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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 THE HAGUE 001402 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV KSCA ETRD EFIS NL
SUBJECT: RESULTS OF CITES STANDING COMMITTEE 55 AND COP14 
MEETINGS IN THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS, JUNE 2-15, 2007 
 
REF: A. A) KATHMANDU 878 
 
     ¶B. B) BEIJING 003213 
 
SUMMARY: 
¶1.  The United States achieved key objectives at the 
fourteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the 
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of 
Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES COP14), which met June 3-15 in 
The Hague, Netherlands. The delegation of approximately 30 
interagency representatives, as well as a representative from 
the states was led by Department of the Interior Deputy 
Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Todd 
Willens and Department of State Oceans, Environment, and 
Science Bureau Deputy Assistant Secretary Dan Reifsnyder. 
Among the biggest successes were adoption of the U.S. 
proposal to list sawfish, adoption of the U.S. proposal for 
enhanced cooperation between CITES and ITTO, progress on the 
"Introduction from the Sea" issue, and resolutions addressing 
wild tiger conservation and elephants and the ivory trade. 
The U.S. also played a positive role in facilitating range 
state dialogues. 
¶2.  Negotiations on budget and the strategic vision were 
challenging, while the unsuccessful outcomes on coral and 
bobcat listings were disappointing. The U.S. submitted eight 
species proposals and four other documents pertaining to 
implementation issues. In the end, the COP adopted four of 
the species proposals, while the other documents achieved 
positive results, even if some went forward with significant 
amendments. The Dutch government also hosted a Ministerial 
Roundtable on June 13, resulting in a Chair's Summary. END 
SUMMARY. 
STANDING COMMITTEE MEETING: 
¶3.  The 55th meeting of the Standing Committee took place 
June 2, the day before the COP opened, and took two 
significant actions. First, it affirmed Japan's status as a 
"trading partner" (i.e., recipient) of the ivory approved for 
the one-off sale. China made a bid for approval as a second 
trading partner, which was forced to a vote that did not 
carry. The committee signaled that it might approve China as 
a trading partner at its next meeting, however, and there 
were indications that the sale may be delayed pending that 
approval. The second key result was the adoption of 
recommendations by the Committee for Peru regarding trade in 
bigleaf mahogany timber. Peru is the largest exporter of this 
timber species, and the United States is the largest 
importer. Peru committed to further reductions in exports, 
zero tolerance for illegal logging, and further cooperation 
with other entities to ensure that timber exports are based 
on sustainable levels of harvest and come from legal sources. 
BUDGET AND FINANCE 
 ¶4.  The COP approved documents on Financial Reports for 
2005-2006 (Doc. 7.1) and Estimated Expenditures for 2007 
(Doc. 7.2) by consensus.  However, adjustments to the 
assessment of contributions by the Parties proved to be a 
two-week negotiated process that only came to conclusion 
during a drawn-out - and cantankerous - plenary debate 
through a series of votes.  The costed work program and the 
funding of the Secretariat were the subject of a working 
group (chaired by Ireland) and friends of the Chair of 
Committee II group (chaired by China-Hong Kong SAR). Votes to 
increase the budget by 7.5% and 15% failed to garner the 
necessary three-quarters, as did a split budget proposal for 
a 3% increase in contributions combined with a 4.5% budget 
increase from the CITES Trust Fund's strategic reserve. 
Eventually, after plenary adjourned briefly (essentially to 
cool off), a 6% increase put forward by Ireland garnered 
nearly 87% of the vote. 
¶5.  The United States abstained on the 6% proposal (as still 
too excessive), our first-ever abstention in CITES.  The 
costed program of work will now go to the Standing Committee 
for revisions in light of the new budget.  While a 6% 
increase is significantly higher than recent increases 
approved by the COP, it fell well short of the Secretariat's 
requested 30% increase.  COP14 approved a new permanent 
Budget and Finance Subcommittee of the Standing Committee to 
provide input to the Secretariat on budget and financial 
matters. 
STRATEGIC VISION 
¶6.  The proposed Strategic Vision produced by a Standing 
Committee working group proved problematic, so COP14 
established an open-ended working group to draft a Strategic 
Vision for 2008-2013.  The working group met throughout the 
COP and hammered out a consensus document (Doc. 11).  The 
final product largely reflects the U.S. position and our 
concerns with the original document.  To gauge the 
implementation of the new Strategic Vision, the Standing 
 
