JUST IN: New proposals released at #CITESSC78, our WCS team on the ground in Geneva reports.

Oceanic whitetip sharks, whale sharks, and manta rays are up for new protections to curb their freefall toward extinction.

These will be voted on at #CITESCOP20 in November.

This morning in plenary at #CITESSC78, delegates sang a round of "Happy Birthday" for Jacques Berney, the very first #CITES Secretary-General, who celebrated his 90th birthday by attending #SC78.

#Kazakhstan emphasized the recovery of #saiga antelope in the country and provided a new recommendation to guide the conservation and sustainable use of saiga for the benefit of both wildlife and local communities. #CITESSC78

At #CITESSC78, @nrdc.org called for a trade suspension against Mexico, noting that uncontrolled illegal fishing and trafficking and the failure of Mexico to comply with their milestones are the reasons why the vaquita is on the brink of extinction.

Photo: Paula Olson, NOAA, Wikipedia Common.

Should an extinct species be listed in support of an existing CITES-listed species? This was the debate at #CITESSC78 as parties discussed the merits of Israel’s suggestion to list the extinct woolly mammoth in order to prevent the laundering & mislabelling of elephant ivory as mammoth ivory.

In the interest of time, the #CITES SC Chair asked the US to tell the Secretariat how many times it intends to request that an agenda item "be deferred until the new US administration has opportunity to acquaint itself with it," instead of repeating the same statement each time. #CITESSC78 #SC78

A youth representative from Denmark spoke to the importance of the #CITES Global Youth Network, which parties lauded for engaging the next generation in #wildlifeconservation and sustainable trade issues. Singapore announced a pledge of S$100,000 to the CITES Secretariat in support. #CITESSC78

As #CITESSC78 addressed the current ban on all commercial trade in #CITES-listed species with Lao PDR, Lao PDR pointed to profound impacts on livelihoods, and asked that the ban be reconsidered. #SC78 established a working group to discuss a partial ban.

The 78th meeting of the #CITES Standing Committee kicks off in #GENeva!

With a packed agenda of 87 items, #CITESSC78 will discuss sustainability challenges & #conservation progress.

More information ▶️ cites.org/eng/sc/78
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