Category : Wildlife | Location : National | Posted on 2026-01-01 22:47:19
The recently concluded 20th Conference of the Parties (CoP) of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in Samarkand, Uzbekistan has produced several notable successes for the conservation of threatened fauna, effectively prohibiting international trade of whale sharks, manta and devil rays, oceanic whitetip sharks, guitarfishes and wedgefishes, and improving international protections for several other fauna from global trade, as well as several species of vulture species, big cats, reptiles and plants. This latest meeting of CITES parties, including India, added 78 new species to the CITES appendices, regulating their international trade. Several international fora have welcomed the science-based decisions reached by country parties at the CoP20 to increase protection for biodiversity from international wildlife trade.