Joint Statement of the Liaison Group of Biodiversity-related Conventions to CMS COP 13
17 February 2020, Ghandhinagar, India
Thank you Chair.
Distinguished delegates:
Secretary-General's statements
Debriefing of Thunderball and Operation Demeter V
Opening remarks of CITES Secretary-General Ivonne Higuero
26 November 2019, Shenzhen, China
Your Excellency Mr Ni Yuefeng, Minister for China Customs
Your Excellency Mr Zhuang Guotai,, Vice Minister of Ecology and Environment
Your Excellency Mr Li Chunliang, Vice Administrator of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration
Mr Yang Hong, member of the Standing Committee of CPC of Shenzhen
Mr Kunio Mikuriya, Secretary General of the World Customs Organization,
Excellencies, special guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Under the theme Fighting Transboundary Environmental Crime
13 November 2019, Bangkok, Thailand
Madame Ambassador Rødsmoen
Distinguished Award Winners
Ladies and Gentlemen
May I begin by warmly thanking the organizers for inviting me to this esteemed gathering, which recognizes and celebrates excellence in fighting transboundary environmental crime. I very much regret that I cannot be with you in person today.
Welcoming speech from CITES Secretary general (5 min.)
Excellencies, Heads of States, Ministers, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen.
It is a great pleasure for me to be here with you at this First High-level Conference on Illegal Wildlife Trade in the Americas.
We continue to see a great deal of high-level political support and cooperation at international and regional levels, and, in this regard, I would like to congratulate the Government of Peru for having organized this important conference in cooperation with their partners.
This is an excellent regional initiative, and the eyes of the world are upon us, encouraging our efforts to combat wildlife crime.
Eighteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES
Closing remarks of CITES Secretary-General, Ivonne Higuero
Geneva (Switzerland), 28 August 2019
Chair, Alternate Chair, Chairs of Committees I and II, esteemed delegates, dear colleagues,
It was a remarkable experience for me to be here at my first CITES COP as Secretary-General. We had an enormous agenda at COP18, and there is so much I could say about what we have accomplished. But in the interest of time, I would like to highlight just several broad accomplishments that I believe will help to shape our work over the years to come.
Eighteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES
Opening remarks of CITES Secretary-General, Ivonne Higuero
Geneva (Switzerland), 17 August 2019
Su excelencia, Consejero Federal del departamento federal de asuntos interiores, Señor Alain Berset; señora Inger Andersson, Directora ejecutiva del programa de las Naciones Unidas para el medio ambiente; sra Carolina Caceres, presidenta del Comité permanente de CITES; excelencias, estimados delegados, damas y caballeros,
Buenos días a todos. Es un gran placer para mi darles la bienvenida a Ginebra para la décimo octava reunión de las conferencia de las partes de la convención internacional de especies amenazadas de fauna y flora silvestres.
World Ranger Day 2019
Message from CITES Secretary-General, Ivonne Higuero
31 July 2019
On World Ranger Day 2019, let’s join up to reflect upon the important role and selfless work of
park rangers around the world in their fight to protect wildlife!
World Ranger Day honours park rangers across the world who have been injured or lost their lives in the line of duty, and also celebrates the role rangers play in protecting our natural resources, including wild animals and plants.
14 June 2019, Baku, Azerbaijan
Good afternoon, Excellencies, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen,
I am honoured to have been invited by the Secretary General of the World Customs Organization to give a keynote address at the IT Conference. My sincere apologies for not being there with you this week but I had prior commitments that made it difficult to travel to Baku. I am sure you have been enjoying the great Azerbaijani hospitality they are well known for, and which I am very sorry to have missed.
Following my messages and the updates of the Secretariat dated 21 April, 26 April, 3 May, 10 May and 17 May, where we expressed our compassion for the people of Sri Lanka for the impacts of the heinous acts committed in their country on 21 April 2019, announced the postponement of the meeting and the process in which the Secretariat engaged to address as soon as possible the delay in carrying out the 18th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES, I wish to confirm the new dates and venue of the meeting to Parties and Observers:
The 71st meeting of the CITES Standing Committee, the 18th meeting of the Conference of the Parties and the 72nd meeting of the CITES Standing Committee will be held in Geneva, Switzerland from 16 to 28 August 2019 at the following address:
We share our planet with millions of species of wild animals and plants. We drink the same water as they do, enjoy (or survive) the same weather, and breathe the same air. Every year on World Environment Day, we acknowledge the need to protect our natural environment for the benefit of humankind. But let us at the same time also remember how our actions affect other species and the ecosystems that they create.
Wildlife faces many threats. According to the Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, which was released last month, the main direct drivers of species extinction are (in descending order) changes in land and sea use, direct exploitation of organisms (including hunting, fishing and logging), climate change, pollution and invasive alien species. To ensure the survival of wild animals and plants we must reduce the impact of each of these hazards.