The Orchid Specialist Group will host a Side Event at the 69th CITES Standing Committee in Geneva on Monday, Nov. 27th.
There are more then 29,000 CITES-listed orchids, making it the largest taxonomic group within CITES. Orchids are also the most traded CITES taxa globally. Yet, there is growing concern about the scale and diversity of illegal trade of ornamental, medicinal and edible orchids—most of which is not captured in the CITES database. This means that orchid trade is often “invisible” and excluded from CITES agendas and Parties’ decision-making. The event will explore the challenge of implementing CITES for such a large family, and how we might establish different types of prioritisation schemes and information for Parties to improve CITES implementation for orchids, with lessons for other large CITES groups. Importantly, the event is an opportunity for two-way discussion to learn more about Party needs in dealing with orchids, and whether the tools IUCN envisions seem useful and viable, and how they might be structured to best meet Party needs Come to learn about this new initiative, and help to design its future trajectory.
