European Union

On Monday, 24 July, PC Chair Adrianne Sinclair re-convened the 23rd meeting of the Plants Committee (PC23).  In the morning, delegates considered strategic planning for 2016-2019 (CoP17-CoP18), Review of Significant Trade (RST) in specimens of Appendix-II species, timber identification, African tree species, and neotropical tree species. In considering the RST, PC Chair Sinclair underscored the importance of these reviews, calling them “core CITES business.” After lunch, delegates considered the periodic review of the appendices, rosewood timber species, standard nomenclature, annotations for Appendix II orchids, East African sandalwood, and definition of the term “artificially propagated.” In discussions, among other things, delegates considered questions of the PC mandate, with some divergent views expressed on discussing implementation issues within the scientific body. Multiple agenda items raised questions of definitions and interpretation of terms, with most discussions deferred to working groups for more detailed assessment. The balance of conservation and trade was highlighted by several participants.  The PC established or re-established working groups for all the issues discussed during the day. For some, lengthy discussions took place on the scope of work of the groups, with several participants recalling the limited time and resources of the PC. The working group on strategic planning met over lunch, and the remainder of working groups will meet on Tuesday, 25 July or Wednesday, 26 July. An existing ad hoc working group on annotations, aimed at informing upcoming Standing Committee discussions, will also convene during the meeting.​ IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage and a summary and analysis report from the 29th Meeting of the CITES Animals Committee, Joint Meeting of the CITES Animals and Plants Committees, and 23rd Meeting of the CITES Plants Committee. The summary and analysis is now available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Sean Wu For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Morning Plenary PC Chair Adrianne Sinclair, Canada, in discussions with Karen Gaynor, CITES Secretariat A bird's view of the morning plenary Tendro Radanielina, Madagascar Pablo Sinovas, UNEP-WCMC Martin Rose, Austria, speaking with Frans Arus, Belgium Noel McGough, CITES Nomenclature Specialist Irma Betty Romero Rodriguez, Peru César Beltetón and Vera Teresinha Rauber Coradin, PC representatives for Central and South America and the Caribbean, in discussions Michael McGuffin, American Herbal Products Association Cindy Squires, International Wood Products Association Delegates during the morning plenary Joeni Setijo Rahajoe and Byoung Yoon Lee, PC representatives for Asia  Afternoon Plenary Noel McGough, CITES Nomenclature Specialist, chatting with PC Chair Adrianne Sinclair, Canada; Tom De Meulenaer and Karen Gaynor, CITES Secretariat, before the afternoon plenary Hesiquio Benítez Díaz, Mexico César Beltetón, PC representative for Central and South America and the Caribbean María Elena Sánchez Saldaña, Species Survival Network Charles Barber, World Resources Institute Ali Mahamane and Aurélie Flore Koumba Pambo, PC representatives for Africa Heather Noonan, League of American Orchestras David Harter, Germany Paulo Carmo, PC representative for Europe Observers and parties raising their plates to show their interest in joining a working group Junya Nakano, Japan John Bennett, International Society of Violin and Bow Makers Hélène Perier, EU Around the Venue

On Saturday, 22 July, delegates gathered for the opening of the 23rd meeting of the Plants Committee in the morning, the closing of the 29th meeting of the Animals Committee in the afternoon, and, in between, the joint meeting of the AC and PC. Hosted by Switzerland, a reception was held in the evening in the Geneva’s Botanical Gardens for all participants. In the PC opening, the committee welcomed new PC Chair Adrianne Sinclair (Canada), adopted the agenda, programme of work and rules of procedure, and admitted observers. In the morning, the joint meeting was chaired by AC Chair Mathias Lörtscher and addressed: a planned review of the terms of reference for the AC and PC; the selection of candidates to serve on a working group led by the SC to review and update the CITES Strategic Vision; and a proposed assessment of the conservation status and potential for recovery efforts for Appendix I-listed species. They also discussed progress regarding collaboration with the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). In the afternoon, chaired by PC Chair Sinclair, the AC and