History: The Endangered Species Act (ESA) is the United States law:

 that determines when a species of animal or plant should be listed as threatened or endangered. This listing process is Section 4 of the ESA and requires that all listings be based "solely on the best scientific ...data available"

 that demands that whenever a Federal agency of the United States government wishes to undertake any activity that might jeopardize any threatened or endangered species, that this so-called 'action agency' consult with the FWS and come up with a list of "reasonable and prudent" alternative actions that will diminish the impacts on the threatened or endangered species. This is called a Section 7 consultation

 that provides "financial assistance" and "encouragement" to worldwide protection and conservation of threatened and endangered species; these actions are meant to be "a demonstration of the commitment of the United States"

 that controls trade (import and export) in threatened and endangered species in the United States, through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES)

 that provides monitoring of trade in non-threatened (or non-endangered) wildlife as well

 that designates United States import/export ports (in the U.S. these 9 designated ports are located at Chicago, IL, Dallas-Fort Worth, TX, Honolulu, HI, Los Angeles, CA, Miami, FL, New Orleans, LA, New York, NY, San Francisco, CA, and Seattle, WA, with 28 additional ports along the Mexican-U.S.-Canadian borders)

 that assigns civil and criminal penalties to violations of the law (civil-- of no more than $25,000 per event; criminal-- fines of not more than $50,000 or imprisonment for up to 1 year)

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) within the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) within the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), make sure that the legal requirements of the ESA are met.

The strength of the ESA is that it is governed by SCIENCE not politics. The ESA is also the implementing legislation for CITES, so that there will be no import or export of endangered species except for scientific research or breeding purposes, and requires that additional specific rules apply to import or export of threatened species as well.

The definition of "threatened" is a species which is "likely to become endangered" in the near future throughout all or part of its range.

The definition of "endangered" is a species which is "in danger of extinction" throughout all or part of its range (unless it is an insect species that is considered a "pest"!).

CITES, the international wildlife treaty that has been signed to date by 112 countries worldwide, including every South American country. (Examples of countries not yet signatories to CITES are: Angola, Bahrain, Barbados, Czechoslovakia, Fiji, Greece, Iceland, Iraq, Jamaica, Korea, Lebanon, Libya, Singapore and Yugoslavia). For the 112 countries that are parties to the Convention, CITES sets up separate and distinct permits for trade in any wildlife or plant species listed in any of 3 Appendices:

 Appendix I includes species threatened with extinction, which are affected by trade. These species generally cannot be traded for commercial purposes. If species in Appendix I are in non-commercial trade, they must move accompanied by an import permit from the country receiving the species or species part and an export permit from the country moving the species or species part out of its country.

 Appendix II species are not yet threatened with extinction, but may become so if trade is not controlled. These species may be traded commercially, but only with a permit from the exporting country. If the species/species part/product moves to a second CITES country, it will need a re-exporting permit from that country. If there are any species that look like Appendix I species, but are not endangered by trade, they are called "look-alike" species and traded under Appendix II rules.

 Appendix III species are treated like Appendix II species and may be traded it accompanied by certain permits. Species listed in this Appendix usually originate with any participating CITES country which worries that a particular species within its own country may soon be in trouble due to excess trade.

Permitting is complicated by additional participation by the U.S. Customs Service within the Department of the Treasury, the Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service, within the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which inspects exotic bird and plant shipments, and the fact that the FWS and NMFS divide enforcement responsibilities under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which bans the take or import of marine mammals and their products, but permits the use of marine mammals for scientific display and zoological display.

The Lacey Act also comes into play. This law makes it an offense to violate state, federal and foreign wildlife laws. Imports that violate the Lacey Act are considered felonies and carry potential jail terms of 5 years and fines of up to $20,000. This law prohibits:

 illegal importation or exportation

 illegal transportation

 illegal selling, and

 receiving, acquiring or purchasing of any fish, wildlife or plant, taken possessed or transported or sold in violation of any law.

Signs and Symptoms

So which of these laws functions internationally?

The Lacey Act when it was written was meant to function nationally and internationally and is clearly stated in its legislative language. The Lacey Act works internationally.

The Endangered Species Act clearly states in its legislative language that the Secretaries of Interior and Commerce through the Secretary of State are meant to encourage international protection and conservation of threatened and endangered species world-wide.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species text recognizes the beauty, irreplaceability, value and urgency of protecting certain species from overexploitation from trade through international cooperation. CITES considers only species in trade. And in general, Conventions are more "gentlemen's agreements", and enforcement is difficult to impossible.

So whether threatened or endangered species are or can be protected or conserved internationally comes down to the Endangered Species Act. Opinions on whether the ESA should function internationally vary widely, and the rest of this discussion intends to focus on just that subject, so perhaps we can all have a clearer understanding of the ESA and its potential impacts on aquatic animals worldwide.

