Keeping aside their political differences, India and Pakistan have joined hands to save the rare Indian Star Tortoise (Geochelone elegans), which is widely trafficked for use as exotic pets— because of the pattern of light radiating lines on their shells— in international market.

The two neighbouring countries at the upcoming 18th Conference of the Parties of the Convention against International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES), scheduled from May 23, have demanded the transfer of the tortoise from CITES  Appendix II to Appendix I, which accords a species the highest level of protection.

In their efforts, they are joined by Sri-Lanka which is also battling to protect this endemic species. The listing of a species in CITES Appendix I effectively prevents all commercial international trade, while those listed in Appendix II can be traded under special permit conditions and only if the trade does not cause harm to them in the wild.

CITES is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals. Roughly 5,800 species of animals and 30,000 species of plants are covered by CITES in three Appendices according to the degree of protection they need.

If transferred to the Appendix I, the Indian Star Tortoise--a medium sized tortoise endemic to parts of India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka-will get heightened protection. The species is deemed “vulnerable” by IUCN and their biological attributes make them extremely vulnerable to over-exploitation by humans because they are easily hunted, have a low reproductive rate, potentially occur at low densities, and do not survive or breed readily in captivity, India has said in its proposal to the COP.

 According to the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, star tortoises fall in Schedule IV which grants them the least level of protection.

The CITES noted that to safeguard wild populations, all range states have chosen to adopt strict domestic legislation that prohibits commercial utilization of the species but these has been insufficient to stop illegal trade due to the ongoing demand for the international pet trade, and inadequate enforcement by transit and importing States. The species qualifies for Appendix I, which would both strengthen international cooperation of enforcement authorities and result in higher and more deterring fines and penalties, the CITES noted.

For example, between 2000 and 2015, at least 34,080 live individuals were recorded as seized by wildlife and customs authorities during 118 different enforcement actions internationally. In India, between 2011 and 2015, at least 8,533 individual live specimens were seized and that this species occurred in at least 23% of all such seizure events (223) reported during this time period.

Similarly, in Sri Lanka, unpublished data provided by Customs Department and other enforcement officials states that at least 3,130 individual specimens were seized between 2015 and 2017 alone.