§ Mr. LepperTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement about the issues discussed during the recent visit to Cuba by UK and EU officials and scientists in connection with the forthcoming meeting of the parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. [105810]
§ Mr. MullinIn September 1999, at Cuba's request, a delegation from the EU Scientific Review Group of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) conducted a fact finding mission to Cuba regarding the exploitation ofEretmochelys imbricate (hawksbill turtles). The mission met representatives of the Agencia de Medio Ambiente (AMA) of the Ministerio de Ciencia, Technologia y Medio Ambiente, the Cuban CITES Management Authority, and the Cuban Fisheries Research Center. It visited a traditional fishing site, an experimental ranching centre and turtle shell stockpiles. Issues discussed related to a draft proposal by Cuba on hawksbill turtles for the next CITES Conference of Parties (April 2000). The delegation looked at the implications of the proposal for both the Cuban and the wider Caribbean populations of hawksbill turtles, the quality of Cuba's captive rearing facilities, techniques for marketing shells, and conservation benefits arising from the proposal.
The delegation was impressed with the stringency of Cuban controls, but was unable to see key data on population or monitoring of nesting beaches, and so could not reach any firm conclusions.