THE HAGUE 00001402  002 OF 006 
 
 
Committee will have the job of developing indicators for the 
document's goals and objectives. 
JUNE 13TH MINISTERIAL 
¶7.  The Dutch government convened a one-day Ministerial Round 
Table during the COP. The meeting was chaired by Minister of 
Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality Gerda Verburg. About 40 
countries took part. Many important CITES parties, notably 
Japan and Brazil, did not participate. The Round-Table 
focused on four areas: CITES contribution to the broader 
biodiversity agenda; strengthening implementation and 
enforcement of CITES; timber species; and marine species. 
Following an initial round of statements in the morning, the 
Dutch rather assertively handed out a six-page "Minister's 
Declaration" after lunch expecting its approval that 
afternoon. The U.S. delegation, together with Mexico, 
Argentina and Guatemala, indicated concern about being able 
to analyze and negotiate such a long declaration in one 
afternoon while EU countries and others indicated their 
willingness to go along with the Chair's plan. In the end, we 
were successful in converting the document into a Chair's 
summary and to delete its most problematic elements. Our 
general assessment is that the Ministerial was not a useful 
addition to the CITES COP. 
¶8.  BOBCAT:  The State fish and wildlife agencies appealed to 
our CITES management authority stating that the numbers of 
bobcats in the United States are high and the administrative 
burden of their Appendix II listing is unwarranted, resulting 
in the U.S. proposal to the COP to remove the bobcat (Lynx 
rufus) from Appendix II. The original listing stemmed from 
the bobcat's similar appearance to other Lynx species in 
Appendices I and II, in CITES terms referred to as a 
look-alike listing. Parties opposed to the delisting argued 
that failure to regulate trade in bobcat skins and parts 
under CITES could potentially facilitate the illegal trade of 
similar medium-sized cat species. To address these concerns, 
the United States proposed placing the bobcat in Appendix III 
instead of delisting it altogether, but this approach also 
failed to receive the required two-thirds majority in 
committee. In the end, there was no change to the CITES 
status of bobcat and it is listed on Appendix II. The United 
States will continue its efforts to address the look-alike 
issue and its work on the Felidae review in the CITES Animals 
Committee. Removing the bobcat from CITES Appendix II remains 
a priority issue for State fish and wildlife agencies in the 
United States. 
¶9.  TIGERS:  The United States was successful in securing a 
strong resolution on wild tiger conservation as the state of 
the species has reached a crisis point. This was especially 
important given China's recent efforts to secure 
international support to lift its domestic ban on trade in 
tiger parts under the guise of conservation. (Note: Chinese 
tiger farmers have accumulated thousands of animals and are 
lobbying the government to re-open trade. See REF A and B End 
Note.) 
¶10.  During the first week of the COP, the U.S. delegation 
met with several range countries (China, India, Nepal, 
Russia) to encourage a firm stance against China's move to 
lift its tiger trade ban and to work jointly on focused 
decision language for conservation out of Resolution 12.5 on 
Asian Big Cats.  Committee II noted reports and annexes from 
Asian Big Cat range states and the CITES Secretariat's report 
on its Verification and Assessment Mission to China. India 
announced establishment of a long-awaited Wildlife Crime 
Bureau, much needed as India's wild tiger numbers continue to 
dwindle. 
¶11.  China, Russia, India and Nepal introduced a draft 
decision document with toned-down language loosely promoting 
wild tiger conservation efforts. The U.S. delegation proposed 
amendments to strengthen the text, and included the phrase: 
"tigers should not be bred for trade in their parts and 
derivatives." Although China objected to this direct 
reference to its captive-breeding facilities, India, Bhutan, 
Nepal, and Swaziland supported the amendment. The Decision 
(COP14 Com. II. 33), directs the Parties and the CITES 
Secretariat to uphold Resolution Conf. 12.5 for Asian Big Cat 
 
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conservation, lays plans for workshops on tiger trade 
enforcement and on conservation strategy, and discourages 
captive breeding of tigers for trade. Committee II adopted 
the Decision by consensus and passed amendments through 
voting. In the later plenary session, the agenda item was not 
re-opened, although China made an intervention to express 
dissatisfaction with the process and outcome. 
¶12.  ELEPHANTS AND IVORY: As at other recent COPs, the U.S. 
delegation arrived in The Hague without declaring an official 
position on three draft elephant proposals (from Kenya and 
Mali; Botswana; and Botswana, Namibia and South Africa). This 
 
