International trade and the survival of mammalian and reptilian species

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) bans international trade in species threatened with extinction. We investigate the effects of these bans on species' endangerment, as assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Our analysis exploits changes in CITES bans between 1979 and 2017. We find that CITES bans lead to subsequent improvements in mammalian species' IUCN status, relative to species in which trade was not banned. These effects are primarily due to improvements in the status of commercially targeted species. On the other hand, CITES bans lead to deteriorations in reptilian species' IUCN status. We find that major spikes in trade volume occurred in anticipation of the bans on reptilian species but not in anticipation of those on mammalian species.

Automated summary

The study finds that the bans imposed by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) have positive effects on the conservation of endangered species, particularly for commercially targeted mammalian species. However, the bans have negative effects on reptilian species' conservation, with a major increase in trade volume occurring before the bans.