United Nations Radio

Blue fin tuna and other endangered species will be the main topic of conversation at a forthcoming conference on illegal wildlife trade and protection of the rural poor's livelihoods.

Governments meeting in Doha, the capital of Qatar in March will debate urgent measures needed to stop the destruction of the world's marine and forest ecosystems through over-fishing and excessive logging.

Over 40 proposals will be decided on, including one to bring 8 commercially fished species under the purview of CITES, the UN group that oversees the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species.

The UN General Assembly has declared 2010 the international year of biodiversity and the conference will be one of the key occasions for governments to take action to protect biodiversity.

Monaco is proposing a complete ban on international commercial trade in the blue fin tuna.

This iconic species which is used in delicacies like sushi, has been fished for many centuries, and its populations in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea have undergone very substantial declines in the last 40 years.

Repeated efforts have been made to ensure more sustainable fishing, but now Monaco claims that it is time to bring the international trade to a halt to allow time for the species to recover.

Jocelyne Sambira, United Nations.

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