THE HAGUE 00001402  003 OF 006 
 
 
deliberate "undecided" position allowed the U.S. delegation 
to function effectively as a facilitator among range 
countries as well as other countries with a significant 
interest in elephants (e.g., the European Community). 
¶13.  MIKE and ETIS: The MIKE (Monitoring Illegal Killing of 
Elephants) program, among other activities, evaluates the 
effect of an individual sale on levels of elephant poaching. 
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has provided over 
$1,161,200 in grant funds to support MIKE since its inception 
in 1999. The MIKE report for COP 14 comprised administrative 
changes, baseline data results, and future planning. The U.S. 
delegation was gratified to see that the program had 
collected baseline elephant population and illegal killing 
data from 51 sites in Africa. 
¶14.  The MIKE coordinator reported that the program will 
report baseline information annually to identify trends. As a 
major donor, the United States expressed support of MIKE 
while noting concerns about its administrative history. We 
are satisfied that the new MIKE Coordinator has answered our 
questions and will continue a dialogue, including by visiting 
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Washington, D.C. The 
MIKE report was adopted by consensus. 
¶15.  The director of ETIS (Elephant Trade Information System) 
reported on trends, sources, and possible causes of illicit 
ivory seizures. The ETIS report, based on ivory seizures 
data, indicated that there was no increase in illicit trade 
following the first one-off sale, there was a decline in 
ivory seizures between 1999 and 2004, and an increase from 
2005 to the present primarily due to increased demand in 
China and organized Chinese criminal activity, mostly in 
Central and Western Africa. However, China's improved law 
enforcement drew praise. The report was adopted by consensus. 
¶16.  Negotiations on elephants and ivory trade began at the 
African Elephant Range States Dialogue meeting right before 
the COP and continued well into the second week of the COP 
itself. Informal drafting groups met a number of times on the 
margins of the COP. The EU and the U.S. delegations served 
significant roles as facilitators in the search for 
compromise. Finally, Chad and Zambia submitted a new document 
which the COP adopted by consensus. 
¶17.  Current Consensus Agreement on Elephants and Ivory: For 
those elephant populations in CITES Appendix II in Botswana, 
Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe, the CITES Parties agreed 
to continue to allow trade in hunting trophies for 
non-commercial purposes; limited trade in live elephants; 
trade in hides, hair, and leather goods; non-commercial trade 
(tourist souvenirs) in some ivory carvings and jewelry items; 
and most importantly, trade in raw ivory from existing 
stockpiles registered by January 31, 2007, subject to certain 
conditions. The raw ivory will be added to the existing ivory 
stockpiles approved for a one-off sale at COP12 (Santiago, 
Chile; 2002). However, the Parties gave this approval with 
the agreement that no further proposals to allow trade in 
elephant ivory from these populations may be submitted to the 
COP until 9 years following the sale of the approved ivory 
stocks. 
¶18.  The Parties also decided that the African elephant range 
states should develop an overall African elephant action plan 
to improve elephant management, and that the CITES 
Secretariat should establish an African elephant fund, to be 
 
SIPDIS 
administered by the CITES Standing Committee to implement the 
action plan. The United States expressed particular concerns 
about the adequacy of enforcement and controls on ivory trade 
in Zimbabwe. The Secretariat gave assurances that it will 
monitor and verify the ivory controls in Zimbabwe. We are 
satisfied that the consensus agreement at CoP14 acknowledges 
the conservation efforts of some African elephant range 
countries while continuing the strict trade prohibitions for 
most populations. 
MARINE ISSUES 
¶19.  SAWFISH: The United States and Kenyan proposal to list 
sawfish (Pristidae spp.), a highly endangered shark-like 
species, in Appendix I was adopted as amended by Australia. 
The U.S. had proposed to list all seven species of sawfish in 
Appendix I. Australia's amendment provides that one species, 
Pristis microdon, will be listed in Appendix II to allow for 
limited trade in live specimens for aquaria. Because 
Australia is likely the only CITES Party that trades in live 
sawfish and can make the non-detriment finding required for 
trade under Appendix II, the U.S. delegation did not believe 
Australia's amendment would adversely impact wild sawfish 
populations. CITES Parties from every region supported the 
U.S./Kenyan proposal. 
¶20.  CORAL: The U.S. proposal to list pink and red corals 
(Corallium) in Appendix II was adopted in Committee, but 
overturned by secret ballot in the final plenary session. If 
 
