Summary
On Friday, the sixty-ninth meeting of the Standing Committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES SC69) convened for its final day in snowy Geneva. In the morning, delegates caught up on outstanding agenda items, and considered in-session documents in the afternoon.
National Ivory Action Plans (NIAPs), pangolins and timber species from Madagascar stirred lengthy discussions. Kuwait requested the deferral of a decision on the NIAP process for Qatar until SC70, but despite having presented an information document on its efforts, the Standing Committee (SC) nonetheless requested it continue in the NIAP process. The discussion on pangolins focused on issues related to the treatment of specimens, including stockpiles, obtained by parties prior to their listing in Appendix I. A recommendation that all pangolin specimens, regardless of the timing of their acquisition, be regulated as Appendix I specimens in accordance with Article III of the Convention until further consideration by CoP18, led to the entire report being put to a vote. The recommendation was adopted by a majority decision of the SC, with China, Russian Federation and Kuwait voting against the proposal. On timber, the SC agreed to maintain the recommendation for parties not to accept exports or re-exports for commercial purposes from Madagascar of specimens of Diospyros spp. and Dalbergia spp.
SC69 was gaveled to a close at 6:20 pm, with delegates giving SC Chair Carolina Caceres a standing ovation and praising her “steely resolve” as well as the hard work of the CITES Secretariat.
IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage, and a summary and analysis report from the 69th Meeting of the CITES Standing Committee. The summary and analysis is available in HTML and PDF.
Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth
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Morning Plenary
John Scanlon, Secretary-General, CITES, on the dais during morning plenary
Carolina Caceres, Standing Committee (SC) Chair, Canada
Yap Him Hoo, Singapore
Sai-ping Kwan, China
Claudio Juli Lepe, Chile
José Funes, Mexico
João Loureiro, Portugal
Claude Schenker, Switzerland
Julia Phillips, Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA)
Julie Sherman, Wildlife Justice Commission
Ben Janse van Rensburg, CITES Secretariat
Debabrata Swain, India
Ali Laouel Abbagana, Niger
Matt Collis, International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)
Mpho Tjiane, South Africa
Josephine Crouch, Youth for Wildlife
Avinash Basker, Global Tiger Forum (GTF)
Afternoon Plenary
Family photo of the CITES Secretariat
Øystein Størkersen, Norway, Chair of the Finance and Budget Subcommittee (FBSC)
Rod Hay, New Zealand
Gaël De Rotalier, EU
Elly Hamunyela, Namibia
Sofie Flensborg, CITES Secretariat
Shereefa Al-Salem, Kuwait
Ana Silvia Morales, Guatemala
Members of the SC vote to adopt the entire set of recommendations included in the report of the Pangolin in-session Working Group
Madangah Ngamgassou, Chad
Bandar Ibrahim Al-Faleh, Saudi Arabia
Anton Mezhnev, Russian Federation
Bill Clark, Israel
Sheldon Jordan, Canada
Bénédicte Johanita Ndahimananjara, Minister of Environment, Ecology and Forests, Madagascar
Aurélie Flore Koumba Pambo, Gabon
Delegates from India present a gift to Carolina Caceres, Standing Committee (SC) Chair, Canada, and
John Scanlon, Secretary-General, CITES, in thanks for their hard work over the week
Carolina Caceres, Standing Committee (SC) Chair, Canada, gavels the meeting to a close
Around the Venue
Jonathan Barzdo, Deputy Secretary General, Ramsar Convention
Delegates from Indonesia
Delegates from Madagascar
Delegates from Spain
Delegates from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
Delegates from the EU
Delegates from Kenya
Delegates from Mozambique and Mexico
Delegates from South Africa
Delegates between sessions
John Scanlon, Secretary-General, CITES, with the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) team covering CITES SC69: Kate Neville, Canada, Kate Harris, Canada, Tanya Rosen, Italy/US, and Kiara Worth, South Africa
First snowfall of the year in Geneva
