Summary
On Monday, the 66th meeting of the Standing Committee (SC66) of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) opened with Chair Øystein Størkersen, Norway, noting a busy agenda and highlighting some of CITES’ successes: stronger alliances with other organizations, the UN General Assembly resolution 69/314 on tackling illicit trafficking in wildlife; and the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable development.
CITES Secretary-General John Scanlon welcomed participants to SC66 and the European Union (EU) as a new party to the Convention. He highlighted increased international support and financing for CITES, such as the new Global Environment Facility (GEF)-supported Global Partnership on Wildlife Conservation and Crime Prevention for Sustainable Development. He drew attention to various activities done in synergy with other organizations and thanked Israel and Georgia for hosting the Animals and Plants Committee meetings, respectively.
Throughout the day SC66 addressed: administrative and financial matters and arrangements for the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP17), and Asian Big Cats, among other issues.
A lot of time was devoted to the discussion on implementation of the Convention with respect to captive-bred and ranched specimens, as well as implementation and enforcement of the Convention as it relates to the trade in species listed in Appendix I, with the decision taken to establish a working group that would look at the two agenda items together.
IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web updates and a summary and analysis report from the 66th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Our summary and analysis report is available in HTML and PDF.
CITES SC66 Dais
Gaël De Rotalier, European Commission, speaking for the first time at SC66 on behalf of the EU as new CITES party.
Delegates from Zimbabwe and China consulting.
L-R: Shereefa Al Salem and Muna Husain, Kuwait
L-R: Simon Nemtzov and Roni Malka, Israel, with Lisa Bradbury, Switzerland