PC considered: cooperative work in North America on strengthening conservation and sustainable production of selected Appendix II species; Appendix III listings; country-wide significant trade reviews; capacity building and identification materials; and non-detriment findings. The joint session of AC23 and PC29 closed at 4:40pm, followed by the close of AC29 at 4:45pm. IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage and a summary and analysis report from the 29th Meeting of the CITES Animals Committee, Joint Meeting of the CITES Animals and Plants Committees, and 23rd Meeting of the CITES Plants Committee. The summary and analysis is now available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Sean Wu For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Morning Plenary View of the dais during the morning plenary John Scanlon, Secretary-General, CITES Byoung Yoon Lee, PC representative for Asia César Beltetón, PC representative for Central and South America and the Caribbean PC Chair Adrianne Sinclair, Canada Joeni Setijo Rahajoe, PC representative for Asia Greg Leach, PC representative for Oceania Ursula Moser, PC representative for Europe Paulo Carmo, PC representative for Europe Noel McGough, CITES Nomenclature Specialist Isabel Camarena Osorno, PC representative for North America Members of the Plants Committee stand up to receive welcoming applause from the delegates Delegates applaud to welcome the Plants Committee Obaid Alshamsi and Nahla Noobi, United Arab Emirates Patience Gandiwa, Zimbabwe (L-R) José Alberto Álvarez Lemus, AC representative for Central and South America and the Caribbean; Vera Teresinha Rauber Coradin, PC representative for Central and South America and the Caribbean; Marcel Calvar Agrelo, AC representative for Central and South America and the Caribbean; and César Beltetón, PC representative for Central and South America and the Caribbean John Scanlon, Secretary-General, CITES, presents award to the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) of Singapore for their effort in historic rosewood seizures. Afternoon Plenary View of the afternoon plenary Juan-Carlos Vasquez, CITES Secretariat Hesiquio Benitez Diaz, Mexico Svein A. Fossa, Ornamental Fish International Delegates from Madagascar Delegates during the afternoon plenary Ken Farr, Canada Vera Teresinha Rauber Coradin, PC representative for Central and South America and the Caribbean Augustin Ngumbi Amuri, Democratic Republic of the Congo Gael de Rotalier, EU Anne St. John, US Around the Venue

On Friday, 21 July, plenary resumed at 3:45 pm. Chair Duarte offered draft recommendations arising from informal bilateral consultations, clarifying that: the elements of the draft text of an international legally binding instrument (ILBI) do not reflect consensus; section A includes non-exclusive elements that generated convergence among most delegations; section B highlights some of the main issues on which there is divergence of views; and both sections are for reference purposes because they do not reflect all options discussed and are without prejudice to states’ positions during the negotiations. In addition, the draft included: a recommendation to the UN General Assembly to take a decision, as soon as possible, on the convening of an intergovernmental conference (IGC), under the auspices of the UN, to consider the PrepCom recommendations on the elements and to elaborate the text of an ILBI under the Convention; and an indication that the titles of the two sections be removed (namely, “elements of an ILBI draft text” and “elements requiring most attention towards further progress in the development of an ILBI draft text”) . Plenary was immediately suspended to allow for regional consultations. 7:25 pm: regional consultations are still ongoing 8:59 pm: plenary resumes 9:10 pm: plenary adopts recommendations to UN General Assembly 10:01 pm: Chair Duarte gaveled the meeting to a close The Earth Negotiations Bulletin summary and analysis of PrepCom 4 will be available on Monday, 24 July 2017, online at: http://enb.iisd.org/oceans/bbnj/prepcom4/ 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 the 4th Session of the Preparatory Committee Established by the UN General Assembly Resolution 69/292: Development of an International Legally Binding Instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction. The summary and analysis report is now available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Franz Dejon For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Dais applaudes the conclusion of PrepCom 4 Peter Thomson, President of the UN General