27 July 2012: The 62nd meeting of the Standing Committee (SC 62) of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) convened from 23-27 July 2012, in Geneva, Switzerland. The Committee addressed, inter alia: financial matters; CITES’ relationship with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP); and species trade and conservation, with discussions focusing on elephants, rhinos, and tigers.

On elephants, the Standing Committee made progress on addressing the entire ivory trade chain. It adopted a recommendation providing that: all Parties, especially those who have not reported, should report data on seizures of elephant specimens to the Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS) by 1 September 2012; and Parties identified in the ETIS analysis as being involved in substantial illegal ivory trade as a source, transit or destination country are requested to submit a written report, by 1 January 2013, on their implementation of the provisions of Resolution Conf. 10.10 (Rev. COP15) and Decision 13.26 (Rev COP15).

On rhinos, SC 62 endorsed the recommendations of the working group, including to: encourage Viet Nam to urgently conclude the stock check of rhino hunting trophies to verify their use at the national level; fully investigate incidents; and consider new ideas for a demand-reduction strategy based on current understanding of the evidence of traditional cultural practices and beliefs about the medicinal and beneficial properties of rhino horn.

The Committee also agreed on reporting on captive breeding of tigers. [IISD RS Coverage of CITES SC 62] [CITES Press Release]