Diagnostics

Whenever we undertake a medical case, prior to diagnostics we have to ask ourselves some questions.

 *What species are we most concerned with? I'll answer this one. Today I am going to dwell only on aquatic animal species.

 *What are the threats to species worldwide with which we should be concerned? I'll answer that one too. Human activities. I'll dwell on us later.

 *Who thinks that threatened or endangered species should be protected and conserved? Not everyone, all the time. When economics or poverty come in to play, whether its economic exploitation of a species, or fundamental and cultural overutilization of a species for survival, perspectives and judgments can differ widely.

 * Should the United States use its legislative strong arm to protect and conserve species worldwide? Should countries outside the U.S. use their own legislative controls to protect and conserve species of concern to them? Should conservation practices adhered to at home, apply abroad?

 * Simply because a country is lesser developed or has fewer economic resources, does it need or want assistance? Are developed countries with greater economic resources capable of adequately giving assistance?

The following activities threaten aquatic species worldwide, and we, our human actions, are the problem worldwide --- trade, agriculture (logging, erosion, siltation, nutrient overload, irrigation), agricultural run-off (pesticides, herbicides), industrial waste, (sewage spills, heavy metals, synthetic organic chemicals), coastal or estuarine habitat destruction (from construction, development, river modification, dams, diversions, destruction of mangroves, wetlands, marshes, sea-grasses, erosion). But we, us humans are also the solution worldwide. And in the end it really doesn't matter if it's our laws or simply us that lead to protection and conservation, as long as our ultimate goals are indeed protection and conservation, not exploitation and overutilization. Humans are capable of thinking out approaches to treatment and recovery.

Some environmental groups argue that the United States is spending billions of dollars worldwide to build dams, sewers, forest products plants, all of which endanger wildlife and may be in violation of the ESA, since these Federal agencies are not consulting with the FWS on any international actions that might impact threatened species abroad.

Let's look closely at a few of the cases of threat to aquatic species worldwide before we consider actual treatments to affect a cure.

In India, the World Bank is financially backing a project on the Narmada River that will provide water storage, irrigation and energy. However, the project is to be comprised of 3,165 dams, will relocate 1.5 million people and will bury 254 villages and all the habitat around them under water. Aquatic species expected to be impacted are mugger crocodiles, pink-headed ducks, river terrapins and the Indian saw-back turtle.

In China, the United States Bureau of Land Management is considering an $11 billion, 607 foot tall dam project on China's longest River, the Yangtze (Jiang Yu). China is concerned it doesn't have enough water and electricity to supply the needs of its citizens, nor does it have the infrastructure for all the new tourists that arrive daily. The international community argues that scores of exotic wildlife, including the white river dolphin, the Chinese sturgeon and the Chinese alligator, will be harmed.

In St. Kitts, West Indies, the U.S. Agency for International Development is funding a road construction project through steep and hilly terrain, and which will open 3800 acres of land in the coastal areas to development. Aquatic species anticipated to be affected are hawksbill, green, leatherback and loggerhead sea turtles, the West Indian manatee, the Caribbean monk seal and the Cuba sandhill crane.

To date the Secretary of the Interior has not interpreted Section 7 of the ESA as requiring FWS consultation for international actions, and the State Department presumably approves of this decision, since consultation would result in delays in funding of overseas projects, and a slowing of financial aid internationally. However, a case on this exact issue (Defenders of Wildlife v Luian) is to be heard by the United States Supreme Court this spring. The outcome of that court case may decide the direction the ESA may take internationally in the future.

In South America, the yacare caiman is well-known in the commercial crocodile skin trade. This small crocodilian species is listed on Appendix II of CITES, which allows its trade with proper permitting. However, because the yacare caiman is listed as endangered under the U.S.'s domestic ESA legislation, which is a stricter law than CITES, the yacare caiman or any product from it. is not allowed to be imported into the United States or sold in Interstate commerce within the U.S.

In Palau, when there is a death in a family, a neighbor woman comes to the home of the deceased to take care of the family during the weeks following the funeral. This woman cooks, cleans, receives guests and keeps the home in order. In exchange for her services, the woman receives toluk, or women's money, beautifully crafted dishes made from Hawksbill turtle shell, which are dearly cherished.

Treatment

With these cases in mind, let's look at some of the innovative projects working in the international arena to treat species of concern.

In Palau, the U.S. FWS is in the process of developing a barter system with the artisans of that country in an attempt to balance the cultural needs of Palau with the environmental concerns surrounding further depletion of hawksbill sea turtles. FWS is hoping to supply the artisans in Palau with confiscated tortoise shell from its depositories, in exchange for the Palauians agreeing to not kill turtles for shells any longer, and for the Palauians agreeing to participate in educational programs teaching them how to artificially propagate the sea turtle species of concern.

