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Ammon News - Her Highness Princess Basma Bint Talal on Saturday sponsored a ceremony launching a smart phone application to monitor and regulate trade in endangered species of wild animals and plants.

The launch of CITESJO is part of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and is the fruit of cooperation between the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN) and the Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development (JOHUD).

The ceremony was attended by HRH Princess Alia Bint Al Hussein.

HRH Princess Basma stressed the importance of the application, and said that it would contribute to supporting national efforts aimed at preserving wildlife and endangered plants from illegal exploitation, and controlling and regulating their trade.

She said that the application is the fruit of a years-long partnership between the RSCN and JOHUD, to protect the environment and preserve it for future generations. Her Highness indicated that environmental protection occupies a part of the fund's activities and programs directed at women's and youth committees in its centers in various governorates and districts of the Kingdom.

Princess Basma also thanked the US Embassy for helping to activate the application, in addition to the many contributions in supporting Jordan's efforts to protect the environment.

Chairman of the Board of Directors of the RSCN, Khaled Irani, said that the society and all government partners, realized early on the importance of CITES, and are working under a strong partnership to put it into practice.

For hi part, Henry Constantine, official of the Regional Office for the Environment in the Middle East and North Africa at the US Embassy in Amman, said that the application is a fruit of cooperation between the United States and Jordan under the two countries' free trade pact, which is related in part to environmental cooperation.

He stressed that the trade in wildlife is a cross-border and illegal criminal activity that poses a threat to security and health, and undermines wildlife conservation efforts.

The application assists technicians and specialists in classifying animals and their types and verifying import and export certificates and documents.