Event Conference
Briefing on the 18th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES

10 Jul 2019
10:15–12:00
Venue: International Environment House II (7-9 ch. de Balexert)
Organization: Geneva Environment Network
A briefing focusing on the preparations of the upcoming 18th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES CoP18), to be held in Geneva, Palexpo, from 17 to 28 August 2019, took place at the International Environment Houe on Wednesday 10 July.
Background
The 2019 conference will adopt a wide range of decisions to expand and strengthen the global wildlife trade regime. A key highlight will be the 57 proposals that governments have submitted for changing the levels of protection afforded to over 500 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and plants.
The 71st and 72nd meetings of the Standing Committee will be held at the same venue on 16 August and 28 August respectively.
Agenda
Welcome and introduction
10:30
Bruno POZZI, Director, Europe Office, UN Environment Programme
10.35
Ivonne HIGUERO, Secretary-General, CITES Secretariat
CITES CoP18 – the big issues
10:50
Changes to the CITES Appendices and elephant discussions at CoP18
Tom DE MEULENAER, Chief, Scientific Services, CITES Secretariat
11.00
Enforcement issues – combating illegal wildlife trade
Pia JONSSON, Enforcement Support Officer, Enforcement Support, CITES Secretariat
11:10
Capacity-building and traceability of products in trade
Haruko OKUSU, Chief, Knowledge Management & Outreach, CITES Secretariat
11:20
Law and compliance
Juan Carlos VASQUEZ, Chief, Legal Affairs & Compliance, CITES Secretariat
11.30
Strategic Vision of CITES, future work programme and budget
Ivonne HIGUERO, Secretary-General, CITES Secretariat
Susanne BENGTSSON, Team Leader, Administrative Services, CITES Secretariat
CITES CoP18 – your questions answered
Q&A
Summary
- The CITES Secretariat presentation is available online. The other documents & links presented are available in the respective section of this page.
- All Parties have received a unique registration link sent on 10 or 11 January 2019 to the email addresses of the Management Authorities listed in the CITES online directory. All Observers registered for CoP17 have also receive a similar link on the same dates.
- Please note that to obtain a priority pass and a letter of invitation for visa purposes, an advanced copy of the credentials has to be sent to registration@cites.org.
- Enquiries about registration should be sent to registration@cites.org.
- Badges for the participants will be delivered from 15 August.
Read the CITES Secretariat Summary of this briefing.
Documents
- Invitation
- Presentation by the IPCC Co-Chairs
- CITES National Legislation Project
- Parties involved in the National Ivory Action Plan (NIAP) process
- Summary of the briefing (CITES website)
Video
The event was live on Facebook.
Photos
Photos of the event are available on CITES Flickr Album (©CITES, Yuan Liu) and the Geneva Environment Network Facebook Album (©UNEP, Sergio Maceda).