生物多样性 ›› 2025, Vol. 33 ›› Issue (4): 24545.  DOI: 10.17520/biods.2024545

• 战略生物资源专题 • 上一篇    下一篇

从CITES的术语看野生动植物国际贸易监管规则

李沫潼1,2,何拓3,李薇4,廖菁5,曾岩1,6*   

  1. 1. 中国科学院动物研究所 北京 100101; 2. 东北林业大学 哈尔滨 150040; 3. 国家林业和草原局野生动物保护监测中心 北京 100714; 4. 中国科学院科技战略咨询研究院 北京 100190; 5. 国家林业和草原局国际合作司 北京 100714; 6. 中华人民共和国濒危物种科学委员会 北京 100101
  • 收稿日期:2024-12-08 修回日期:2025-01-27 出版日期:2025-04-20 发布日期:2025-03-27
  • 通讯作者: 曾岩

Regulating International Trade in Wild Fauna and Flora: An Analysis of CITES Terminology

Motong Li1,2,Tuo He3,Wei Li4,Jing Liao5,Yan Zeng1,6*   

  • Received:2024-12-08 Revised:2025-01-27 Online:2025-04-20 Published:2025-03-27
  • Contact: Yan Zeng

摘要: 《濒危野生动植物种国际贸易公约》 (CITES) 作为一项多边条约,通过严格管制全球野生动植物的合法贸易甚至可能实施“禁贸”,来保护受灭绝威胁的野生动植物。CITES作为一项具强制执行力的公约,它的有效执行依赖于全球各国在政策制定、规则执行、数据收集统计和评估方法上的协调一致。由于CITES签署时的遗留问题,中文、俄文和阿拉伯语等联合国语言不是CITES工作语言。CITES对中国生效四十多年,中国履约机构已将公约文本和其他官方文件翻译成中文,但参与制定和履行执行野生动植物国际贸易监管规则仍受制于对CITES英文术语的翻译和定义的理解。本文追溯了CITES签署时的语言方案,列举了CITES中文文本的重要术语,对CITES官方发布的150个英文术语进行了分类和解释。对CITES术语的类别和特征的掌握,有助于理解野生动植物国际贸易规则的设立、演变和执行,进而有效执行野生动植物国际贸易监管,推进全球生物多样性治理。本文也将对我国野生动植物保护法律法规制修订和相关标准规范制定提供启示和参考。

关键词: CITES语言, 多边合作, 物种保护, 贸易监管, 法律实施

Abstract

Background: The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), aims to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. It achieves this by subjecting, and if necessary, suspending, international trade in listed species to certain controls and regulations. The effective implementation of the Convention relies on the coordination and consistency of countries worldwide in terms of terminology comprehension, law enforcement, data collection and statistics, and policy formulation. Due to legacy issues at the time of CITES’s signing, United Nations’ languages such as Chinese, Russian and Arabic are not working languages of CITES. Although CITES has been in effect in China for over forty years, and Chinese CITES authorities have translated the Convention text and other valid documents into Chinese for circulation, participation in the formulation and enforcement of regulations for international trade in wild fauna and flora is subject to the understanding of translations and definitions of CITES terminology in English. Terminology is the core concept in the formulation and implementation of policies and regulations, and it is also the foundation of rules. As a highly technical and operational international agreement, CITES has a comprehensive implementation system with a complex and intertwined set of rules. Investigating the translation and characteristics of terminology can provide an entry point for understanding the establishment and evolution of CITES regulations. 

Main Content: This article traces the linguistic regulations at the time of CITES' signing, lists important terms related to the conservation of endangered wild animals and plants and their translations in the CITES text and valid documents, categorizes the CITES terms according to their nature and application scenarios. The definitions and explanations of CITES terms can be divided into definitional, explanatory, and quotational according to their nature; and into scientific and definitional terms, regulatory and procedural terms, and cooperative and compliance terms according to their application scenarios. By using an online Large Language Model Moonshot AI, 14 terms with the most special English explanations and the greatest differences from common understanding were extracted from the 150 terms of the CITES glossary, and a comparison was made. 

Conclusion: The results indicate that the CITES terminology is primarily formulated around the Convention text, exhibiting distinctive characteristics limited to the regulatory objectives of international trade in wild fauna and flora. Many terms differ from common-sense understandings in daily life; typically, the Convention's term explanations are more detailed, specific, and operationally robust. In the process of implementing the Convention's requirements daily by each Party, a lack of in-depth understanding and accurate use of terms or the meaning of the Convention can not only hinder normal implementation but also lead to errors and confusion in execution. It may even trigger or activate the Convention's review and disposal mechanisms. 

Mastery of the categories and characteristics of CITES terminology aids in understanding the establishment background, rule evolution, and operational execution of this so-called "Convention with teeth," which includes compliance and enforcement measures such as "prohibition of trade." Only through integrated understanding can effective fulfillment of the Convention be ensured, regulation of international trade in wild fauna and flora be executed, and global biodiversity governance be advanced. The characteristics and interpretations of CITES terminology also provide insights and references for the formulation of China's wildlife protection and management laws and regulations, as well as the drafting of related standards.

Key words: Languages of CITES, Multilateral Treaty, Species Conservation, Trade Regulation, Law Implementation