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international international
It’s ‘Partnerships for Wildlife Conservation.’ is playing its part in this goal of sustainability.
Partnerships are the key to change. No Parties have agreed on a target to ensure that
individual or organisation is able to take on all international trade in endangered wildlife
these challenges alone – and that includes the species being sustainable, legal and traceable
United Nations… but together we have the by 2030. The meeting we have recently held
expertise, the experience and the numbers to in Panama took some of the boldest decisions
look after our wildlife better and make peace ever seen at a Conference of the Parties. Almost
with nature. all decisions were arrived at by consensus:
364 decisions to continue the conservation of
You have vast experience in environment and species threatened by international trade and
sustainable development, and you’re one of 562 species added to Appendix II for the first
the world’s leading specialists in biodiversity. time. For these species, international trade
What is your assessment of the current may continue, but it will be regulated through
situation overall? a permitting system where scientific and
You have probably heard of the IPBES Global legal documents, ensuring sustainability and
Assessment where scientists agreed that if legality, are required. The Parties to CITES
action is not taken, one million species are worked together to reconcile differing views
threatened with extinction in the coming and build a consensus for action that gives
decades. It is clear that human activity is me hope but, admittedly, the hard work is just
impacting this planet and all the species beginning, as implementation of the decisions
that live on it. And to make matters worse, and regulation of the species added is essential
it is not only a biodiversity crisis but a triple to make any progress to address the challenges
planetary crisis: climate change and pollution we face in a meaningful way.
are compounding the damage to nature.
We need to change that and use the earth’s 20 years ago, the media were full of Rio+10,
resources in a way that is sustainable and and the world was full of hope and high
allows future generations to benefit from the aspirations. Then in 2012, Rio+20 was again Lions, cheetah,
resources as we have. We cannot continue to on the front pages, but with less enthusiasm. in Maasai Mara,
take our natural resources for granted. CITES And strangely enough, in 2022 Rio+30 was Kenya
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never even mentioned. Now we hear nothing continuing impact of the Rio Conference.
th
about ‘Rio+. What has happened that Rio+ We also celebrated the 50 anniversary of the
has disappeared from public discourse? Stockholm Conference or the United Nations
In my view the Rio Conference – or to give it Conference on the Human Environment, and
it’s full name, the United Nations Conference its Declaration containing 26 principles that
on Environment and Development – continue gave impetus to the birth of CITES.
to influence much of the work that is going on
today to combat the triple planetary crisis of Do you think that Rio+ was only a dream, or
biodiversity loss, pollution and climate change. a ploy to lull the public into thinking that all
The 1992 Earth Summit gave rise to three would be well?
sister conventions of CITES: the Convention I think it is apparent to the public that all has not
on Biological Diversity, the UN Framework been well, and multilateralism has its challenges.
Convention on Climate Change and the UN Sovereign states have national interests and
Convention to Combat Desertification. I governments are charged with looking after
reckon that we don’t refer to Rio as much their citizens; unfortunately, there are many
anymore because the impact of these and other competing interests. It can be a complicated
conventions is very firmly felt. I also think that process to get all states to agree a course of
implementation is now crucial and we have all action and to fund this course of action to the
the text needed – we just need to get to work! appropriate level. The aspirations voiced at the
Rio Conference are still very much in evidence
The Rio Conference also established some and have informed the goals that all of us
important principles that are very relevant working on biodiversity share. We have just
to us today in our multilateral approaches to seen a Global Biodiversity Framework agreed in
challenges. It also helped to guide the Montreal Montreal which will guide countries in building
Protocol, for example; recently a reversal in a different and more sustainable relationship
the degradation of the Ozone layer has been with nature. I am optimistic - the challenges
confirmed, with projections that it will return that we face are forcing us to adapt and there are
to its pre-1980 levels over the next 20 to 30 changes for the better. We at CITES have very
Elephants in years. This is a huge success. It’s an example clear goals that we are fully committed to deliver
Maasai Mara, of how the world can work together to tackle – we need to scale up our efforts.
Kenya a global problem and it’s an example of the
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