Assembly Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil, gaveled the meeting to a close at 10:01 pm L-R: Peter Thomson, President of the UN General Assembly; Barbara Boechat, Brazil; Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS; Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil; Alice Hicuburundi, UNDOALOS; and Charlotte Salpin, UNDOALOS Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil, in discussion with John Brincat, EU L-R: Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS; Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil; Barbara Boechat, Brazil; Alice Hicuburundi, UNDOALOS; and Charlotte Salpin, UNDOALOS Delegates waiting for the resumption of PrepCom 4 Essam Yassin Mohammed, Eritrea (right), in a conversation with delegates from Cameroon L-R: Elizabeth Rodríguez Santiago, American Society of International Law, confers with Stella Bartolini Cavicchi, World Ocean Council Delegates from Iceland reviewing draft text Delegates from the African Group reviewing draft text Delegates from Norway and Iceland consulting Delegates from the African Group consulting Delegates from Canada consulting L-R: Zentaro Naganuma, Japan, with Ma Xinmin, China L-R: Evan Bloom, US, with Zentaro Naganuma, Japan L-R: Charlotte Salpin, UNDOALOS, with Alfonso Ascencio-Herrera, International Seabed Authority (ISA) L-R: Alain Tellier, Canada, with Ma Xinmin, China L-R: Zentaro Naganuma, Japan, with Kjell Kristian Egge, Norway L-R: Alain Tellier, Canada, confers with Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil, with Matthías Pálsson, Iceland L-R Maxim Musikhin, Russian Federation and Larisa Chernysheva, Russian Federation, in conversation with Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil (right), in discussions with Evan Bloom, US Duncan Currie, Greenpeace (center), with delegates from the Russian Federation L-R: Tallash Kantai, IISD Reporting Services, in conversation with Matthías Pálsson, Iceland L-R: Tidiani Couma, Joëlle Casanova, and Florian Botto, Monaco Delegates from China Delegates from the Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) Delegates from Latin America and the Caribbean Delegates from the African Group Participants from the High Seas Alliance

On Thursday, 20 July, in an afternoon plenary, delegates considered a further revised Chair’s text including: a draft recommendation to the General Assembly on the substantive elements of an international legally binding instrument (ILBI), indicating that the structure and elements reflect the outcome of the PrepCom discussions, and are not exclusive and without prejudice to the position of states during the negotiations; a procedural recommendation to the General Assembly to take a decision, as soon as possible, on convening and intergovernmental conference (IGC) under the UN auspices, to consider the PrepCom’s substantive recommendations and to elaborate the ILBI text under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), with a starting date as early as possible; and two sections, one on elements of the draft ILBI text (section A) and the other on elements that require most attention towards further progress in the development of a draft ILBI text (section B). Following a round of comments, Chair Duarte acknowledged that the revised draft did not fully reflect all positions; noted concerns expressed by some delegations and those requesting more time to make a decision; and adjourned the session, expressing willingness to exhaust every effort to arrive at consensus, in line with the PrepCom mandate, and inviting delegates to share suggestions with him. 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 the 4th Session of the Preparatory Committee Established by the UN General Assembly Resolution 69/292: Development of an International Legally Binding Instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction. The summary and analysis report is now available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Franz Dejon For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page L-R: Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS; Barbara Boechat, Brazil; Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil; Alice Hicuburundi, UNDOALOS; and Charlotte Salpin, UNDOALOS John Brincat, EU Lois Young, Belize, on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Luis Oña Garcés, Ecuador, on behalf of the G-77/China James Ndirangu Waweru, Kenya Hina Saeed Baig, Pakistan Luke Daunivalu, Fiji, on behalf of the Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) Juan Carlos Mendoza García, Costa Rica Maxim Musikhin, Russian Federation Rena Lee, Singapore Khurshed Alam, Bangladesh, on behalf