Summary
The seventeenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP17) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) convened in the morning in Johannesburg, South Africa. South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma opened CoP17 and stated his country is taking action to address the illegal trade of wildlife as called for by the UN General Assembly and UN Environment Assembly. He stressed the importance of wildlife conservation to sustaining local communities and economic development through hunting and ecotourism. John Scanlon, CITES Secretary-General, welcomed Angola, Iraq, EU, Tajikistan and Tonga as new parties to CITES.
In the afternoon, participants began tackling the long agenda, starting with the Rules of Procedure. Given ongoing disagreements, the CoP17 Chair proposed, and the CoP agreed, to establish an overnight working group to resolve the voting rights of a regional economic integration organization (REIO), and report back to Plenary on Sunday.
IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage, daily reports and a summary and analysis report in English and French from CITES CoP17. The summary and analysis report is now available in HTML and PDF.
Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth
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Opening Ceremony
Traditional drummers welcome delegates to the meeting
Edna Molewa, Minister of Environmental Affairs, South Africa
Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa
Erik Solheim, UN Environment Programme
(UNEP) Executive Director
Øystein Størkersen, Chair, Standing Committee
John Scanlon, Secretary-General, CITES
South African dancers perform at the opening ceremony, welcoming delegates to the meeting
Afternoon Plenary
View of the dais during the afternoon session
Øystein Størkersen, Chair, Standing Committee
CoP Chair Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, South Africa
Vladimir Ivlev, Russian Federation
Zhihua Zhou, China
Mauricio Escanero, Mexico
Daniel Ashe, Director, US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)
Daniel Calleja, Director-General for the Environment, EU
Edis Solórzano, Venezuela
Simon Nemtzov, Israel
Gerhard Adams, Germany
Adrianne Sinclair, Acting Chair, CITES Plants Committee
Carolina Caceres, Chairman, CITES Animals Committee
Melanie Virtue, Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS)
Mathias Lörtscher, Switzerland
Elizabeth Mrema, UNEP
Martha Nomaele, Youth Delegate, South Africa
Megan Reed, Youth Delegate, US
Derek Hanekom, Minister of Tourism, South Africa
Delegates during the session
Civil Society Demonstration
Members of civil society demonstrate outside the Sandton Convention Centre before the start of the meeting
Around the Venue
Delegates gather for the opening ceremony
Delegates meet informally
Elizabeth Mrema, UNEP, speaks with delegates
Daniel Ashe (R), Director, USFWS, speaks with delegates
Edna Molewa, Minister of Environmental Affairs, South Africa, speaks with the media
Erik Solheim, UNEP Executive Director, speaks with the media
Around the exhibition space
