Aquilaria species

Directed to the Plants Committee

12.66	The DNA work currently being undertaken by the National Herbarium of the Netherlands under contract with the Secretariat should continue and should be aimed at investigating the options for the development of identification tools based on molecular analysis.
12.67	More detailed information on the distribution of species should be compiled and assessed as an aid to better trade reporting, using point-of-origin data.
12.68	As the trade is in the readily identifiable product of agarwood, studies should include all known agarwood-producing taxa and not only the CITES-listed species A. malaccensis.
12.69	IUCN should be invited to re-evaluate the threatened status of all agarwood-producing taxa according to the 2000 IUCN criteria.
12.70	A standard method for determining the population status of CITES-listed agarwood-producing taxa should be developed to assist Scientific Authorities in advising that exports will not be detrimental to the survival of the species in compliance with Article IV of the Convention. Such a standard method could be used to verify populations across all agarwood-producing areas, and allow not only the setting of appropriate quotas but also the verification of species being harvested.
12.71	Further field research should be conducted on trade dynamics, including in the major import and re-exporting States and territories (Japan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Taiwan, province of China, and the United Arab Emirates).