30 December 2010: The Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) has circulated a note including selected highlights from 2010 – the International Year of Biodiversity (IYB).

The highlights include: the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to CITES and other meetings such as the first expert workshop on sharks held by FAO and CITES, a meeting of the 37 Range States of the African Elephant and four major regional workshops on capacity building with a focus on non-detriment findings; Secretariat activities regarding Atlantic Bluefin tuna and tigers; and several developments aiming at reinforcing CITES’ role in the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, and better connecting to implementing agencies and financial institutions responsible for funding biodiversity-related initiatives. [CITES Secretariat Selected Highlights]