The Three Appendices Are Not Equal
CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Wild Fauna and Flora, sorts species into three appendices, and the difference between them is the difference between a ban and a bureaucratic speed bump. Appendix I prohibits all commercial international trade in the listed species. Appendix II permits trade but requires export permits and proof that the harvest is not detrimental to the wild population. Appendix III is a unilateral flag: one country asks other signatories to help it monitor trade in a species it is already protecting domestically.
