What is CITES and how
does it affect ginseng growers in
By Randi Pokladnik
CITES is an international agreement between
governments who deal in trade of the various species listed in the agreement.
The agreement was put in place to hopefully control international trade
in order to ensure that the survival of these species is not threatened.
The idea for the agreement was first embarked upon in 1963. As a result
of a resolution between members of the World Conservation Union, representatives
of eighty countries signed a formal agreement in 1973 and in 1975, CITES
went into action.
Today, trade in plant and animal species is estimated
to be in the billions of dollars. Some species have approached the verge
of extinction due to loss of habitat and over-harvesting. Since the Convention
was in-acted, however, not one species has become extinct. Now 166 parties
are collectively involved in CITES.
The
Part of the agreement requires that each of the 166
parties involved designate a management authority to oversee a licensing
system and a scientific authority to take charge of evaluating the effects
of trade on the status of the species. Whenever a ginseng root is sold,
appropriate documentation is necessary to ensure that only legal roots
of a specified age are involved in commerce. The program also evaluates
the status of the species to ensure harvest will not be detrimental to
its survival. Permits or certificates follow every interstate or international
sale.
With the passage of the Endangered Species Act of 1973,
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service was designated as the authority
for managing ginseng. Nineteen states have been authorized to export ginseng.
While each state may have its own set of laws governing harvest dates,
fines, and season lengths, they all are subject to CITES regulations.
Each year, USFWS’s Division of Scientific Authority,
issues a detailed report on the status of ginseng across the harvesting
range. This report makes recommendations for current and future harvesting.
To date, the division has recommended that in states where harvesting
of wild ginseng is allowed, it be limited to plants five years old or
older. Based on the annual USFWS findings, some states may restrict or
prohibit ginseng harvest on national forest lands.
Each state must submit data to the USFWS. In
According to Patricia Ford, a botanist who is responsible
for the American ginseng program for the Division of Scientific Authority
under the USFWS, in most cases wild, woods-grown and wild-simulated ginseng
roots are treated as “wild” unless the state/grower/ dealer can prove
that the plants were artificially propagated according to the CITES definition.
Growers, gatherers and dealers are all subject to the
CITES as well as state laws. State laws, CITES statues, and annual reports
issued by the USFWS can all be accessed via the internet at the following
sites:
www.lrc.state.ky.us/kar/302/045/010.htm
CITES www.cites.org/eng/disc/how.shtml
Last Updated on 9/15/2004
By Randi Pokladnik
