Highlights for Friday, 5 October 2018
David Morgan, CITES Secretariat, and Sevvandi Jayakody, Sri Lanka, officially unveil the CITES CoP18 logo
Participants to the 70th meeting of the Standing Committee (SC) of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) met for the final day of deliberations. SC Chair Carolina Caceres shepherded delegates through the remaining agenda items and reports of working groups.Highlights include the SC decisions:
On Eels (Anguilla spp.), to encourage range states along with aquaculture, transit and consumer parties to build on the successes of existing enforcement efforts through cross-border as well as cross-agency collaboration and sharing of intelligence;
On disposal of confiscated specimens, to forward to the 18th Conference of the Parties (CoP18) draft decisions calling, inter alia, on the Secretariat to collect information on existing networks and resources on the management of seized and confiscated live animals and make it available to parties;
On Application of Article XIII in Nigeria, to agree that parties shall suspend commercial trade in specimens of the species Kosso Wood (P. erinaceus) from Nigeria until the party makes scientifically based non-detriment findings for trade in the species in the country to the satisfaction of the Secretariat and the Plants Committee Chair; and
On engagement of rural communities, to note the report of the working group in particular the lack of consensus on the recommendations, asking CoP18 whether to extend the mandate of the working group on how to engage rural communities in CITES processes and report to CoP19.
Parties and observers gave thanks to Chair Caceres and the Secretariat for managing such a large agenda.SC Chair Caceres concurred that it was one of the most difficult meetings to chair with a daunting agenda but gave much thanks to all participants for their flexibility and cooperation.She thanked the Secretariat, noting each person "does the work of five." The SC concluded with a look towards the next challenge ahead: CoP18 in Sri Lanka in 2019.
IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, provided daily web coverage and a summary and analysis report from the 70th Meeting of the CITES Standing Committee.
Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth
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Morning Session
View of the dais during the morning session
Carolina Caceres, SC Chair, Canada
Levente Kőrösi, Hungary
Elly Hamunyela, Namibia
José Funes, Mexico
Sonja Meintjes, South Africa
Jonathan Kolby, US
He Jingxin, China
Gerhard Adams, Germany
Donald John Schubert, Animal Welfare Institute
María Elena Sánchez Saldaña, Species Survival Network (SSN)
Launching of CoP18
The CITES CoP18 website is officially launched
Daniel Fernando, Sri Lanka
Sevvandi Jayakody, Sri Lanka
Members of the CITES Secretariat with the Sri Lanka delegation responsible for CITES CoP18
Afternoon Session
View of the dais during the opening session
Ursula Moser, Switzerland
João Loureiro, Portugal
Mercedes Roman Nuñez, Spain
Basile van Havre, Canada
Roseline Mandisodza-Chikerema, Zimbabwe
François Busson, EU
Members of the Standing Committee
The meeting is gavelled to a close
Carolina Caceres, SC Chair, Canada, and David Morgan, CITES Secretariat
Around the Venue
Nadia Berny, CITES Secretariat (center), with the conference volunteers
Delegates from Italy
Delegates from Australia
Delegates from Austria
Delegates speak informally
Delegates between sessions
The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) team covering SC70: Tanya Rosen, Italy; Vijay Kolinjivadi, Canada; Mandy Rude, US; and Kiara Worth, South Africa
