of Working Group on Illegal Trade in CITES specimens X — — Resolution on Relationship with the International Whaling Commission — X — Amendment to Annex 6 of Document 10.52 (implementation of Convention for timber species) — X — Revision of Document 10.7 (Regional representation) — — X Proposal to register the Falcon Centre Halvesiek as a commercial captive breeding operation — X — Establishment of a Working Group on Marine Fish Species X — —