THE HAGUE 00001402  004 OF 006 
 
 
the COP had approved the proposal, the listing would have 
regulated trade and promoted sustainable harvest of these 
precious deepwater corals for international trade. The U.S. 
delegation worked extensively with Italy (acting on behalf of 
the EU) to modify the proposal to address implementation 
issues raised by several Parties. The United States will 
evaluate when, whether, and how to propose the listing of 
Corallium at future COPs. 
¶21.  CARDINAL FISH, SPINY LOBSTER AND EUROPEAN EELS: After 
consulting with Indonesia, the United States withdrew its 
proposal to list in Appendix II the Banggai cardinalfish, a 
coral reef species endemic to Indonesia and heavily traded in 
the U.S. hobbyist aquarium market. The United States will 
monitor the effectiveness of local conservation programs the 
Government of Indonesia committed to implement for this 
species. Brazil withdrew its proposal to list Brazilian 
populations of spiny lobster (Panulirus argus and P. 
laevicauda) in Appendix II. The United States will work with 
Brazil and countries in Central America and the Caribbean to 
develop appropriate regional management initiatives for spiny 
lobster. The EU's proposal to list European eels (Anguilla 
anguilla) in Appendix II passed by a large majority. The 
United States will need to consider how to ensure effective 
conservation and management of American eels, which are not 
currently listed on CITES, given possible problems in 
distinguishing between European and American eels and their 
products in trade. 
¶22.  SHARKS: Germany, on behalf of the European Community 
Member States, proposed to list two commercially traded shark 
species in Appendix II: porbeagle (Lamna nasus) and spiny 
dogfish (Squalus acanthias). Both proposals failed to achieve 
the required two-thirds majority of Parties voting during 
committee, and the spiny dogfish proposal failed again after 
a re-opening of debate in plenary. After much deliberation, 
and extensive consultations with the EU, the United States 
agreed to support both shark proposals, in part because the 
EU committed to developing a comprehensive management plan 
for sharks in internal EU waters. We will continue to work 
with the EU to promote effective shark conservation and 
management through appropriate fisheries management bodies. 
¶23.  WHALES: The United States and other whale-conservation 
countries successfully defeated a proposal by Japan calling 
for a CITES scientific body (the Animals Committee) to review 
the biological status of all whale species subject to 
management by the International Whaling Commission (IWC). The 
IWC currently maintains a moratorium on commercial whaling, 
and its Scientific Committee is responsible for reviewing the 
status of whale species under its jurisdiction. Additionally, 
the United States supported an Australian proposal, which the 
COP passed, to prohibit CITES periodic reviews of great whale 
species, including North Atlantic fin whales, while the IWC 
moratorium is in place. 
¶24.  INTRODUCTION FROM THE SEA: After years of discussion and 
debate, the Parties adopted a resolution, by consensus, 
containing a definition of "the marine environment not under 
the jurisdiction of any State." The United States endorsed 
the agreed definition and sees it as an important first step 
in the process to clarify various aspects of the introduction 
from the sea provision under CITES. In addition to the 
resolution, the Parties adopted a decision directing the 
Standing Committee to establish a working group on 
introduction from the sea to make progress on other issues 
identified in the final report of the 2005 CITES Workshop on 
Introduction from the Sea Issues. The United States fully 
supported the formation of the working group and plans to 
continue to participate in the work on this important issue. 
COOPERATION WITH THE FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE 
UNITED NATIONS 
¶25.  MARINE SPECIES AND FAO: In an effort to ameliorate 
long-standing tensions between the CITES Secretariat and the 
UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) regarding the 
treatment of marine fish species proposed for listing on 
CITES appendices, the United States promoted the development 
of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two 
organizations. Under this MOU, the FAO convenes an Expert 
Panel to evaluate all marine fish listing proposals. All 
CITES Parties receive the FAO Expert Panel's recommendations, 
in addition to the recommendations of the CITES Secretariat. 
This year, the CITES Secretariat and the FAO Expert Panel 
gave widely divergent advice on the marine listing proposals, 
and the tension between the recommendations of the two 
organizations was a dominant theme at COP 14. At the end of 
the day, the advice of the FAO Expert Panel prevailed for all 
seven marine proposals, but the CITES Secretariat, the FAO 
Committee on Fisheries, and all CITES Parties should evaluate 
implementation of the MOU in advance of the next CITES COP. 
 
