CITES COP-13 - Synergies, benefit-sharing, and the new look of international environmental policy

In many ways, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) is an indicator of international views and trends regarding conservation and governance. If this is so, the results of the 13th session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention (COP-13) suggest that new pathways are opening up toward more effective international cooperation and synergy, both at the level of international conventions and processes, and in the context of national implementation. At COP-13, the Parties to CITES were once again called upon to address issues that cut across the mandates of the multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs), and to find ways to ensure that work under such agreements continues to complement the work of CITES. The relationship between CITES and the concept of Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS) under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is one such example, which took center stage during several aspects of the COP's deliberations. This article examines ABS issues and their impact on CITES, and considers them as a paradigm of a new, more positive, synergistic approach between CITES and the CBD at the international level.