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What is the full form of CITES?
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Answer: Option B — Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
Detailed Solution
CITES stands for the "Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora".
About CITES:
- It is an international agreement between governments to ensure that international trade in wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.
- It was signed on 3 March 1973 in Washington, D.C., USA, so it is also called the "Washington Convention".
- It came into force on 1 July 1975.
- India became a party in 1976.
- It has about 185 parties (184 countries and the European Union).
- Its Secretariat is in Geneva, Switzerland, and is administered by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
It is legally binding on its parties, but each country must make its own laws to implement it. In India, it is implemented through the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, which was amended in 2022 to include a schedule for CITES species.
Appendices of CITES:
Appendix I: species threatened with extinction (for example, tigers, Asian elephants, snow leopards and gorillas). Commercial trade is generally prohibited.
Appendix II: species not necessarily threatened with extinction now, but which may become so unless trade is controlled. Trade is allowed with permits.
Appendix III: species protected in at least one country, which has asked other parties for help in controlling trade.
It covers more than 40,000 species of animals and plants.
Conference of the Parties (CoP):
It meets every two to three years. CoP3 was held in New Delhi in 1981. CoP19 was held in Panama in 2022, and CoP20 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, in 2025.
World Wildlife Day:
- It is observed on 3 March, the date CITES was signed.
- In India, the "Wildlife Crime Control Bureau" helps implement CITES.
Why not the other options?
- ✗"Convention for International Trade and Environmental Safety" is not the correct expansion.
- ✗"Council on International Treaties on Endangered Species" is not the correct expansion.
- ✗"Commission on International Trade in Ecological Systems" is not the correct expansion.
Quick tip
Remember: CITES = Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Washington, 3 March 1973; in force 1975; India joined 1976; Secretariat Geneva; Appendices I, II, III); World Wildlife Day = 3 March.
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This question tests your understanding of Environmental Conventions, Laws & Organisations, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers international environmental agreements, such as the Montreal Protocol, the Kyoto Protocol, the Paris Agreement, the Ramsar Convention and the Convention on Biological Diversity, Indian environmental laws, and environmental organisations and movements such as the Chipko movement. Questions usually ask what an agreement deals with (the Montreal Protocol protects the ozone layer, and the Ramsar Convention protects wetlands), when India passed an environmental law (such as the Environment Protection Act 1986), and who led a movement (Sunderlal Bahuguna is associated with the Chipko movement). Climate summit outcomes change every year, so check current affairs. Practise the environmental conventions and laws questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.