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