Secretary-General's statements

22nd Meeting of the CITES Plants Committee 19 – 23 October 2015 Tbilisi Welcoming remarks by John E. Scanlon, CITES Secretary General   Mr. Gigla Agulashvili, Minister of Environment and Natural Resources Protection of Georgia First Deputy Minister Mr. Teimuraz Murgulia Chair of Plants Committee, Professor Margarita Clemente, and members of the Committee   Distinguished guests, friends and colleagues,

Global trade in wild animal and plant species, including fish and timber, is on the rise - both legal and illegal. Legal and sustainable trade in certain species, such as the wool of the vicuna or the bark of the African cherry tree, can benefit people and wildlife. The current surge in illegal wildlife trade, estimated to be in the billions of dollars annually, is having devastating economic, social and environmental impacts. But not all the costs of wildlife trafficking can be quantified. Iconic species like elephants, and the lesser-known but heavily trafficked pangolin, are being driven toward what experts warn may be the next big extinction.

CITES Secretary-General's remarks at the ATAG Global Sustainable Aviation Summit 2015 Geneva, 29 September 2015 ‘Air transport’s role in reducing Illegal trade in wildlife’ Address by John E. Scanlon, Secretary-General of CITES   Director General and CEO of IATA, Tony Tyler Director General of Airports Council International, Angela Gittens Director General of CANSO, Jeff Poole President and CEO of ICCAIA, David Melcher Executive Director of ATAG, Michael Gill

TED-type talk, known as a Tree Talk, on legal and illegal trade in wildlife, delivered at the Wildlife Forum held during the XIV World Forestry Congress, Durban, September 2015.

Symposium on the interface between international and domestic environmental law Keynote Address CITES and wildlife trade - International cooperation and national action John E. Scanlon Secretary-General, CITES Secretariat Tel Aviv, Israel, 31 August 2015   Good morning and thank you to our colleagues in the Israel Nature and Parks Authority for organizing today’s Symposium and for giving me the opportunity to address you.

28th Meeting of the CITES Animals Committee 30 August – 3 September 2015 Tel Aviv, Israel Welcoming remarks by John E. Scanlon, CITES Secretary General   Minister of the Environment, Mr. Avi Gabai General Director, Israel Nature and Parks Authority (INPA), Mr. Shaul Goldstein Deputy Director General, Head of UN and International Organizations Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Aharon (“Roni”) Leshno Yaar Chair of Animals Committee, Ms. Carolina Caceres, and members of the Animal’s Committee   Distinguished guests, friends and colleagues,

John E. Scanlon, CITES Secretary-General (Statement read by Ms. Margaret Akullo, UNODC Officer-in-Charge for Southeast Asia and the Pacific) DNP Headquarters 26 August 2015   Hon. Prime Minister, H.E. Gen. Prayut Chan-O-Cha. Hon. Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, H.E.Gen. Surasak Kanchanarat. Officers from Departments concerned with Thailand’s National Ivory Action Plan implementation. Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

Speech by John E. Scanlon, CITES Secretary-General 7 August 2015   Distinguished Guests Ladies and Gentlemen I would like to express my sincere thanks to the Government of Chile for inviting me to inaugurate this exhibition to mark the 40th Anniversary of CITES entering into force in Chile. I regret that I am unable to make it to Valparaiso in person. As you may know, CITES was the third global environmental agreement to be adopted in the early 1970’s, being signed in Washington D.C. on 3 March 1973 – and 3 March is now celebrated each year as UN World Wildlife Day.