CITES and the Convention on Biological Diversity: In search of sustainable use of the Vicuna (Vicugna vicugna) in north-western Argentina

In Argentina, actions for the conservation of the vicuña have, until now, concentrated on regulating the commercialization of this species' valuable fiber. Even so, illegal commerce continues: in April 2000, the Secretary of Environment and Sustainable Development of the Province of Salta (SMADS), in the Northwest of the country, had seized 65 Kg (143 pounds) of fiber taken from 213 pelts while other Andean provinces hold even larger quantities, taken away from smugglers on the frontiers with Chile and Bolivia.