2024 - 2025 Asia Environmental Enforcement Recognition of Excellence CeremonyOpening Remarks by CITES Secretary-General Ivonne Higuero17 October 2025, onlineDistinguished award winners, Environmental champions, Esteemed colleagues,Ladies and gentlemen,What an honour and pleasure it is for me to address you today at this 2024 - 2025 Asia Environmental Enforcement Recognition of Excellence Ceremony.
Secretary-General's statements
Second Meeting of the Jaguar Range States: Opening Remarks by CITES Secretary-General Ivonne Higuero
2nd meeting of the Jaguar Range StatesOpening Remarks by CITES Secretary-General Ivonne Higuero22 September 2025, Mexico City, Mexico
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Her Excellency, the Undersecretary for Biodiversity and Environmental Restoration, Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources, Ms Marina Robles Garcia, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Migratory Species, Ms Amy Fraenkel,
15th meeting of the Parties to the Ramsar Convention on WetlandsOpening Remarks by CITES Secretary-General Ivonne Higuero24 July 2025, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe His Excellency, the Honourable Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, President of the Republic of Zimbabwe,Her Excellency, the Honourable Evelyn Ndlovu, COP15 President and Minister of Environment, Climate and Wildlife of the Republic of Zimbabwe,Ms Musonda Mumba, Secretary-General of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands,Honourable Heads of State, Ministers, Excellencies, distinguished delegates,
African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) High-Level Special Session: 40th Anniversary of AMCENRemarks by CITES Secretary-General Ivonne Higuero
Originally published on UN Chronicle here
UN Ocean Conference (UNOC-3) Side Event on UN Oceans as a mechanism to mobilize multilateral ocean action and amplify collective impacts towards SDG14Statement by CITES Secretary-General Ivonne Higuero12 June 2025, Nice, France
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Madame Elinor Hammarskjold, Undersecretary General for Legal Affairs, Excellencies, Delegates,
UN Ocean Conference (UNOC-3): Launch of the Global Coalition to Halt the Extinction of Sharks and RaysStatement by CITES Secretary-General Ivonne Higuero11 June 2025, Nice, France
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Excellencies, distinguished delegates, partners, and friends,
UN Ocean Conference (UNOC-3) Ocean Action Panel 6: Advancing sustainable ocean-based economies, sustainable maritime transport and coastal community resilience leaving no one behindStatement by CITES Secretary-General Ivonne Higuero11 June 2025, Nice, France The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) regulates international trade in important marine species such as sharks and rays, corals, dolphins, marine turtles, sea horses, whales, etc.The objective of CITES is to ensure that trade, i.e. import, export, re-export and ‘introduction from the sea’ of listed species is sustainable, legal and traceable.
UN Ocean Conference (UNOC-3): Side event on Achieving SDG14 Through SDG16: The Role of Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement in Ocean Governance and ProtectionStatement by CITES Secretary-General Ivonne Higuero10 June 2025, Nice, France
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Excellencies, distinguished delegates, partners, and friends,
Plastic pollution is not just a waste issue — it's a wildlife issue.On this World Environment Day, we are reminded that for CITES-listed species, plastic waste in ecosystems adds another layer of threat to their survival.An estimated 75 to 199 million tonnes of plastic are currently found in our oceans — a staggering amount that poses a direct threat to marine species such as marine turtles, cetaceans, seabirds, sharks and rays. Many of these are listed under CITES and also face pressure from wildlife crime, unsustainable bycatch and habitat loss.If we cannot keep plastics out of nature, we risk losing the very species CITES was created 50 years ago to conserve.CITES is a cornerstone of international cooperation for the conservation of wildlife. This also means addressing the environmental conditions that threaten their survival.The health of the environment and the future of biodiversity are inseparable.