ETIS Assessment Consultant

Result of Service

A comprehensive feasibility assessment that evaluates the effectiveness and efficiency of alternative supporting mechanisms for ETIS, explicitly addressing any existing institutional structures within the UN system (i.e., UNODC or the CITES Secretariat) and intergovernmental organizations compared to the current mechanism managed by TRAFFIC. Outputs include: 1.Report on the mapping of requirements to implement the ETIS programme mandated in CITES Resolution Conf. 10.10 (Rev. CoP20) 2.Report presenting the results of the comparative analysis of institutional options, detailing how each institution addresses the mandated function of the ETIS and key considerations, including recommendations on most feasible choices.

Work Location

HOME-BASED

Expected duration

Four Months

Duties and Responsibilities

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is an international agreement between states. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival (www.cites.org). The CITES Secretariat is administered by the UN Environment Programme and is located at the Geneva duty station. This assignment supports the implementation of the CITES Resolution Conf. 10.10 (Rev. CoP20) on Trade in elephant specimens with specific reference to the Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS). ETIS is a global monitoring system established by the Conference of the Parties to CITES at its 10th meeting (CoP10, Harare, 1997) to monitor and analyse levels and trends in illegal trade in ivory and other elephant specimens worldwide. ETIS is managed and coordinated by TRAFFIC in consultation with the MIKE-ETIS Technical Advisory Group and in collaboration with the CITES Secretariat. At its 18th meeting (CoP18, Geneva, 2019), the Conference of the Parties adopted Decisions 18.18-18.20 mandating a review of the Elephant Trade Information System. The results of this review were subsequently presented to the 19th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP19, Panama City, 2022) in document CoP19 Doc. 21. The Parties adopted Decisions 19.94 – 19.96 on the Implementation of the priority recommendations from the review of the ETIS programme. These decisions were renewed at the 20th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP20, Samarkand, 2025). Among the high and medium priority recommendations contained in Annex 3 to document CoP19 Doc.21, the Secretariat is tasked in recommendation 16; to undertake a feasibility assessment to evaluate the effectiveness/efficiency of alternati...