​Species+, developed by UNEP-WCMC and the CITES Secretariat, is a website designed to assist Parties with implementing CITES, CMS and other multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs). Species+ provides a centralised portal for accessing key information on species of global concern. In particular, Species+ contains information on all species that are listed in the Appendices of CITES and CMS, as well as other CMS Family listings and species included in the Annexes to the EU Wildlife Trade Regulations.

 

Before the development of Species+, every time a new species was added to the CITES Appendices, each country or region that implements the Convention had to update its own systems independently. This resulted in a lack of consistency across countries, and meant that innovative developments – such as the electronic issue of trade permits and automation of reporting processes – have been difficult to progress.

 

Species+ provides a centralised portal for accessing key information about the taxonomy, legislation, distribution and relevant trade restrictions for all species that are listed in the Appendices of CITES and CMS, as well as those covered by the EU Wildlife Trade Regulations. The Species+/CITES Checklist Application Programming Interface (API) also increases the ability of CITES Authorities to automatically update their national systems with information maintained in Species+ and the CITES Checklist, increasing standardisation and reducing errors and duplication of effort.

 

Species+ was developed by UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre 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, UN Environment and WCMC (the UK Charity). The project would not be possible without the long-term support of data providers.