Pangolins

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

The 19th Conference of Parties (COP19) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) urged countries to remove references to parts and derivatives of pangolins “from the official pharmacopoeia” to help save the species.

• The pangolin is ‘the most trafficked animal in the world’. Pangolins are listed in Appendix I of CITES in accordance with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Red List.
• This means that the species is threatened with extinction. There are eight species of pangolins in the world of which the Indian Pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) and the Chinese Pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) are found in India.

About the Pangolin

• They are scaly anteater mammals of the order Pholidota.

The Pangolin Conservation Status:

• IUCN Status: Endangered (India- Endangered, Chinese Pangolin- Critically Endangered)
• Wildlife Protection Act,1972: Under Schedule I of WPA, 1972

Animal Description

• It has large, overlapping scales on its body that act as armour.
• It can also curl itself into a ball (volvation) as self-defence against predators such as the tiger.
• The nocturnal animal lives in burrows and feed on ants and termites.

Indian Pangolin

• Indian Pangolin is a large anteater covered by 11-13 rows of scales on the back. A terminal scale is also present on the lower side of the tail of the Indian Pangolin, which is absent in the Chinese Pangolin.
• The species is found in various types of tropical forests as well as open land, grasslands, and degraded habitats, including in close proximity to villages.
• Indian Pangolin is widely distributed in India, except the arid region, high Himalayas and the North-East. It can be found at elevation up to 2500 m. The species also occurs in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

Chinese Pangolin

• It is found in the Himalayan foothills in Eastern Nepal, Bhutan, Northern India, North-East Bangladesh and through Southern China.
• It is adaptable to a wide range of habitats including primary and secondary tropical forests, limestone and bamboo forests, grasslands, and agricultural fields.

Threats

• Trafficking of live pangolin and its scales is a highly lucrative business for the organized mafia who exploit poor and vulnerable forest-dwelling communities for their criminal interests.
• Hunting and poaching for local consumptive use (e.g. as a protein source and traditional medicine) and international trade, for its meat and scales.
• Heavy Deforestation of their Habitat.

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)

• It is an international agreement between governments.
• CITES regulates international trade in specimens of species of wild fauna and flora based on a system of permits and certificates issued under certain conditions.
• It covers export, re-export, import and landing from the high seas of live and dead animals and plants and their parts and derivatives.
• CITES has now 183 Parties. Not all members of the United Nations are Parties to the Convention.
• The CITES Secretariat is hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Origin

• It was drafted as a result of a resolution adopted in 1963 at a meeting of members of IUCN (The World Conservation Union).
• The text of the Convention was finally agreed at a meeting of representatives of 80 countries in Washington, D.C, on 3 March 1973, and on 1 July 1975 CITES entered in force.

Question: How far the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) is able to control international of species? Discuss.