European Union

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 For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page. 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

On Friday, ITTC-53 entered its fifth day of work in Lima, Peru. In the morning, the Council started by hearing the progress report on the ITTO Fellowship Programme and the report by the Chair of the Fellowship Selection Panel on new fellowships to be awarded. The Council then discussed the ITTO-Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) programme to improve country capacity to implement CITES listings of tropical timber species, and heard reports on collaboration with ITTO from the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Secretariat and the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO). The plenary then discussed the issue of rotation in the selection of the Executive Director, where the Consumers called for a year of deliberation in capitals before reaching a decision at ITTC-54 on the rotation issue. Council decided to reconvene the contact group on rotation to negotiate a draft decision for Council, using the Consumer proposal as a starting point. The contact group met during lunch. Meanwhile, a side event organized by the Civil Society Advisory Group (CSAG) was held, “Livelihoods and trade of timber and non-timber forest products for local communities.” In the afternoon the Committees on Reforestation and Forest Management (CRF) and Finance and Administration (CFA) met in parallel. CRF finalized its report to the Council. CFA reviewed a draft decision to amend the rules of procedure and financial rules relating to transparency of CFA documentation, discussed the administrative budget for the Biennial Work Programme 2018-2019, and reviewed the CFA report to the Council. The Committee on Economics, Statistics and Markets and the Committee on Forest Industry (CEM-CFI) met afterward to review their report to the Council. In the evening the Chairman's Open-Ended Drafting Group met to continue work preparing draft decisions for Council consideration on Saturday. IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage and a summary and analysis report from the 53rd Session of the International Tropical Timber Council and Associated Sessions of the Committees. The summary and analysis is now available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Ángeles Estrada For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page. Council Session Steven Johnson, ITTO Secretariat; Gerhard Breulmann, ITTO Secretariat; Gerhard Dieterle, ITTO Executive Director; Tabi Agyarko, Chair of ITTC-53; and Zhang Zhongtian (China), Vice-Chair of ITTC-53  Jorge Malleux Orjeda, Peru, and Sheamala Satkuru, ITTO Secretariat Emmanuelle Maire, EU Victoire Eheth and Martin Cyrille Nkie, Cameroon Milena Sosa Schmidt, Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) John Leigh, Peru Participants during the Council Session   María Fernanda Potes Paier and Rubén Darío Guerrero, Colombia Tabi Agyarko, Chair of ITTC-53 Naho Tamura, Tetra Yanuariadi and Li Qiang, ITTO Secretariat Michael Kleine, International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) Ramón Carrillo, ITTO Secretariat Participants during the Council Session Danièle Marie Ramiramanana, REFACOF, Cameroon; Ximena Buitrón Cisneros, FairWild Foundation, Brazil; and Cécile Ndjebet, REFACOF, Cameroon David Cooper, Deputy Executive Secretary, Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), addressed the Council via video. David Samuel Estacuy Cojulúm, Guatemala Hwan Ok-Ma, ITTO Secretariat Consumer members in consultations Producer members in consultations Committee on Reforestation and Forest Management (CRF) Jobst-Michael Schröder, Germany; Hwan Ok-Ma, ITTO Secretariat; Marjukka Mähönen, CRF Chair; Dambis Kaip (Papua New Guinea), CRF Vice-Chair; and Polycarpe Masupa Kambale, ITTO Secretariat Marjukka Mähönen, CRF Chair for ITTC-53, congratulates Jobst-Michael Schröder (Germany) on his election as CRF Vice-Chair for ITTC-54. Josefina Takahashi Sato, Peru Felix Magallon González, Panama Jobst-Michael Schröder (Germany), CRF Vice-Chair for ITTC-54 Aysha Ghadiali, US Committee on Finance and Administration (CFA) Yoshiko Motoyama, Japan Rob Busink, the EU Luke Thompson (US), CFA Vice-Chair; Mad Zaidi Mohamed Karli (Malaysia), CFA Chair; and Simon Kawaguchi, ITTO Secretariat   Committee on Economics, Statistics and Markets and the Committee on Forest Industry (CEM-CFI) Anna Tyler (New Zealand), CFI Vice-Chair; Achille Orphée Lokossou (Benin), CFI Chair; Jorge Malleux Orjeda (Peru), CEM Chair; Björn Merkell (Sweden), CEM Vice-Chair; and Steven Johnson, ITTO Secretariat Jennifer Conje, US Miguel Roberto Mendieta Durón, Honduras Jorge Malleux Orjeda (Peru), CEM Chair Achille Orphée Lokossou (Benin), CFI Chair   Around the Venue        

On the final day of the third meeting of the Open-Ended Committee of Permanent Representatives (OECPR-3), delegates continued negotiations in the five contact groups throughout the day, adding extended sessions into the night. During the evening closing plenary, delegates welcomed the successful conclusion of discussions on the draft ministerial outcome document and agreed to forward the document to UNEA-3 for consideration. Delegates also adopted eight of the 13 draft decisions and resolutions by acclamation and earmarked the remaining five resolutions for informal consultations over the weekend. OECPR Chair John Moreti drew the meeting to a close at 10:52 pm. IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage, daily reports, and a summary and analysis report from OECPR-3 and UNEA-3. The summary and analysis is now available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Mike Muzarakis For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page. Plenary Session From L-R: Ibrahim Thiaw, Deputy Executive Director, UN Environment Programme (UNEP); Erik Solheim, Executive Director, UNEP; UNEA President Edgar Gutiérrez-Espeleta, Minister of Environment and Energy, Costa Rica; OECPR Chair John Moreti, Botswana; and Jorge Laguna-Celis, Secretary, Secretariat of Governing Bodies, UNEP Erik Solheim, Executive Director, UNEP UNEA President Edgar Gutiérrez-Espeleta, Minister of Environment and Energy, Costa Rica OECPR Chair John Moreti, Botswana Abdelmoneim Mabrouk, Sudan, speaking on behalf of the Arab League Jorge Laguna-Celis, Secretary, Secretariat of Governing Bodies, UNEP; OECPR Chair John Moreti, Botswana Rose Makena Muchiri, Kenya Marta Juarez Ruiz, Costa Rica Yingxian Xia, China Hussein Roshdy, Egypt Ado Lõhmus, EU Helda Khasmy, Women Major Group, Indonesia Webster Chiyangwa, Zimbabwe Andrea Jones Bennett, Jamaica Annemari Vene, Estonia, with Kelly Hertenweg, Belgium Delegates between sessions Contact Group 1 Eduardo Alcibíades Sánchez Kiesslich, Mexico Simla Yasemin Özkaya, Turkey Miak Aw Hui Min, Singapore Eiji Tanaka, Japan Kätlin Mandel, EU Sebastian König, Switzerland Suseno Sukoyono, Indonesia Charles Mojalemotho, Botswana Jorge Ernesto Quezada Diaz, El Salvador Jamil Ahmad, UNEP, with Vladimir Lenev, Russian Federation Participants conferring Nathan Glassey, New Zealand, with Maria Lemos, Colombia Contact Group 2 Committee of Permanent Representatives (CPR) Vice-Chair Elizabeth Taylor, Colombia Karina Cham, Brazil Narges Saffar, Iran Pedro Tiê Candido Souza, Brazil Contact Group 3 Contact Group 3 Chair Tarja Fernández, Finland Yu Hai, China Yevhenii Tsymbaliuk, Ukraine Simon Cardy, South Africa Wilson Sumner, US Zaid Noori, Iraq Around the venue