,,iv  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,h4 ,,res4 #bbj  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of
 ,,representatives  ,may #ag1 #bjac ,mr4
 ,hastings of ,florida 7for himself1    
,mr4 ,lewis1 ,mr4 ,connolly1 ,mr4 ,farr1
 ,ms4 ,norton1 ,mr4 ,rush1 ,mr4         
,ellison1 ,ms4 ,mc,collum1 ,mr4         
,grijalva1 ,mr4 ,blumenauer1 and ,ms4   
,bordallo7 submitted the following      
resolution2 which was referred to the   
,committee on ,foreign ,affairs         
,,resolution  ,expressing the sense of  
the ,house of ,representatives regarding
 the contributions of the ,convention on
 ,international ,trade in ,endangered   
,species of ,wild ,fauna and ,flora4    
,whereas the ,convention on             
,international ,trade in ,endangered    
,species of ,wild ,fauna and ,flora 7the
 ,convention7 was concluded on ,march   
#c1 #aigc1 with the ,united ,states as  
an original signatory nation1 and       
entered into force on ,july #a1 #aige2  
,whereas #agh nations are now party to  
the ,convention2 ,whereas the           

,convention aims to ensure that         
international trade in wild plants and  
animals does not threaten their         
survival2 ,whereas the ,convention both 
recognizes and provides the basis for   
international cooperation in the control
 of international trade to not threaten 
species' survival2 ,whereas the         
international wildlife trade is         
estimated to be worth billions of       
dollars per year and to involve hundreds
 of millions of plants and animals and  
derived products such as food products1 
leather and fur1 ornamentals1 medicinal1
 and timber2 ,whereas high levels of    
exploitation of and trade in wild       
animals and plants1 together with other 
factors such as habitat loss1 are       
capable of bringing some species close  
to extinction2 ,whereas parties to the  
,convention have an international       
obligation and responsibility to protect
 endangered animals and plants          
worldwide2 ,whereas it is widely        
accepted that adherence to protective   

measures adopted by the parties to the  
,convention has benefitted the          
conservation of animals and plants2     
,whereas nearly #e1jjj species of       
animals and #bi1jjj species of plants   
are protected by the ,convention against
 over-exploitation through international
 trade2 ,whereas the species covered by 
the ,convention are listed in #c        
appendices1 according to the degree of  
protection they need2 ,whereas the      
parties of the ,convention meet every #b
 to #c years at the ,conference of the  
,parties to review the status of species
 in danger of extinction and to         
establish trade restrictions with       
respect to endangered species2 ,whereas 
the #afth meeting of the ,conference of 
the ,parties was held in ,march #bjac2  
,whereas between #bjjb and #bjab1 more  
than #aj1idj ,african elephants were    
illegally killed for their ivory1 an    
increase of #d1cgd compared to the      
analysis submitted to the #aeth meeting 
of the ,conference of the ,parties held 

in #bjaj2 ,whereas poaching still       
continues with #bjaa having the highest 
levels of poaching since comprehensive  
records started in #bjjb2 ,whereas as   
sea ice declines1 polar bears will not  
be able to adapt to a terrestrial-based 
life resulting in increased mortality1  
reduced reproduction1 increased         
human-bear conflicts1 and overall       
drastic decline of populations2 ,whereas
 polar bears are still being hunted for 
sport trophies despite habitat loss and 
population declines2 ,whereas a proposal
 to move the polar bear from appendix   
,,ii to appendix ,i was rejected at the 
#afth meeting of the ,conference of the 
,parties2 ,whereas the scalloped        
hammerhead1 great hammerhead1 smooth    
hammerhead1 porbeagle1 and whitetip     
sharks have been severely depleted with 
declines as high as #ii percent in some 
areas as a result of the high demand for
 their fins or meat2 ,whereas proposals 
to include these #e sharks on appendix  
,,ii were accepted at the #afth meeting 

of the ,conference of the ,parties2 and 
,whereas overfishing1 both legal and    
illegal1 increased consumer demand1 and 
inadequate enforcement of infractions   
have led to historically low populations
 of northern and ,atlantic bluefin tuna3
 ,now1 therefore1 be it  ,that the      
,house of ,representatives--  7#a7      
recognizes the important contributions  
that the ,convention on ,international  
,trade in ,endangered ,species of ,wild 
,fauna and ,flora has made in regulating
 international trade in endangered      
species and protecting endangered       
species worldwide2  7#b7 recognizes the 
increasing importance of the ,convention
 in addressing effects of trade on      
species1 while taking into account      
multiple and compounding threats on     
species and ecosystems such as          
over-exploitation1 habitat loss1        
invasive species1 disease1 and the      
effects of climate change2  7#c7        
applauds the ,convention's recent       
leadership in reaffirming strong        

protections for the ,african elephant1  
five sharks1 and other endangered       
species2  7#d7 urges renewed1 expanded1 
and accelerated commitments to the      
,convention by all parties to ensure and
 enhance the ,convention's contribution 
to species conservation through         
appropriate controls of international   
wildlife trade2  7#e7 urges the ,united 
,states delegation to the ,convention to
 utilize international cooperation to   
encourage other parties to the          
,convention to collaborate effectively  
to curb excessive exploitation of       
species for international trade2 and    
7#f7 urges the ,convention to adopt     
stronger protections for the polar bear1
 bluefin tuna1 and other endangered     
species at the #agth meeting of the     
,conference of the ,parties in ,south   
,africa in #bjaf4