CMA CGM has said it will implement stricter procedures and measures to prevent the illegal traffic of protected species as part of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
In a statement, the carrier said the new procedures will force it shippers to expressly state whether a species is covered by the CITES convention and, where appropriate, provide the requisite export permit whenever any animal or plant goods are carried.
In parallel, CMA CGM will draw up a black list of exporters suspected to be involved in illicit trafficking. Additionally, it will enhance the training of its sales agents around the world and tightening up audit procedures, in coordination with the CMA CGM Academy and the CITES.
The measures have come in as CMA CGM halts timber shipments from the Gambia following several suspicions that undeclared rosewood, a protected species, was being exported.
Rosewood, which CMA CGM describes as a “highly sought-after wood” is felled illegally in the region and then exported under various different guises. This illicit trade is heavily implicated in the deforestation of West Africa.
“With these measures, the CMA CGM Group is again demonstrating its leadership within the shipping industry in the protection of the environment,” the carrier said.
“This decision, which is part of the strengthening of the Group’s CSR policy, illustrates CMA CGM’s resolve to help conserve global biodiversity and not to further imperil our planet’s future.”
