Highlights and images for 27 November 2017

Switzerland

Summary


CITES

On Monday, John Scanlon, Secretary-General of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), welcomed participants to Geneva for the 69th meeting of the Standing Committee (SC), likening the gathering to a “mini-CoP.” He highlighted a recent UN General Assembly Resolution on tackling illicit trafficking in wildlife and called for increased efforts to put trade in CITES-listed timber on a legal and sustainable footing. He stressed the SC’s “supportive and non-adversarial” approach to CITES compliance matters. SC Chair Carolina Caceres (Canada) noted the packed agenda at SC69 and urged participants to summon a “spirit of collaboration” in order to complete the work required before SC70 and the 18th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP18). The SC then considered administrative, financial and compliance issues, including on introduction from the sea of specimens from the North Pacific population of the sei whale. Switzerland announced it would provide 1 million Swiss Francs to the CITES Secretariat each year, starting in 2019, pending approval by its parliament for the budget increase. Sri Lanka announced the dates for CITES CoP18 in Sri Lanka (May 22 - June 3 2019).

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

View of the dais during the morning plenary

Carolina Caceres, Standing Committee (SC) Chair, Canada

 John Scanlon, Secretary-General, CITES

Levente Kőrösi, Hungary

Craig Hoover, US

Christo Janse van Noordwyk, South Africa

Teona Karchava, Georgia

Ravinatha Aryasinha, Sri Lanka

Simon Nemtzov, Israel

Sandeep Bhambra, UN Environment Programme (UNEP)

Thomas Jemmi, Switzerland

Claudia Sobrevila, speaking on behalf of the World Bank (WB), the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP)

Hesiquio Benítez Díaz, Mexico

Øystein Størkersen, Norway

Wahito Yamada, Japan

Afternoon Plenary

View of the dais during afternoon plenary

João Loureiro, Portugal

Rod Hay, New Zealand

Staci McLennan, International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)

Abba Sonko, Senegal

Ana Silvia Morales, Guatemala

Jorge Rodríguez Romero, EU

Patrick Omondi, Kenya

Osakuade Michael, Nigeria

Daven Joseph, Antigua and Barbuda

Ali Laouel Abbagana, Niger

Ilse Kiessling, Australia

Zhang Yue, China

Sue Fisher, Animal Welfare Institute

Eugène Lapointe, IWMC World Conservation Trust

Evening Reception Hosted by the EU

Delegates gather for the evening reception hosted by the EU

Jorge Rodríguez Romero, EU (right), welcomes delegates to the reception

Around the Venue

Delegates between sessions

Delegates from Lao People’s Democratic Republic and China

Delegates from the Russian Federation

Delegates from Madagascar confer

Delegates from the United Arab Emirats (UAE)

Members of the Secretariat before the start of the meeting

Benoit Doamba, Burkina Faso; Kofi Adu-Nsiah, Ghana; and Narcisse Lambert Mbarga, Cameroon

Media around the venue

Delegates speak informally

Participants

Negotiating blocs
European Union