3 March 2013: The sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP 16) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) opened on Sunday in Bangkok, Thailand, and will continue through 14 March 2013.

During CoP 16, participants will consider issues including: a proposal to improve transparency of voting during meetings of the CoP; a proposed amendment to Rule 25 on methods of voting, on the use of secret ballots; budgetary proposals for 2014-2016; the CITES Strategic Vision; cooperation between CITES and other biodiversity-related conventions; the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC); the relationship with the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES); the draft revision of Resolution Conf. 10.10 (Rev. CoP 15) on trade in elephant specimens; introduction from the sea; non-detriment findings (NDF); a decision-making mechanism for a process of trade in ivory; Asian big cats; illegal trade in cheetahs; leopard quotas; monitoring the illegal killing of elephants (MIKE) and the illegal trade in ivory and other elephant specimens; rhinoceroses; Tibetan and saiga antelope; and a draft resolution on implementation of the Convention for agarwood-producing taxa. Several proposals concern transfer of species from Appendix II to Appendix I, including polar bears. A number of other species are proposed for listing in Appendix II, including the porbeagle shark. [IISD RS Coverage of CITES CoP 16] [UN News] [UNEP News] [CoP 16 Website]