ABSTRACT
A draft text adopted by the IUCN congress in 1963 led to the agreement signed in Washington on March 3, 1973. The CITES came into force on July 1, 1975, and there are now more than 175 parties to it. Adopted in the wake of the 1972 Stockholm conference, it is one of the few multilateral environmental agreements, where the United Stateson the basis of its robust domestic conservation legislation-still plays the role of a lead state, and one reflecting from the onset predominantly Western concerns about wildlife protection.
