Review of trade sustainability and conservation progress for pangolins, seahorses, rosewoods and more at upcoming CITES Standing Committee’s 78th meeting

Updated on 07 February 2025

 

© Adobe Stock / Alexander Sliwa / filipeprates / mario mairal iNaturalist

Geneva, 27 January 2025 — Wildlife trade is wide-ranging, including trade in live, artificially propagated, and captive bred specimens of animals and plants to an array of products such as food, exotic leather goods, wooden musical instruments, timber, and traditional medicines. While many species in trade are not endangered, those that have been listed in the Appendices of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) require international cooperation to effectively regulate this trade, so that these threatened species continue to exist in the wild for future generations to come. Since its entry into force in 1975, CITES has served as the global agreement between governments for regulating international wildlife trade to ensure it is conducted in a sustainable, legal and traceable manner. 

The CITES Standing Committee will hold its 78th meeting (SC78) on 3-8 February 2025 in Geneva, Switzerland. From African carnivores and anguillid eels to rosewoods and orchids, the meeting will delve into the sustainability challenges and conservation progress for a wide range of species included in the CITES Appendices. With 87 agenda items and over 600 registered participants, the 6 day meeting is expected to gather more than 70 CITES Parties and over 100 observer organizations to exchange updates and recommendations from the intersessional period since the Committee’s previous meeting in November 2023 (SC77)

Highlighting the significance of the 78th meeting, CITES Secretary-General Ivonne Higuero said: “We look forward to the discussions and decisions to arise from SC78 as meaningful progress in strengthening the implementation of the Convention toward our collective mission to achieve the CITES Strategic Vision of a world where all international wildlife trade is legal and sustainable, and significantly contribute to the global obligations under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.” 

The CITES Standing Committee provides policy guidance concerning the implementation of the Convention, oversees the management of the Secretariat's budget and handles all compliance matters. Beyond these key roles, it coordinates and oversees, where required, the work of other committees and working groups; carries out tasks given to it by the Conference of the Parties (CoP); and drafts resolutions for consideration by the CoP. 

During SC78, the Committee will review proposals, reports, updates and recommendations relating to inter alia:

Plant Species: Among the flora-related matters reviewed by the Committee are reports prepared by the Secretariat on CITES conservation and sustainable use of forests, the conservation impacts of CITES exemptions for rosewood tree species (Dalbergia spp. and Guibourtia spp.), and the enforcement, stockpile management and capacity-building needs for a traceability system for Brazil wood (Paubrasilia echinata) bows. Draft revisions to Resolutions on the Cooperation with the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation and the Implementation of the Convention for Agarwood-producing taxa (Aquilaria spp. and Gyrinops spp.) will also be considered.

Sharks and Rays: The Committee will review the results of the Secretariat’s study examining the mismatch of data on the catch and trade of CITES-listed sharks. Implementation issues concerning the CITES provisions for shark and ray species that were raised during the intersessional period, as well as whether catch locations should be included for trade in sharks and rays, are also on the agenda.

Elephants: Several matters related to elephants are on the agenda. Regarding the taxonomy and nomenclature of African elephants (Loxodonta spp.), the Committee will provide advice on how to reflect in the CITES Appendices the scientific agreement to recognize a new species of African elephant, known as the forest elephant (L. cyclotis), as separate from the savanna elephant (L. africana). The Committee will also consider the outcome of the CITES Dialogue meeting for African Elephant range States, held in Botswana in September 2024 and review the implementation of the National Ivory Action Plans (NIAPs).

CITES and People: The Committee is invited to consider new non-binding guidance on consulting indigenous peoples and local communities on proposals to amend the CITES Appendices. The agenda will also feature livelihood benefits from trade in CITES-listed species, proposed amendments on CITES youth engagement and updates on the CITES Global Youth Network.

Introduction from the Sea: With the rise in commercially exploited sharks included in the CITES Appendices, the application of the Convention provisions to specimens taken in areas beyond national jurisdiction, known as Introduction from the Sea (IFS), has required increasing attention by CITES Parties. The Committee is expected to consider the relationship between CITES and the recently adopted Agreement on Biodiversity in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction, the challenges that some Parties face with IFS in practice, and present actions for the upcoming CITES CoP20 to strengthen IFS implementation.

Compliance Matters: From illegal trade in exotic birds to challenges in law enforcement and regulation of captive breeding operations, the Committee will be invited to consider the cases related to Parties currently subject to an Article XIII process, in which the progress of Parties facing challenges to achieve compliance in the implementation of the Convention is considered. These Parties include Cameroon, Nigeria, Viet Nam, Bangladesh, Guinea, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Lao People’s Democratic Republic. As part of the Review of Significant Trade process, 19 species/country combinations are under review for compliance with CITES trade regulations, particularly focusing on captive-bred specimens and the legal acquisition of founder stock.

Wildlife Crime and Enforcement: An array of issues relating to species affected by wildlife crime are on the agenda, including cheetahs, rhinoceroses, seahorses, Tibetan antelope, tortoises and freshwater turtles. Regional activities in West and Central Africa and progress made by other Parties to address wildlife crime will be considered. The Committee will further review updates from the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC), the CITES Illegal Trade Database, and key reports on the progress of measures and activities of CITES task forces on illegal trade, such as the CITES Big Cats Task Force and the CITES Task Force on illegal trade in specimens of tree species.

77th meeting of the CITES Standing Committee, November 2023 © Kiara Worth, IISD/ENB

As the Committee’s last meeting before the 20th meeting of the CITES Conference of the Parties (CITES CoP20), to be held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan in November 2025, the decisions and resolutions tabled for adoption at CoP20 will provide insight into how Parties have progressed in the conservation, regulation of trade, combatting wildlife crime, and strengthening the sustainability and traceability of the harvest and trade in CITES-listed species. These outcomes promise to set the stage for the wholistic review by CITES CoP20 of the implementation of the Convention, as it reaches its 50th year in effect.

Learn more about the 78th meeting of the CITES Standing Committee here.

 

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About CITES 

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was signed on 3 March 1973 and entered into force on 1 July 1975. With 185 Parties (184 countries + the European Union), it remains one of the world's most powerful tools for wildlife conservation through the regulation of international trade in over 40,900 species of wild animals and plants. CITES-listed species are used by people around the world in their daily lives for food, health care, furniture, housing, tourist souvenirs, cosmetics or fashion. CITES seeks to ensure that international trade in such species is sustainable, legal and traceable and contributes to both the livelihoods of the communities that live closest to them and to national economies for a healthy planet and the prosperity of the people in support of UN Sustainable Development Goals. 

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