of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) Ismail Raushan, Maldives, on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) Essam Yassin Mohammed, Eritrea Ryan Fung A Loi, Suriname Ariel Cayanan, the Philippines Evan Bloom, US Pablo Arrocha Olabuenaga, Mexico Mohamed Atlassi, Morocco Florian Botto, Monaco Ma Xinmin, China Narayanane Saravanane, India Alain Tellier, Canada EU delegates consulting immediately after the end of the session Delegates from PSIDS consulting Delegates in informal consultations L-R: Elisa Morgera, IISD Reporting Services, in a discussion with John Brincat, EU L-R: Alistair Graham, Australia, in a conversation with Gerardo Irimia, Panama L-R: Susan Whelan, Holy See, in a conversation with Julian Jackson, The Pew Charitable Trusts A delegate looking at IISD web coverage Delegates from India

On Wednesday, 19 July, delegates met in plenary in the morning and in the early afternoon to continue consideration of a revised Chair’s text containing draft recommendations to the UN General Assembly, focusing on the following draft elements of an international legally binding instrument (ILBI): environmental impact assessments, capacity building and technology transfer (CB&TT), institutional arrangements, and final clauses. Plenary also considered: a chapeau to the draft elements of the ILBI; and a procedural recommendation calling on the UN General Assembly to convene an intergovernmental conference as soon as possible, with a possible starting date of 2018. In the afternoon, Chair Duarte held informal closed consultations on: the ILBI relationships with other legal instruments and relevant bodies; international cooperation; access to marine genetic resources (MGRs), types of benefits to be shared, IPRs and monitoring of MGR utilization; relationships between on area-based management tools and measures under other instruments, and adjacency; strategic environmental assessments; terms for technology transfer, and funding for CB&TT; institutional arrangements; financing; responsibility and liability; and a procedural recommendation to the General Assembly. 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 the 4th Session of the Preparatory Committee Established by the UN General Assembly Resolution 69/292: Development of an International Legally Binding Instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction. The summary and analysis report is now available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Franz Dejon For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page L-R: Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS; Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil; Alice Hicuburundi, UNDOALOS; and Charlotte Salpin, UNDOALOS Wini Broadbelt, EU Lizanne Aching, Trinidad and Tobago Larisa Chernysheva, Russian Federation Jung-Eun Kim, Republic of Korea Alice Revell, New Zealand Juliette Babb-Riley, Barbados, on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Zakieh Taghizadeh, Iran Audrey Naana Abayena, Ghana Diedre Mills, Jamaica, on behalf of CARICOM María Alejandrina Sande, Uruguay, making an intervention Edgar Gutiérrez Espeleta, Minister of Environment and Energy, Costa Rica Jean Kenfack, Cameroon Teresa Cruz Sardiñas, Cuba Michael Googan, Australia Khurshed Alam, Bangladesh, on behalf of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) Alejandro Alday, Mexico Mehdi Remaoun, Algeria, on behalf of the African Group Leonito Bacalando Jr., Federated States of Micronesia Ma Xinmin, China Luis Oña Garcés, Ecuador, on behalf of the G-77/China Ariel Cayanan, the Philippines Matthías Pálsson, Iceland John Fintakpa Lamega, Togo Evan Bloom, US View of the informal consultations L-R: Mehdi Remaoun, Algeria, in a conversation with Sergey Leonidchenko, Russian Federation L-R: Hiba Obaid Darwish Alsheihi, Hiba AlSaleh, and Hassina Ali, United Arab Emirates Delegates from the Philippines

The twenty-ninth meeting of the Animals Committee (AC29) of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) opened on Tuesday, 18 July in Geneva, Switzerland.  In the morning, CITES Secretary-General John Scanlon welcomed participants and underlined the AC’s “extraordinary and critical work” in bringing science to the decision-making and implementation processes of CITES. Hugh Robertson, AC representative for Oceania, on behalf of Fiji, presented Secretary-General John Scanlon with a tabua, a ceremonial sperm whale tooth with significant cultural value, in recognition of the repatriation to Fiji of 146 tabua confiscated at the New Zealand border.  