CITES, which stands for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, is a global agreement among governments to regulate or ban international trade in species under threat.
CITES has listed agarwood species of Aquilaria malaccencis in Appendix II in 1995. At that point the other Aquilaria species are not listed probably because still considered SAFE. However, beginning in 2004 all the species under the genus Aquilaria and Gyrinops also listed under Appendix II of CITES.
Appendix II, are species that are not necessarily threatened with extinction, but may become so unless trade in specimens of such species is subject to strict regulation in order to avoid utilization incompatible with the survival of the species in the wild. In practice, many hundreds of thousands of Appendix II animals are traded annually. No import permit is necessary for these species under CITES, although some Parties do require import permits as part of their stricter domestic measures. Examples of species listed on Appendix II are the Great White Shark, the American black bear, Hartmann’s mountain zebra, African grey parrot, green iguana, queen conch, Mertens’ Water Monitor, bigleaf mahogany and Lignum Vitae “ironwood”.
In the mid-20th century, governments were beginning to recognize that trade in some wild animals and plants had a devastating impact on those species. These species were being driven toward extinction through unsustainable use for food, fuel, medicine, and other purposes.
And while individual governments could control what happened within their borders, they did not have a way to address the impacts of international trade in these species. In 1973, 21 countries addressed this issue by signing the CITES agreement.