On Friday 20 July, David Morgan, Officer-in-Charge of the CITES Secretariat, welcomed all participants to the opening of the 24th meeting of the CITES Plants Committee (PC24). He highlighted the changes of the Convention in regulating the trade in plants, particularly the fact that more timber species have been added to the Appendices which shows the faith of the Parties in the Convention in regulating these high value species. He also introduced new staff in the Secretariat's science team. Adrianne Sinclair, Chair of the Plants Committee, provided some opening remarks, noting that tree species dominates the agenda of the current meeting and that the definition of "artificial propagation" will be worth particular attention.
During the morning session and the early afternoon session, joint agenda items of the 30th meeting of the Animals Committee and 24th meeting of Plants Committee were discussed, including the review of the Terms of Reference of the Animals and Plants Committees, specimens produced from synthetic or cultured DNA, Appendix I-listed species, Report of the Secretariat on Non-Detriment Findings, country-wide significant trade reviews, capacity building, the report of the Secretariat on identification materials and Appendix-III listings.
The afternoon session was dedicated to the working groups on: Country Wide Significant Trade Report, Animals Committee and Plants Committee Terms of Reference and Non-Detriment Findings.
