CITES Parties Failed African Lions at CoP17
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by Fortunate M. Phaka
The more than 180 nations that are party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) must be commended for some tough decisions they have taken in the past. These are decisions that have contributed immensely to protection of endangered wildlife from the illegal wildlife trade market. The decision concerning trade in lions made at the 17th meeting of the conference of the parties (CoP17) goes down in history as another one of those tough decisions. A significant number of conservationists were not satisfied with the outcomes of a proposal to afford African Lions better protection. For the sake of the youth that was not well represented at the conference, parties should have deliberated more wisely. Our future is inexplicably tied to that of African lions which means that our lives and livelihoods were essentially denied better protection from the dangers associated with wildlife trade.Continue reading “CITES Parties Failed African Lions at CoP17”