THE HAGUE 00001402  005 OF 006 
 
 
¶26.  TIMBER SPECIES AND FAO: The United States was supportive 
of increasing informal cooperation with FAO on timber and 
non-timber forest product issues, but did not support 
formalizing this relationship through negotiating an expanded 
MOU. The U.S. delegation proposed amended text to Document 
18.1, deleting references to formalizing that relationship, 
and our intervention specified that we supported only 
informal cooperation. Numerous other Parties who also did not 
support more formal mechanisms supported our approach, and 
the amended text was adopted. The U.S. Forest Service will 
contact FAO-forestry staff and reaffirm the desired 
cooperation and approach from the FAO side. 
¶27.  GUIDE TO CITES AND COMPLIANCE PROCEDURES: Since COP 12, 
a working group has met during COPs and Standing Committees, 
and electronically, to develop guidelines for compliance. 
Throughout this long process the United States has diligently 
argued that the document must be purely descriptive of 
existing CITES compliance practices. Others had sought to 
have the document create new compliance procedures. In the 
end the new Guide, which was taken note of as an annex to a 
COP 14 resolution, is purely descriptive in nature. 
TIMBER SPECIES 
¶28.  LISTING OF PERNAMBUCO TIMBER: The United States 
supported the Appendix-II listing of Caeselpinia echinata, 
with the caveat that the COP could adopt an appropriate 
annotation exempting musical instruments (finished products, 
such as bows). There was widespread support for this 
proposal, and it was adopted by consensus with an annotation 
specifying trade in "Logs, sawn wood, veneer sheets, 
including unfinished wood articles used for the fabrication 
of bows for stringed musical instruments." 
¶29.  LISTING OF SPANISH CEDAR AND CENTRAL AMERICAN ROSEWOOD 
TIMBER SPECIES: The United States was undecided on the 
Cedrela and Dalbergia timber listing proposals (by Germany on 
behalf of the EU) pending consultations with the range states 
on the most effective way to support forest management 
efforts in the region. Consultations among Parties from the 
Central and South American and Caribbean region resulted in 
unanimous range state opposition to the proposals. Hearing 
little support for its proposals, Germany withdrew them. A 
working group formed to draft a decision creating a workplan 
for collecting additional information to inform the Parties 
on the merits of future listing proposals and to promote 
conservation of these species. This workplan will be 
facilitated by the Plants Committee. The decision also 
directs range states to consider listing these species in 
Appendix III. 
¶30.  As a range state for Cedrela odorata, the United States 
could consider whether an Appendix III listing for all 
neotropical populations of this species is appropriate, given 
the implementation issues currently caused by the listing of 
this species only in Peru and Colombia. The environmental 
NGOs expressed concern that the workplan focused on Cedrela 
odorata rather than Cedrela spp. as in the listingproposal. 
¶31.  During consideration of this decison, Norway proposed 
additional language that woud replace the Bigleaf Mahogany 
Working Group (BMG) with a "Timber Working Group." Although 
sympahetic to the need to address cross-cutting timber 
species issues, the United States and other Parties rejected 
this language and acknowledged the importance of having a 
forum for the mahogany range states to discuss their specific 
issues. The Chair of the Plants Committee expressed some 
willingness to address other species as appropriate in the 
work of the BMWG. 
¶32.  REPORT OF THE BIGLEAF MAHOGANY WORKING GROUP: The United 
States is highly supportive of the work of the BMWG. All 
parties expressed support for the decisions contained in the 
report, and the range states shared information about a 
translation error that had created difficulties for national 
reporting. These decisions were adopted by consensus with 
small refinements in language, including correction of the 
translation error that had caused confusion for the Working 
Group previously. Mexico will host a workshop on 
Non-detriment Findings in late 2007, which will include a 
module on timber. The Parties did not consider a Secretariat 
proposal in the report suggesting creation of an additional 
"Timber Working Group," although such concerns about 
cross-cutting implementation issues mean such a proposal may 
be appropriate for the United States to propose at COP15. 
¶33.  COOPERATION WITH ITTO: The United States proposed a 
resolution urging additional cooperation between CITES and 
the International Tropical Timber Organization. A drafting 
group formed to amend the U.S. document, and the U.S. 
delegation worked extensively with the EU, Mexico, and Brazil 
to develop acceptable language. The revised text was adopted 
by consensus. 
 