In Brazil, non-governmental organizations have developed a plan for purchasing debts in exchange for environmental improvement covering such varied areas as maintaining biodiversity, curbing urban development, using alternative sources of energy, adopting sustainable use of natural resources, environmental education and environmental institutions.

Environmental education and public awareness programs are coming in all forms from very unlikely sources in these days of changes in attitudes towards wildlife and aquatic animals, and the U.S. Forest Service has joined forces with state, local and private entities, such as The Nature Conservancy, Ducks Unlimited, and Trout Unlimited to share the costs of improving fish passages, migratory bird flyways and habitat improvement projects. In the United States the Bureau of Land Management has a restoration program for wetlands nationwide.

World Wildlife Fund has within its publications listings, translations of many of the international wildlife laws now in existence worldwide. Conservation International has compiled a listing of endangered ecosystems worldwide.

The National University in Costa Rica. has a U.S. FWS supported graduate research program in endangered species of Latin America; projects include estimations of the wild Crocodilian populations of Honduras, the biology, ecology and utilization of trout in a Mexican Biosphere Reserve, and live births, imprinting, survival and habitat use by black-bellied whistling ducks in Costa Rica. Local residents are learning the skills needed to train other local residents in conservation efforts.

In Anniston, Alabama in the southern United States, a dwarf crocodile handbag, an African sea turtle skin pocketbook, and cobra-skin shoes are on display, in the first museum that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service hopes will educate the public on what items are healthy and what items are not healthy to purchase abroad and try to bring back home. Every item on display has been confiscated at one of the nine international ports, where wildlife inspectors can confiscate traded products of threatened and endangered species. The FWS wants the public to know that the burden of carrying such items back into the United States in on all of us. It is not legal to possess eagle feathers in the United States, because they are a part of an endangered species.

In Ashland, Oregon, in order to meet the needs of the U.S.'s native American tribesmen and women who desire feathers for ceremonial dress and activities, a National Eagle Repository has been set up, which supplies 800 native American requests a year for eagle feathers and carcasses.

The importance of protecting habitats rather than simply single individual, and highly visible, species becomes clearer every day. In urban areas of the world, where development has been out of control, in order to allow wildlife free movement around developed areas, and also to avoid any type of damaging human-wildlife interaction, the concept of greenbelts, encircling the outskirts of cities, and marine estuarine reserves and sanctuaries, are becoming commonplace.

Gap Analysis is a proactive tool for identifying important habitats, ecosystems and species before they become endangered, so that those important areas can be protected early on. Gap involves mapping, where transparencies are made of vegetation maps and overlaid with animal distributions, which are further overlaid with federally or state owned and managed land maps; thus showing where the "gaps" are, where lands need to be protected for conservation of species and biological diversity, and also where lands may not be as diverse, and thus able to be developed. The gap concept has not yet been adapted to aquatic habitats, but certainly coastal and estuarine areas could be mapped in such a fashion. The more we all start thinking about how to do such habitat mappings, the closer we will be to saving species long before they ever are listed as threatened or endangered. Multiple species can be saved all together in single bioregional areas, while economic development is also able to proceed in areas of less biodiversity.

What can we all do to save the patients, these aquatic species that have been, and continue to be our livelihood?

 We need to all think seriously about the habitat an aquatic species lives in. How does one legally define an aquatic ecosystem, since it is constantly flowing, and species constantly migrate over and around international boundaries in so doing

 We need to begin to collate data on overutilization from multiple uses

 We need to somehow design research that will teach us more about disease, predation and nutrition of our aquatic species in the wild, including mortality rates

 We need to see where laws and regulations must be written, revised and/or strengthened, allowing humans and aquatic species to coexist, both aesthetically and economically

 We need to cooperatively work with industry, local, state and federal entities to study, acquire and manage habitats of importance to native aquatic species. Private land and water owners must be provided incentives for protecting and conserving species within their properties

 We need to continually remind ourselves that we are at the same time both the problem and the solution. Time is running out. Sound the alarm.

Prognosis

To that end, our treatment protocols should include the following:

 Say what you mean, and mean what you say.

 Be open to options; Listen; Be patient.

 Adopt a wide-angle point of view.

 Educate anyone and everyone who will listen.

 Stand up for what you believe in, and back yourself up with science.

 Be always on the lookout for funding for you and your colleagues.

 Always remember the ultimate goal is survival of all species.

If we stay true to ourselves and individually follow these goals worldwide, the prognosis for recovery and survival will be good and continually getting better.