8 March 2013: On the sidelines of 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), the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) and CITES Secretariat held a side event to inform CoP 16 participants on the ITTO-CITES Programme to Implement CITES Listings of Tropical Tree Species.

Margarita Clemente, Chair of the CITES Plants Committee, ITTO Executive Director Emmanual Ze Meka and CITES Secretary General John Scanlon spoke at theevent, which was attended by more than 100 participants. The meeting featured a video, titled “Custodians of the Forest,” which describes the positive impacts of an ITTO-CITES program on the sustainable management of the African cherry tree in Cameroon. It was followed by a panel discussion with program beneficiaries and donors.

ITTO also convened a meeting of the ITTO-CITES Programme Advisory Committee on 7 March 2013, where implementation of the Programme was discussed with over 20 Programme stakeholders. [ITTO Press Release] [ITTO-CITES Video: Custodians of the Forest]