One of the greatest global threats to biodiversity is overexploitation. Wild populations of plants and animals are in drastic decline around the world, yet more than 70% of the world’s poorest people rely on them for their livelihoods. It is more urgent than ever to prevent unsustainable trade in endangered species while considering the human communities most proximate to and dependent on them.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) entered in to force in 1975 to ensure that transboundary commerce in wild species is legal, sustainable, traceable, and congruent with conservation goals. Fifty years later, the 20th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP20) to CITES marks a half-century of work under the Convention. Delegates to CoP20 reviewed a record 114 items, including 149 working documents and 51 proposals to amend the three CITES Appendices, which contain the lists of protected species. Among the issues CoP20 considered were:

• proposals to list additional sharks, rays, sea cucumbers, and eels, building on the historic expansion of marine listings at CoP19;
• proposals to re-open international trade in ivory stockpiled from savannah elephants and in horn from saiga antelope;
• a CITES Strategic Vision that, among other things, puts CITES priorities in context with the goals and targets of other global biodiversity commitments;
• a language strategy for the Convention, including efforts to provide information in multiple languages to improve implementation and accessibility;
• livelihoods, including benefits to Indigenous Peoples and local communities from trade in CITES-listed species;
• a capacity-building framework for the Convention;
• trade in medicinal and aromatic plants;
• demand reduction strategies to shift consumer choice away from illegal wildlife products; and
• the role of CITES in reducing the risks of zoonotic disease emergence associated with the global wildlife trade.

CoP20 convened from 24 November to 5 December 2025 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, making it the first CoP to be hosted in Central Asia. It was preceded by a high-level event on 23 November that will highlight and exchange insights on innovative conservation finance solutions relevant to the CoP20 agenda.

The Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) writers for this meeting were Kate Harris; Brianna Botchwey; Christina Fernandez; and Bernard Soubry, Ph.D. The Digital Editor was Danny Skilton. The Editor was Pam Chasek, Ph.D.