Secretary-General's statements

Excellencies, distinguished delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to Panama... welcome to my home, welcome to the CoP of the Americas! It has been 20 years since the last CITES CoP in this hemisphere - CoP12 in Santiago, Chile. This CoP has been organized during the pandemic and it hasn't been easy for the host country or the Secretariat to deal with all the challenges that this brought. Despite everything, we are gathered here and I think it is a happy coincidence that we are holding the World Wildlife Conference in Panama. Gathered here to discuss world wildlife trade in a country that connects two oceans and two continents containing 7 of the 17 megadiverse countries and which has been a centre for trade since the 13th century... in the Olmec, Maya, Aztec and Inca cultures. They were trading on land and sea and I wonder if they would be surprised at the species that will be addressed at this meeting.

CITES Secretary-General, Ivonne Higuero's message to the Ramsar Wetlands Convention's CoP14 More than a third of the world’s wetlands have been lost since 1970 and the rate has been accelerating annually since the year 2000. These are some of the richest and most productive ecosystems in the world – comparable to coral reefs and rainforests.

High-Level Panel on Multilateral Trade and Environment Cooperation: Answering Crisis and Furthering Resilience Remarks of CITES Secretary-General, Ms Ivonne Higuero Geneva, 17 October 2022 It is my pleasure to be part of this high-level panel discussion which kicks off the WTO’s 3rd Trade and Environment Week.

Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Plenary, 3 July 2022, Bonn Biodiversity related MEAs statement - Ivonne Higuero, Secretary-General of CITES I am speaking on behalf of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, the International Whaling Commission and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.

Statement By the Liaison Group of Biodiversity-related Conventions (BLG) Fourth meeting of the Open-ended Working Group (WG2020-4) on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework Nairobi, 21 – 26 June 2022 Thank you, Mr Chair. Distinguished delegates, it is an honor for me to deliver a statement on behalf of the Liaison Group of the Biodiversity-related Conventions, known as the BLG. We join others in thanking UNEP for hosting this meeting, and commend the co-Chairs and the CBD Secretariat for the preparatory work they have undertaken to advance negotiations on the post-2020 global biodiversity framework.

We have a fight on our hands. We are losing biodiversity at an unprecedented rate and science has told us there will be consequences. Nature is our frontline defense against climate change. It gives us food, shelter and medicines. It cleans the air we breathe and the water we drink. It is the basis for our economy, our societies and our existence. All of us must work hard to halt the loss of biodiversity.

Mother Earth Day message - April 2022 From CITES Secretary-General, Ivonne Higuero

On the occasion of the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development for the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Region – Coordinated by UNECE and The International Telecommunication Union CITES Secretary-General, Ivonne Higuero, on ‘Building Digital Ecosystems’. Delivered in Geneva on 6 April 2022. It is an honor for me to speak on this very important topic - thanks to UNECE and ITU for the invitation. Excellencies, dear delegates, before I speak about the topic of the session, allow me to provide some background on CITES. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora or CITES is a legally binding, multilateral environmental agreement with 184 Parties.