- This event has passed.
Opening of CITES CoP18
17 August 2019
The 18th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) was to be held in Colombo. After the April attacks in Sri Lanka, it is moved to Geneva. Alain Berset opens it on 17 August on behalf of Switzerland, host country and depositary of the convention.
He thanks Sri Lanka and offers his condolences to the victims. He lists the threats to biodiversity: climate change, poaching, illegal trade. They can be solved only through international cooperation; sustainable management is part of the answer.
The conference ends on 28 August. The Swiss proposal to subject trade in marine ornamental fish to a sustainability analysis is accepted.
Speeches on this site
- Ouverture de la CoP18 de la CITES (French-language page)
Sources