The 14th meeting of the Plants Committee (PC-14) of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) convened from 16-20 February 2004, in Windhoek, Namibia. The meeting drew together 77 participants representing governments, inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations. Delegates at PC-14 met in Plenary throughout the week to discuss 25 agenda items on a range of topics, including the: review of resolutions on plants and plant trade; definition of technical terms used in the annotations for medicinal plants; significant trade in plants; review of the CITES appendices; follow-up of decisions from the 12th meeting of CITES' Conference of the Parties (COP-12); and species proposals for COP-13.

Several working groups were set up to further address specific issues, including: Review of Significant Trade; plants and plant trade resolutions; annotations for artificially propagated hybrids; annotations for CITES-listed medicinal plants; and regional representation and communication. Two drafting groups were also established to assist with finalizing the Chair's report to COP-13 and to review criteria for amendment of the Appendices.

Despite a heavy agenda, the Plants Committee managed to tackle some of the more pressing issues, such as the criteria for amending the Appendices and the evaluation of the Review of Significant Trade, that had to be considered prior to the next COP, to be held in Bangkok, Thailand, in October 2004. The Animals Committee will closely follow the outcomes of the Plants Committee meeting, as they will have to address these issues as well, at their next meeting in March 2004 in South Africa.