Statements made by Mr John E. Scanlon, Secretary-General of CITES

Talk of prohibiting, preventing and countering corruption must take centre stage when signatories to the Cites treaty on regulating the international trade in wildlife meet in Johannesburg this weekend. The world is witnessing an unprecedented surge in wildlife trafficking that is stealing the irreplaceable natural wealth of countries, greatly hindering development, paralysing efforts to eradicate poverty, and undermining conservation efforts. This illicit trade in wildlife is well organised, transnational and happening across every region. As countries prepare to meet in Johannesburgthis weekend for the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to Cites (CoP17), there is increasing recognition that to curb the global surge in wildlife trafficking we must counter the corrosive corruption that enables it.

Consumers and collectors want sturgeon caviar, snakeskin bags, shark meat and fins, wild snowdrop bulbs, precious rosewood furniture, and quality agarwood oil, as well as rare birds, reptiles, cacti and orchids. But they rarely stop to think about their origins. There are now over seven billion people consuming biodiversity every day in the form of medicines, food, clothing, furniture, perfumes and luxury goods. Demand for products drawn from nature is increasing, and with it pressure is growing on some of our wildlife species.

World Ranger Day 2016 Message from CITES Secretary-General, John E. Scanlon 31 July 2016 World Ranger Day honours park rangers across the world who have been injured or lost their lives in the line of duty, and also celebrates the role rangers play in protecting our natural resources, including wild animals and plants. 

Presidential Task Force on Wildlife Trafficking Symposium June 28 & 29, 2016, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Allder Auditorium, Springfield, Virginia, U.S.A. Keynote Address by John E. Scanlon CITES Secretary-General ‘CITES and tackling wildlife trafficking and CITES CoP 17’