• As delegates gather for CITES CoP20 in Samarkand, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is urging governments to strengthen global protections for endangered species.
• Facing rising threats from illegal trade, habitat loss, and climate change, WCS warns against proposals that could harm species like the saiga antelope and elephants, while advocating for stronger protections for sharks, rays, okapi, eels, and iguanas.

As governments gather here for the 20th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP20) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is urging Parties to strengthen global wildlife trade protections at a moment of unprecedented threats against nature.

WCS is advocating for new protections for several species and warns that some proposals at CITES CoP20 could undermine hard-won gains for species. Proposals are on the table that clearly could harm saiga antelope and elephants, for example, while other proposals offer pivotal opportunities to secure the future of sharks, rays, okapi, eels, iguanas, and many other threatened species. With global biodiversity facing accelerating pressure from over-exploitation, illegal trade, habitat loss, and climate change, WCS is calling for decisive action rooted in science, precaution, compliance, and robust enforcement.

Said Dr. Susan Lieberman, WCS Vice President of International Policy: “CITES Parties have a critical opportunity at this meeting to choose the future we want for wildlife. We cannot allow short-term commercial interests to reverse conservation successes or threaten recovering species such as the saiga. Strong protections, rigorous compliance, and precautionary decision-making must guide every decision here in Samarkand. Whether we are talking about okapi, eels, iguanas, rattlesnakes, pangolins, elephants, jaguars, or Asian big cats, the science is clear about the risks of international trade.  The ecological integrity and biodiversity of ecosystems on a global scale depend on healthy, thriving species populations. WCS urges governments to support precautionary species conservation—and uphold the core mission of CITES: ensuring that international trade does not threaten species in the wild. Fundamentally, this meeting is an opportunity for governments to re-commit to the core principles on multilateralism.”

Said Luke Warwick, WCS Director of Shark and Ray Conservation:

“For sharks and rays, CoP20 represents the most consequential moment in the history of CITES. Science shows that more than one-third of shark and ray species are threatened with extinction, and for the species most present in trade, that figure is even higher. We now know that illegal trade in many species is outpacing legal trade, revealing systemic enforcement gaps that urgently need to be addressed. Will CITES Parties allow commercial use to drive iconic shark species to extinction, or will they act to stop it? The first shark and ray Appendix I listings to end commercial trade in manta rays, whale and oceanic whitetip sharks are on the table in Samarkand and can prevent their extinction – but these globally Endangered species need action now. If Parties act decisively, we can still secure a future in which sharks and rays can recover, and continue their vital role in healthy ocean ecosystems