17th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP17) of the
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)

CITES CoP17 delegates reconvened in Plenary to adopt all documents and proposals, with some Parties’ attempts to reopen discussions on Peregrine falcon and African grey parrot defeated. The meeting was gaveled to a close at 6:11 PM.

The sound of the gavel in plenary was reminiscent of the opening ceremony, when delegates drummed in unison and wild enthusiasm, setting the rhythm for the largest CoP to date. Thanks to a highly organized Secretariat, the expert leadership of Committee Chairs, the tireless efforts of drafting and in-session working groups, and the collaborative spirit of Parties, delegates reached consensus on most agenda items and debated on the others in a respectful manner. If this is indeed John Scanlon’s last CITES CoP in the role of Secretary-General, as rumor has it, he will be leaving on a high note.

"Although we were all drumming in a slightly different way," Scanlon noted in the closing ceremony, "we were all drumming to the same beat. That was the spirit of this meeting."

ENB SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS: The Earth Negotiations Bulletin summary and analysis of Cop17 will be available on Saturday, 8 October 2016.

CITES CoP17 approached the finish line with the Committees wrapping up their work. Proposals to downlist and uplist populations of African elephants were defeated in Committee I, as was the proposal to permit a limited and regulated trade in white rhino horn. Committee II adopted a core budget increase of 0.24% and two additional posts.

After a much appreciated two-day break, during which several working groups met to hammer out differences, CITES CoP17 Committees reconvened on Sunday. Committee I voted by secret ballot for the uplisting of the African Grey Parrot. Committee II adopted draft decisions on NIAPs and trade in elephant specimens. Committee I reconvened at night for an evening session.

As CITES CoP17 Committees moved through agenda items, several working and drafting groups reported back to the Committees with finalized drafts of decisions and resolutions. Committee I continued consideration of proposal listings, agreeing to all proposals on rosewoods. Meanwhile Committee II looked at illegal trade in cheetah, pangolin trade, rhino and Asian Big Cats, adopting some decisions and deferring others to working groups.

CITES CoP17 Committees quickly moved through many agenda issues. Committee I agreed to list several species under Appendix I, including all pangolin species. The African lion proposal was deferred to a working group. Committee II agreed to the first dedicated decision on fighting wildlife cybercrime as well as a resolution to combating corruption.

CITES CoP17 Committee I met all day, addressing timber, saiga, snake trade, helmeted hornbill and hunting trophies, among other issues. Committee II looked at some agenda items referred to it by the Plenary, as well as a proposal to establish a CoP committee of rural communities.

CITES CoP17 met throughout the day in Committees. Committee I addressed marine species issues, including sharks and rays, totoaba, queen conch, as well as ebonies, rosewoods and agarwoods. Meanwhile Committee II discussed a wide range of elephant-related agenda items. While many issues, like the closure of domestic ivory markets, were deferred to a working group, others, like the motions to either adopt or continue discussing a Decision-Making Mechanism for a process of trade in ivory were struck down during voting.

CITES CoP17 reconvened Sunday afternoon. After resolving the stalemate on the Rules of Procedure, participants split into two Committees to continue deliberations. Committee I addressed corals and eel, among other topics, while Committee II discussed budget issues, in particular how the Secretariat might meet the demands of the increasing interest and participation in CITES. Working groups met late into the evening, including a closed Asia group on National Ivory Action Plans and the Elephant Trade Information System and a trilateral meeting with Japan, China and the US on coral.

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.