WCS calls for bold action and new protections for the wildlife trade in CITES CoP20

• As delegates meet at the CITES CoP20 conference in Samarkand, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is urging governments to strengthen global protection of threatened species.
• In the face of growing threats from illegal trade, habitat loss, and climate change, WCS warns against proposals that could harm species such as saiga antelope and elephants, while calling for stronger protections for sharks, rays, okapi, snakes, and iguanas.

As governments gather here for the twentieth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP20) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) urges parties to strengthen protections for global wildlife trade at a time of unprecedented threats to nature.

WCS calls for new protections for many species and warns that some proposals in CITES CoP20 could undermine hard-won gains for species. Proposals are on the table that clearly could harm saiga antelope and elephants, for example, while others offer pivotal opportunities to secure the future of sharks, rays, okapi, snakes, iguanas, and many other endangered species. As global biodiversity faces accelerating pressures from overexploitation, illegal trade, habitat loss, and climate change, WCS calls for decisive action rooted in science, precaution, compliance, and strong enforcement.

“The CITES Parties have a critical opportunity at this meeting to choose the future we want for wildlife,” said Dr. Susan Lieberman, WCS Vice President for International Policy. “We cannot allow short-term commercial interests to reverse conservation successes or threaten the recovery of species like the saiga. Strong conservation measures, strict compliance and precautionary decision-making must guide every decision here in Samarkand. Whether we are talking about okapi, sea snakes, iguanas, rattlesnakes, and pangolins,” said Dr. Susan Lieberman, WCS Vice President for International Policy. International Trade Whether it’s elephants, tigers or big cats, the science is clear about the dangers of international trade. The ecological integrity and biodiversity of ecosystems on a global scale depend on healthy and thriving species populations. The Society urges governments to support the conservation of reserve species – and to support the core mission of CITES: ensuring that international trade does not threaten species in the wild. “Fundamentally, this meeting represents an opportunity for governments to recommit themselves to the basic principles of multilateralism.”

Luke Warwick, WCS Shark and Ray Conservation Manager, said:

“For sharks and rays, CoP20 represents the most important moment in the history of CITES. Science shows that more than a third of shark and ray species are threatened with extinction, and for the species most present in trade, this number is even higher. We now know that the illicit trade in many species exceeds legal trade, revealing systemic enforcement gaps that urgently need to be addressed. Will CITES parties allow commercial use to drive iconic shark species to extinction, or will they work to stop IT? The first Appendix I listings for sharks and rays to end the commercial trade in manta rays, whales and oceanic whitetip sharks are on the table in Samarkand and could prevent their extinction – but these globally threatened species need action now If parties act decisively, we can still secure a future in which sharks and rays can recover and continue their vital role in healthy ocean ecosystems.