CITES Pleading For Funding To Fulfill Mission - Budget Less Than $5 Million - AFP

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The only UN-backed body with the power to police trade in threatened animals and plants said Saturday it could not fulfill its mission without a big boost in budget. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) would use the money to help developing countries protect wild fauna and flora, an official told AFP on the opening day of the body's triennial meeting.

With a budget of less than five million dollars (3.6 million euros), the 175-member CITES "is one of the poorest conventions" under the UN umbrella, said Juan Carlos Vasquez, charged with pleading the Swiss-based organisation's financial needs. "We are going to ask for an increase of at least 16 percent so that we don't lose ground, but we really need close to 30 percent more," he said.

The 13-day gathering in Doha, attended by up to 150 states, will vote on a series of disputed proposals to ban international trade in Atlantic bluefin tuna, African elephants and polar bears, among other species.

Sharks hunted for their fins, and rare corals made into jewellery are also under review for a lesser degree of protection, along with certain precious woods.

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