Descrizione 1
Stefania Ercole
The number and outcomes of inspections carried out over the last 14 years (2010-2023) to verify compliance with the Washington Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) are analyzed. The indicator shows a rise in offenses in recent years.
Over the last six years (2018-2023), the total number of offenses increased from an average of 299 (2012-2017) to 769. In 2023a total of 4,063 inspections were conducted, identifying 769 offenses, of which 483 were administrative violations and 286 were criminal offenses, leading to fines amounting to €1,471,412 for administrative infractions.
The indicator displays the number and outcomes of inspections conducted annually by the Operational Units of the CITES Carabinieri Task Force, in terms of sanctions and seizures, to ensure compliance with the Washington Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
To highlight the actions taken to protect biodiversity in the context of international trade in animal and plant species.
The Washington Convention (CITES) is an international agreement signed in 1975 to regulate the trade of wild fauna and flora species threatened with extinction. The primary goal of the Convention is to ensure that the international commercial exploitation of wildlife is sustainable for each species and compatible with their ecological role in their natural habitat.
The CITES Appendices list over 35,000 species of animals and plants with varying levels of protection. The Convention applies to both live and dead specimens, as well as their parts (e.g., ivory, skins) and derivatives (e.g., medicinal products derived from animals or plants).
CITES Member States work together by regulating the trade of listed species through the issuance of licenses and certificates.
CITES has been fully adopted within the European Union through directly applicable regulations. The current EU regulations governing CITES include:
Council Regulation (EC) No. 338/97 of 9 December 1996
Commission Regulation (EC) No. 865/2006 of 4 May 2006 (Implementation Regulation)
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 792/2012 of 23 August 2012
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 1587/2019 of 24 September 2019
Member States may adopt stricter national measures, for example, regarding the possession or trade of certain species.
Italy ratified the Washington Convention with Law No. 874 of 19 December 1975. Under Legislative Decree No. 300 of 30 July 1999, the primary CITES Management Authority in Italy is the Ministry of Environment, responsible for policy direction, administration, and coordination.
The authority responsible for issuing CITES certificates is the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry Policies, which relies on the Carabinieri’s Forestry, Environmental, and Agri-Food Units Command (CUFA). The authority in charge of issuing import and export licenses is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
Enforcement of the Convention, EU regulations, and national laws is carried out by the CITES Carabinieri Task Force across Italy and by the Guardia di Finanza in customs areas.
Italy has legislated criminal offenses related to the enforcement of the Convention and EU regulations through Law No. 150 of 7 February 1992. This law includes stricter measures than those outlined in CITES and EU regulations, such as: a ban on possessing live specimens of mammals and reptiles that could pose a danger to public health and safety;a mandatory register for commercial activities that possess live or dead specimens, parts, or derivatives of species listed in Annexes A and B of Regulation 338/97.
Descrizione 2
The total number of inspections conducted cannot be fully compared within the 2010-2023 dataset, as data on customs inspections have not been available since 2017 (Table 1). The data collected during 2017-2018 may have been affected by the integration in January 2017 of the State Forestry Corps into the Carabinieri Corp. This transition led to a partial reorganization of data management and, from 2019 onwards, enabled a more detailed classification of offenses and seizures, distinguishing categories such as fauna, flora, and domestic and foreign timber.
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Qualificazione dati
Request to the CITES Grouping of the CUFA (Forestry Environmental and Agribusiness Unit Command) of the Carabinieri Corps, into which the State Forestry Corps has been merged since January 2017.
National
2010-2023
Qualificazione indicatore
Data are organized into tables and graphically processed using Excel.
The CITES enforcement activities play a crucial role in regulating the international commercial exploitation of wild fauna and flora and have proven effective in detecting numerous offenses. In 2023, a total of 4,063 inspections were conducted, uncovering 769 total offenses (483 administrative and 286 criminal), with administrative fines amounting to €1,471,413.
Status is classified as medium because offenses continue to be highly prevalent, mainly affecting fauna species and, secondarily, timber, especially from foreign sources and the financial penalties imposed remain substantial (Table 2).
An increasing trend in the number of offenses is observed (Figure 1). Over the past six years (2018-2023), the average number of total offenses was 769, marking a sharp increase compared to the previous period (2012-2017), when the average was 299. Additionally, since 2018, the total amount of fines for administrative offenses has significantly increased, rising from an average of €511,007 between 2012 and 2017 to an average of €2,151,556 between 2018 and 2023.
Dati
Table 1: Control actions carried out in CITES enforcement (2010-2018)
CFS - State Forestry Corps; CUFA - Carabinieri Corps Environmental and Agri-food Forestry Unit Command
n.d.: data not available
Data for the 2017-2018 biennium may be affected by the transition of the State Forestry Corps into the Carabinieri Corps as of Jan. 1, 2017
Table 2: Control actions carried out in CITES enforcement (2019-2023)
CUFA - Forestry Environmental and Agri-food Units Command of the Carabinieri Corps
Figure 1: Number of criminal and administrative offenses by year
CFS - State Forestry Corps; CUFA - Carabinieri Corps Environmental and Agri-food Forestry Unit Command
CITES offenses may involve live animals, bodies, animal products and derivatives, live plants, plant derivatives, timber, as well as other categories such as ivory, shells, corals, wood, caviar, and medicinal products.
In 2023, a total of 769 offenses were recorded, including 483 administrative and 286 criminal offenses, with total fines amounting to €1,471,413 (Table 2). The seizures carried out in 2023 included 12 administrative and 219 criminal cases, almost exclusively related to fauna (Table 2). This is consistent with the fact that fauna-related offenses and seizures have always been the most frequent and heavily sanctioned. Additionally, timber continues to be a category subject to numerous fines.