The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the U-
nited States (”TECRO”) and the American Institute in Taiwan (
”AIT”), hereinafter referred to as ”the Parties,”recognizing
the importance of international efforts to protect endangered s-
pecies, desirous of strengthening technical cooperation between
agencies in the territories they represent in order to further
the goal of protection and conservation of flora and fauna, have
agreed as follows:

Article I:Law Enforcement
Law enforcement and customs personnel from the territory repres-
ented by the Parties shall exchange information with a view to
preventing illegal trade in flora and fauna. Information shall
be exchanged on various issues related to endangered species pr-
otection, but particular attention shall be paid to smuggling.

Article II:Management of Stocks and Captive Breeding
Acting as TECRO's designated representative, the Council of Agr-
iculture in the territory represented by TECRO (hereinafter the
COA), together with local authorities, shall cooperate and exch-
ange experiences with relevant officials from the territory rep-
resented by AIT to improve the management of existing privately
held stocks of rhino horn, tiger bone and other endangered spec-
ies products.
The COA and AIT's designated representative, the Fish and Wildl-
ife Service in the territory represented by AIT (hereinafter the
FWS) shall exchange information on the conservation benefits, r-
isks, and management techniques for captive breeding of fauna a-
nd artificial propagation of flora, as necessary and mutually a-
greed upon.

Article III:Forensics Information
Technical experts from appropriate agencies in the territory re-
presented by TECRO and the FWS, acting respectively as the desi-
gnated representatives of TECRO and AIT, shall work cooperative-
ly to improve identification and forensic techniques, including
laboratory tests, to determine if seized products contain wildl-
ife species.
Acting as TECRO's designated representative, the Department of
Health in the territory represented by TECRO shall also exchange
information with relevant agencies and institution in the terri-
tory represented by AIT, acting as AIT's designated representat-
ives, to seek substitutes for traditional Chinese medicines whi-
ch contain wildlife species.

Article IV:Training
As designated representatives of TECRO, technical experts and o-
fficials from the agencies in the territory represented by TECRO
shall be provided with an opportunity to visit the forensic lab-
oratory of AIT's designated representative, the FWS, in order to
upgrade their skills. In order to provide a solid basis for sci-
entific comparison, AIT's designated representative, the FWS, m-
ay make available specimens of fish and wildlife species most h-
eavily traded in Asia to designated representatives of TECRO fr-
om agencies in the territory represented by TECRO, provided that
this is in compliance with all relevant laws, regulations, and
permit requirements in each territory.
Law enforcement officials from the territory represented by TEC-
RO, acting as designated representatives of TECRO, shall be pro-
vided with an opportunity to receive technical training in the
planning and execution of undercover operations from personnel
from AIT's designated representative, the FWS. To achieve their
shared objectives of wildlife protection and conservation, the
Parties agree that such training shall be repeated as possible
and mutually agreed upon. Information shall be exchanged on an
ongoing basis.

Article V:Communication on Permits and Enforcement
Effective communication between relevant wildlife and management
authorities shall be encouraged through direct communication be-
tween TECRO's designated representative, the COA, and AIT's des-
ignated representative, the FWS Office of Management Authority,
on issues involving permits and certificates and the biological
and legal basis for their issuance. Copies of such communication
shall be provided to the Parties. Sensitive law enforcement inf-
ormation may be exchanged directly between law enforcement offi-
cials from the territories represented by the Parties.

Article VI:Public Education on Conservation
The Parties shall exchange information on methods of encouraging
public awareness of and support for wildlife conservation.

Article VII:Other Areas
This Agreement may be amended to provide for cooperation in oth-
er areas of fish and wildlife management and research as mutual-
ly identified by the Parties.

Article VIII:Coordination
The Parties shall each designate a technical coordinator to imp-
lement the Agreement. For TECRO, the technical coordinator shall
be the Director of the Forestry Department in the Council of Ag-
riculture. For AIT, the technical coordinator shall be the Chief
of the Management Authority of the Fish and Wildlife Service in
the Department of the Interior. The technical coordinators shall
communicate with each other regularly concerning the implementa-
tion of the Agreement. They shall also coordinate as necessary
with other interested agencies in their respective territories,
including for TECRO the Directorate General of Customs in the M-
inistry of Finance, the Bureau of Investigation of the Ministry
of Justice, the National Police Administration of the Ministry
of the Interior, and the Department of Health, and for AIT the
Department of Justice and the Customs Service.

Article IX:Resource Allocation
Costs incurred in the implementation of the activities described
above shall be shared by the Parties, with the respective shares
determined by mutual agreement on a case by case basis. Such ac-
tivities shall be subject to the availability of appropriated f-
unds.
Whenever it is mutually agreed that the cost of activities by a-
gencies in the territory represented by AIT are to be performed
on a reimbursable basis, those costs will be billed by AIT to T-
ECRO. TECRO will then ensure the appropriate transfer of funds
to AIT.

Article X:Validity and Duration
This Agreement shall enter into force on the date of the last s-
ignature, and shall remain in force for a period of three years.
Either Party may terminate this Agreement at any time by giving
ninety days' notice in writing to the other Party.
In witness whereof, the undersigned, being duly authorized, have
signed this Agreement.

Done at Washington, D.C., in duplicate, in the English language.

For the For the
Taipei Economic and Cultural American Institute in Taiwan
Representative Office
in the United States
Name: Stephen S. F. Chen Name: Richard C. Bush
Title: Representative Title: Chairman of the Board
Date: April 7, 1999 Date: April 7, 1999