As we approach the mid-way point to the 2020 deadline to achieve our common set of biodiversity targets and strategies, it is an opportune moment to reflect on how the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is contributing to: realizing the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity (2011-2020); achieving the 20 Aichi Biodiversity Targets; and celebrating the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity's vision of a world living in harmony with nature.