The AC welcomed Mathias Lörtscher (Switzerland) as its new Chair. It addressed, among other issues: the Review of Significant Trade (RST); periodic review of the Appendices; captive-bred and ranched specimens; nomenclature; and species-specific matters. Chair Lörtscher established several working groups and a drafting group, which will meet on Wednesday and Thursday. IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage and a summary and analysis report from the 29th Meeting of the CITES Animals Committee, Joint Meeting of the CITES Animals and Plants Committees, and 23rd Meeting of the CITES Plants Committee. The summary and analysis is now available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Sean Wu For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Opening Plenary John Scanlon, Secretary-General, CITES Sofie Flensborg, CITES Secretariat Tom De Meulenaer, CITES Secretariat Simon Nemtzov, AC representative for Europe Amir Hamidy, Indonesia Chair Mathias Lörtscher, Switzerland Delegates from Mexico Delegate from Tanzania Claire McLardy, UNEP-WCMC Øystein Størkersen, Norway Room view during the morning plenary Ronald Orenstein, Humane Society International Pablo Sinovas, UNEP-WCMC Chair Mathias Lörtscher, Switzerland NGOs raising their plates to join the membership of a working group Kelly Malsch, UNEP-WCMC Peter Paul van Dijk, CITES Nomenclature Specialist David Morgan, CITES Secretariat Guy Apollinaire Mensah, AC representative for Africa Afternoon Plenary View of the dais during the afternoon plenary Tom De Meulenaer, CITES Secretariat, in discussions with Chair Mathias Lörtscher, Switzerland Delegates taking notes Delegate from European Union raising his plate Vincent Fleming, AC representative for Europe Hugh Robertson, AC representative for Oceania Daniel Kachelriess, CITES Secretariat Marcel Calvar Agrelo, AC representative for Central and South America and Caribbean Amie Bräutigam, Wildlife Conservation Society Firdaus Agung, Indonesia Zhigang Jiang, China Dan Natusch, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Alain Jouffrey, GS1 Switzerland Around the Venue

On Tuesday, 18 July, delegates met in plenary throughout the day to continue consideration of a revised Chair’s text containing draft recommendations to the UN General Assembly. Discussions focused on the following draft elements of a new international legally binding instrument: general elements, including use of terms, scope of application, objectives and relationships with other instruments; general principles and approaches; marine genetic resources; area-based management tools, including marine protected areas; and environmental impact assessments. Chair Duarte proposed concluding consideration of the revised Chair’s draft on Wednesday morning; holding informal consultations with interested delegations on Wednesday afternoon on difficult points on a non-objection basis; and if no reformulation is possible, developing another section in the draft recommendations to deal with non-consensus points. 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 the 4th Session of the Preparatory Committee Established by the UN General Assembly Resolution 69/292: Development of an International Legally Binding Instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction. The summary and analysis report is now available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Franz Dejon For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page L-R: Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS; Barbara Boechat, Brazil; Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil; Alice Hicuburundi, UNDOALOS; and Charlotte Salpin, UNDOALOS View of PrepCom 4 participants Zakieh Taghizadeh, Iran Alice Revell, New Zealand Jean Kenfack, Cameroon María Claudia Vélez Crismatt, Colombia Paulo José Chiarelli, Brazil Metod Špacek, EU Teresa Cruz Sardiñas, Cuba Michael Googan, Australia John Fintakpa Lamega, Togo Larisa Chernysheva, Russian Federation Martin Zvachula, Federated States of Micronesia Ma Xinmin, China Margo Deiye, Nauru, on behalf of the Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) Mehdi Remaoun, Algeria, on behalf of the African Group Rena Lee, Singapore Evan Bloom, US L-R: René Lefeber, Tom Diederen, and Wini Broadbelt, the Netherlands Alistair Graham, Australia, in a conversation with delegates from China Zentaro Naganuma, Japan, confers with Diedre Mills, Jamaica L-R: Evan Bloom, US, in a discussion with Zentaro Naganuma, Japan Joan Yang, Nauru (second from right) in a discussion with delegates from Canada and Switzerland Delegates from the Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) consulting Delegates from the African Group in informal consultations Publications at PrepCom 4