Highlights and images for 4 October 2018

Participants to the 70th meeting of the Standing Committee (SC) of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) reconvened for a fourth long day of discussions. In the morning, the CITES Secretariat welcomed progress made by several countries in harmonizing national legislation with the Convention. She noted that Angola, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Mauritania, Myanmar, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan have reported progress on legislation under the National Legislation Project review. She also highlighted that Mongolia, Botswana, and Kazakhstan, originally in the list of countries that have not reported any legislative progress, have taken steps to remedy the situation. Uzbekistan welcomed the support of the Secretariat and noted that the new legislation will be ready by the end of 2018. Two countries, Ecuador and Comoros, have not shown progress on legislation and the Secretariat stated there will be a suspension in commercial trade after 60 days. The Secretariat also noted that several countries have failed to submit national reports for consecutive years and could be subject to commercial trade suspensions if the submission deadline of Oct. 31, 2018 is not met.On trade in live elephants, the SC requested the Secretariat to consult with parties whose elephants are listed in Appendix II and have exported live elephants to non-elephant range states and to seek information on how importing states made their determination on suitable housing and care. The SC also discussed:

• enforcement issues;
• illegal trade in cheetah;
• sturgeons and paddlefish;
• humphead wrasse; and
• sharks and rays.

IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, provided daily web coverage and a summary and analysis report from the 70th Meeting of the CITES Standing Committee.

Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth

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Morning Session

Delegates in plenary during the morning session

Sarah Bagnall, New Zealand

Mathias Lörtscher, Switzerland, Chair of the Animals Committee

Nariman Zhunussov, Kazakhstan

Elena Abdullaeva, Uzbekistan

Pamela Scruggs, US

Felix Monggae, Botswana

Tatsiana Zhaliaznova, Belarus

Jamel Tahiri, Tunisia

Olga Kumalo, South Africa

Afternoon Session

Delegates gather during the afternoon session

Elizabeth Ebahi Omonyemen Ehiebewele, Nigeria

Anton Mezhnev, Russian Federation

Ali Laoual Abagana, Niger

Abdul Kadir Abu Hashim, Malaysia

Delegates speak informally

Agung Nugroho, Indonesia

Doreen Mutung'a, Kenya

Abba Sonko, Senegal

Madeleine Harper, Australia

Evening Session

View of the dais during the evening plenary

Fabiola Rocio Nuñez Neyra, Peru

Simon Nemtzov, Israel

Hirohide Matsushima, Japan

Christiane Roettger, Convention on Migratory Species (CMS)

Yumi Okochi, Global Guardian Trust

Kim Friedman, Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO)

Around the Venue

An umbrella dries after a day of heavy rain

Delegates from the Netherlands

Ali Mansoor Abbas Abdullah, Bahrain

Delegates from the United Arab Emirates

Vanesa Tossenberger, Argentina

Delegates between sessions

A delegate visits the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) Earth Negotiations Bulletin website to see coverage of the meeting

Delegates speak informally