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CGR.REC031-Rev1
Conservation of Saiga Antelope
(Saiga tatarica tatarica and Saiga tatarica mongolica )

NOTING that the Saiga Antelope (Saiga tatarica tatarica andSaiga tatarica mongolica) is one of the key species of fragile steppe ecosystems in the Northern Palearctic occurring in the Russian Federation and Central Asia;

RECALLING that the Saiga Antelope was listed in Annex II of the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 1995 and was included in 2002 in the IUCN Red List as a critically endangered species;

NOTING the recent decisions of the 13th Conference of the Parties(COP) to CITES concerning urgent conservation measures for the Saiga Antelope;

RECOGNISING that the Saiga Antelope is one of the most seriously endangered mammal species in this region today, and that its number has dramatically declined from about 1 million animals in 1990 to less than 5 percent of this figure today, primarily due to poaching for its horn and meat;

FURTHER RECOGNISING that the root causes of poaching lie in poverty, resulting from major changes in the rural economies of the main range states, Kazakhstan, the Republic of Kalmykia of the Russian Federation, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Mongolia;

NOTING that poaching for meat and horns and illegal international trade in horns and other products, uncontrolled hunting, construction of irrigation channels, major roads and railways and other obstacles preventing natural migration have all contributed to the recent sharp declines of all populations of the Saiga Antelope;

CONCERNED about [the effect of]continual poaching for horns for the traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) trade on the Saiga population, and its huge negative effect on breeding success and the contribution [this makes]to [the] sharp decline in the populations of this species;

ALARMED that organized and widespread illegal hunting of Saiga Antelope and smuggling of its products continue in spite of the rigorous measures taken by the governments of its range countries to prevent this illegal activity;

RECOGNISING that this illegal trade has contributed to the sharp decline in the populations of Saiga Antelope, and that, if these activities continue, the Saiga Antelope will become extinct;

STRESSING that unless current conservation measures are dramatically strengthened, poaching will continue and rapidly lead to extinction or near-extinction of the remaining populations, especially Betpak-Dala population in Kazakhstan;

FURTHER NOTING the very substantial increases in human and financial resources for anti-poaching enforcement activities and public awareness made by the Republic of Kalmykia and Kazakhstan governments under their 'Restoration of the Saiga' strategies;

The World Conservation Congress at its 3rd Session in Bangkok, Thailand, 17-25 November 2004:

1. URGES all States to enforce existing legislation to conserve the Saiga Antelope;

2. ENCOURAGES States, within their respective laws and regulations, to make inventories of existing commercial stocks of Saiga Antelope products and to apply a registration system to these stocks;

3. CALLS on all parties concerned to take measures for the signature or ratification of international and trans-boundary agreements such as the Memorandum of Understanding on Saiga Conservation, Restoration and Sustainable Use drawn up by the Convention on Migratory Species;

4. RECOMMENDS urgent initiatives to improve the incomes of rural people in the Saiga Antelope range countries and to support alternative livelihood activities;

5. WELCOMES the recognition by the CITES COP13 of the need for various urgent conservation measures;

6. URGES the CITES Parties and Secretariat to work together to ensure that illegal international trade is totally eliminated; and

7. CALLS for further increases in international support for conservation measures.

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