ABSTRACT
CITES is one response to the social value which maintains that human use of nature carries with it a moral responsibility to ensure the survival of threatened life forms. The fact that 158 countries have signed CITES is testimony to the international appeal of this value. In line with the growth of scientific rationalism, conservation policy has sought to accommodate the recognition that scientific knowledge concerning the utility value of species and the consequences of species extinction lag far behind the rate of human-induced environmental change. In the case of CITES, this is evident in the adoption of the ‘precautionary principle’ (Resolution Conf 9.2) and along with it the requirement that range states make a ‘non-detriment finding’ employing scientific methodologies before setting catch quotas for species entering international trade.
