25 July 2011: The 25th meeting of the Animals Committee (AC 25) of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) laid the groundwork for responding to the multiple mandates received from the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 15) to CITES in March 2010.

AC 25 convened from 18-22 July 2011, in Geneva, Switzerland, for the first time since COP 15. A record number of delegates attended the meeting, and its agenda reflected the large number of items to be addressed by the Committee following COP 15. Several items focused on collaboration with other multilateral processes and organizations.

Delegates discussed, inter alia: CITES’ participation in the Biodiversity Indicators Partnership (BIP); CITES involvement in the newly established Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES); and trade in species including snakes, sharks, the long-tailed macaque, and other species from Southeast Asia and elsewhere.

On snakes, AC 25 recommended encouraging Parties to establish conservative quotas for CITES-listed species. On sharks, AC 25 sought to encourage collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), among others, and agreed on a joint questionnaire for improving national reporting on implementing the International Plan of Action (IPOA)-Sharks at the species-specific level. AC 25 also adopted recommendations on: the BIP; the periodic review; the Review of Significant Trade; ranching; identification of CITES-listed corals in trade; progress on the Identification Manual; production systems; sturgeons; turtles and tortoises; the saker falcon; and sea cucumbers.

The Committee also agreed on 12 intersessional working groups, some jointly with the CITES Plants Committee (PC), including on: climate change; non-detriment findings (NDFs); sturgeons; sharks; sea cucumbers; and criteria for listing species in Appendices I and II. [IISD RS Coverage of AC 25]