Over 2 million records detail international trade in species listed under the CITES treaty, reported by member Parties. The World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC) has managed this database since 1980, with annual reports adding more than 200,000 records each year since 1986. Data spans from 1975 to the present and is continuously updated.
Use Cases
- Analyze trends in trade volume for specific species using reported import/export quantities and years.
- Model geographic trade networks by linking shipment records with Party countries of origin and destination.
- Assess conservation status by correlating trade records with species Appendix listings and taxonomic data.
- Integrate trade data with species distribution maps using linked Geographic Information Systems (GIS) layers.
Strengths
- Contains over 2 million trade records, making it the largest database of its kind.
- Includes approximately 29,000 scientific names and synonyms for taxonomic accuracy.
- Covers a long temporal range from 1975 to present, enabling longitudinal analysis.
Limitations
- Data arrives in heterogeneous formats (hand-written reports, permits, digital media), potentially introducing inconsistencies.
- Annual update cycle means the most recent year's data may be incomplete until all Party reports are processed.
- Relies on self-reporting by member Parties, which may lead to underreporting or reporting bias.
Provenance
- Source
- World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC), servicing the CITES Secretariat.
- Collection Method
- Records compiled from annual reports submitted by CITES member Parties, entered manually or via electronic transfer.
- Time Range
- 1975 to present.
- Freshness
- Continuously updated as annual reports are received from CITES Parties.
- Geography
- Global, covering all countries that are Parties to the CITES convention.