International policy

Kew’s work is shaped by important international conventions. Primarily, the United Nations Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

International policy

As the scope of scientific research evolves, experts at Kew have also become involved in activities associated with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the Commission on Genetic Resources and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change  (UNFCCC). The Convention and Policies group has the task of relating Kew’s work to the remit of these international frameworks.

Regulating trade in plants

Set up in 1973, CITES uses a permit system to monitor and regulate international trade in plants and animals that are threatened, or potentially threatened in the wild by such international trade. Trade in over 25,000 plant species is now regulated through CITES.

Plant species are assigned Appendix I, II or III status according to how vulnerable they are.

• appendix I bans international trade in wild specimens
• appendix II requires a CITES permit for international trade, which is only issued if trade will not be detrimental to the species’ survival
• appendix III listed species that can be traded subject to certain export conditions

Science for sustainable use

Each of the 175 signed-up countries has a management authority that issues permits, and a scientific authority that provides advice on sustainable trade and conducts research into species affected by trade.

Kew is the Scientific Authority for Plants for CITES in the UK. We help to build capacity to implement and enforce CITES by producing CITES User Guides which target key plant groups in trade and by training UK and overseas CITES staff.

Preserving plant diversity

The CBD is an international treaty and framework aimed at developing legal, policy and scientific initiatives on biological diversity. It was established at the international Earth Summit held in Rio de Janiero in 1992, along with two other important concentions:

• the UNFCCC
• the UN Convention on Desertification (UNCCD)

The CBD came into force in 1993 and now 191 countries have signed up to it. The convention has three main objectives:

• to conserve biodiversity
• to use biological resources sustainably
• and to ensure that the benefits arising from genetic resources are shared equally

Kew has helped develop the CBD’s Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC), which has the ultimate aims of halting the current and continuing loss of plant diversity.

Promoting best practice

Kew works in partnership with institutions and governments in many countries, and advises the UK Government on CBD policy and practice.

To help botanists implement the CBD, Kew’s CBD unit developed a manual entitled The CBD for Botanists: An introduction to the Convention on Biological Diversity for people working with botanical collections.

This user-friendly manual is designed to guide botanical institutions on the CBD and how they can best implement its policies. The unit also recently compiled and distributed the Access and Benefit Sharing Bibliography and a guide to Kew’s role in implementing the GSPC.   

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