Species+ can be accessed at www.speciesplus.net
What is Species+?
Species+ is a website that provides the current listing of species in the multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs), their taxonomy, distribution and common names, as well as the trade restrictions that affect them.
For the first time, CITES and CMS Parties, traders, scientific institutions and the general public will be able to customize and download species lists linked to multilateral environmental agreements. For example, they can now identify which species of shark are listed under CITES and how this list differs from those protected by CMS. Governments can rapidly discover the species occurring within their borders that are covered by these Conventions and CITES authorities can download up-to-date information about CITES trade suspensions and quotas from a single website.
Species+ provides additional functionality and replaces three databases: the UNEP-WCMC Species Database , the CITES Species Database , and the EU Wildlife Trade Regulations Database . Users of these sites will be automatically re-directed to Species+ for the most up-to-date information on species. Data from the new CMS species database will be integrated through web feeds in a future release of Species+.
Species+ will help national authorities access information needed to issue permits for trade and to manage migratory species. This will enable them to manage species better, and to assist with efforts to ensure that trade in CITES-listed species is legal, traceable and sustainable.
Future developments for Species+
Further enhancements are planned for the system in 2014 and 2015. Subsequent stages of development aim to incorporate the CITES trade data, provide computer-to-computer connections to national systems so that Parties can "pull" species information and link Species+ to other data sources and mapping tools.
Partners and contributors
Species+ has been developed by the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) in a joint project with the CITES Secretariat to provide services for the CITES Secretariat, the European Union, and the CMS Secretariat. The project was funded by the CITES Secretariat, The European Union, UNEP and WCMC (the UK Registered Charity). The project would not be possible without the past and future support of data providers.
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