THE HAGUE 00001402  006 OF 006 
 
 
¶34.  PHYSICAL INSPECTION OF TIMBER SHIPMENTS: The United 
States supported the proposed document and its two draft 
decisions. The first draft Decision directed the Secretariat 
to consult with Parties and other relevant organizations to 
compile timber identification tools and timber 
inspection/measurement protocols, to provide information on 
how Parties could access them, and to identify what gaps 
existed and needed further work. The second Decision of this 
document instructed the Standing Committee to take the 
results of the Secretariat's finding and develop guidelines 
to the Parties on timber enforcement, especially dealing with 
timber measurements. 
¶35.  Italy (on behalf of the European Community Member 
States) introduced the document with an amendment to the 
Decision directed to the Secretariat. The amendment 
instructed the Secretariat to form an "electronic" working 
group that would help compile existing timber identification 
tools and inspection protocols. Brazil also offered several 
substantive amendments to the draft Decisions. The United 
States intervened to state that it supported the language in 
the original proposal and requested to see, in writing, the 
newly proposed amendments by Italy and Brazil before 
proceeding further. Brazil requested, and the Chairman of 
Committee II agreed, to have a drafting group re-draft the 
proposed Decision and report back to Committee II at a later 
date. The United States along with Italy (on behalf of the EC 
countries), Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Peru, and 
several other Parties, worked to redraft the Decisions, which 
Committee II later adopted by consensus. 
PLANTS 
¶36.  The United States submitted four proposals regarding 
plant listings in the CITES Appendices, including three for 
native species. We proposed to remove Oconee bells (Shortia 
galacifolia) and Arizona agave (Agave arizonica) from the 
Appendices, and these proposals were adopted by consensus. 
Oconee bells is an endemic species from the Carolinas that, 
while somewhat rare and restricted in range, is not affected 
by collection for trade. Arizona agave, which used to be 
listed under the Endangered Species Act, has been determined 
to be a sterile natural hybrid between two unlisted species. 
¶37.  A third native species, also native to Mexico, Dehesa 
bear-grass (Nolina interrata), had been listed in Appendix I 
since 1983. However, this species has not been observed in 
trade and is protected under domestic laws. The Parties 
supported the U.S. proposal to transfer this species to 
Appendix II, adopting it by consensus. The fourth U.S. plant 
proposal was to amend the annotation to the Japanese yew 
(Taxus cuspidata) to allow for trade in hybrids and 
cultivars, as a replacement for a similar annotation adopted 
at COP13 but later determined not to be consistent with the 
treaty. Switzerland, as Depositary Government on behalf of 
the Standing Committee, had submitted a similar proposal 
covering three additional species of Taxus and which allowed 
parts and derivatives to remain controlled while exempting 
live nursery plants. The United States ultimately withdrew 
its proposal in favor of the Swiss proposal, which was 
adopted. 
INTERNET TRADE IN WILDLIFE 
¶38.  Germany (on behalf of the European Community Member 
States) submitted a proposal on internet trade in specimens 
of CITES-listed species. (Doc. 28). The United States 
supported this proposal and has commenced training and 
investigations into the illegal sale of wildlife on the 
internet. After some questions from the floor, the document 
achieved consensus. 
NEXT CITES VENUE 
¶39.  Qatar offered to host COP 15 and the Parties accepted 
the invitation by acclamation. However, in the past, even 
though one or more countries made such offers, the 
Secretariat has solicited additional ones through a 
 
SIPDIS 
Notification to the Parties. Whether the COP takes place in 
Qatar will depend on that country meeting all the 
requirements for hosting it. 
A FINAL NOTE 
¶40.  The U.S. delegation thanks Posts for their assistance in 
ascertaining the positions of CITES Parties and securing 
support for U.S. proposals prior to the COP. For further 
information or questions, please contact Rowena Watson, 
OES/ETC, watsonrp@state.gov or Amanda Johnson Miller, OES/OMC 
(JohnsonMillerAX@state.gov , 202-647-4824). Information on 
specific proposals, resolutions and decisions taken at CoP14, 
can be found at the CITES website, www.cites.org. 
GALLAGHER