The effectiveness of CITES data collection in Canada for monitoring trade in wildlife

The primary goal of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is to regulate the trade in wild species so that it does not lead to extinctions.; The goal of this study is to determine the effectiveness of the CITES data collection and monitoring systems in Canada for meeting the Convention's primary goal. The pursuant objectives are: to assess the operating system to determine why and how the existing data are the way they are and whether the system is effective for collecting data for monitoring the wildlife trade; to assess CITES permit data from 1987 to 1997 in order to establish their usefulness for monitoring the trade in endangered species; to identify gaps and other deficiencies in the data, the data collection and the operating system that reduce their utility for monitoring trade; and to make recommendations for improving the system of data collection to allow for more effective monitoring of the trade in wild species. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...