CITES COP 16: Opening and Plenary, Happy 40th, CITES!

by guest blogger The opening ceremony was quite a spectacle. To summarize very briefly and quite paraphrased: Prince William: "We can reverse these trends. We can make a difference" (via video chat) Oystein Stokersen (Chair of CITES Standing Committee): "Must involve communities dependent on resources being managed in a sustainable manner" Achim Steiner (UNEP Executive Director): "It is easy...

CITES COP 16: Shark Press Conference

by guest blogger This morning, the European Union held a press conference to discuss the marine proposals to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES)--recommendations to list a number of shark species and manta rays under Appendix II. What is CITES? The primary goal of CITES is to regulate international wildlife trade of species and to protect them...

Earth in Brackets is reporting from CITES COP16

Earth in Brackets is reporting from CITES COP16! Follow us here as well as on facebook and twitter for information on the negotiations on the international trade in endangered species! Parties are coming together to discuss proposals on issues concerning transport of musical instruments (often made from rare woods), the international trade in timber, and  proposals on the statuses of sharks,...

“Trust Your Mexican” – Reflections on Mexico as Host of COP16

by Anjali Appadurai The other day our delegation went to Puerto Morelos to meet with Doreen. Moises had the address and was leading us. We were unfamiliar with the area but we knew that her house number was #806. However, the street we were walking on had numbers starting at #10. We were convinced that we were going the wrong way even though Moises insisted that he knew where we were going. In...

The need for radicalism to make meaningful change

by Moisés Flores Baca Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend a side event organized by the Coastal Association for Social Transformation Trust (COAST trust) titled “Rights for climate induced forced migrants: Responsibility of international community”. Even though it was not among the best side events I have attended here at COP16 thus far -especially due to incompetent facilitation-...