Eric, sounds like a great time for Guild to really take advantage and get out there!
LOL
Somehow I get the sense that Mav perceives CITES as some kind of entity that can simply unilaterally decide what when and where to change course or re-classify materials on a whim, and that it tells its member nations what to do.
Um nope, although legally biniding in terms of being a treaty, it's entirely voluntary and member nations have to create
their own enforcement regulations.
https://cites.org/legislation
It's a convention that meets periodically to hear member nations' motions on what to add or remove from CITES regulation and literally has no enforcement power of its own.
They ain't even gonna gonna meet again to consider new listings or changes until July 2018.
https://cites.org/eng/news/calendar.php
If you think that's gonna be soon enough to do anything for GC or if any of the member nations with a dog in the lumber fight even cares whether or not GC survives, well , go ahead and keep thinking it.
CITES was created precisely because the kind of commercial pressure Mav referred to is
the root of the problem.
THATS why all the regulatory measures are aimed at regulating trade.
It's where the profit comes from.
Yielding to commercial pressure is completely antithetical to their whole reason for existence.
See the Lumber Liquidators decision just last year:
https://cites.org/legislation
You think the US government's gonna do a 180 that'll completely reverse the intended effects of that penalty on LL's pirate suppliers?
I'm outta here.