Alumni join forces to protect wildlife at major meeting in Panama
For two weeks in November, government representatives gathered in Panama City to develop regulations for international wildlife trade. Nineteenth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES COP19)—also known as the World Wildlife Congress—makes decisions that will affect the future of more than 600 species of plants and animals, including sharks, freshwater turtles, jaguars, elephants, hippos, songbirds, tree species, orchids and more.
three alumni MPA Environmental Science and Policy Programs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs also participated: Shirley Binder On behalf of the Ministry of the Environment of Panama, while Shira Yashphe with Arno Gossens Both work for conservation organizations Cheetah Conservation Fund and Wildlife Conservation Society, respectively. All three work to protect wildlife threatened by international trade, working closely with national governments and other stakeholders, and applying the environmental policy skills and knowledge they gained while at Columbia.
Three alumni of Columbia University’s Master of Environmental Science and Policy (MPA-ESP) program recently attended the World Wildlife Congress in Panama. Shirley Binder (middle) represents Panama’s Ministry of Environment. Shira Yashphe (right) works for the Cheetah Conservation Fund and Arnaud Goessens (left) works for the Wildlife Conservation Society.
Learn more about their work and priorities at CITES COP19 in the Q&A below.
Arno Gossens
Arnold (@ArnaudGoessens) graduated from the MPA-ESP program in 2016. He is Deputy Director of EU Policy at the Wildlife Conservation Society EU Office in Brussels, Belgium.
What are your responsibilities at Wildlife Conservation Society?
WCS is a global conservation organization working to save wildlife and wild environments in more than 60 countries in Asia, Africa, the Americas and the Pacific, with more than 125 years of scientific, technical and policy expertise. In my current role at WCS EU, I work at the science-policy interface related to biodiversity conservation, wildlife trade, One Health and pandemic preparedness, and lead engagement with the EU and the Belgian government on conservation policy, including Relevant participation in international forums such as CITES conferences. I have been working at WCS for over 7 years now and spent a few months at WCS Mozambique in 2017, coordinating the fight against wildlife trafficking in Maputo.
What are your priorities at CITES COP19?
I am particularly concerned with securing further critical and much-needed conservation measures for some wildlife threatened by illegal and/or unsustainable international trade, such as sharks, sea turtles, songbirds, jaguars and elephants.I also work closely with the EU and other parties to CITES to ensure that an evidence-based and precautionary approach is taken when deciding to list species on CITES Appendices [lists offering different levels or types of protection]or transfer a species between appendices.
Overall, CITES COP19 has been a great success for wildlife and I am very pleased with the results, which include enhanced protections for requiem and hammerhead sharks, freshwater turtles, songbirds, glass frogs and many other wildlife species measure.
Matamata turtle. Photo: Julie Larsen Maher/WCS
What role does the EU play in combating wildlife trafficking?
As a large global market and transit hub for legal and illegal wildlife and wildlife products, the EU plays a key role in combating wildlife smuggling and unsustainable wildlife trade. The EU and its 27 member states vote as a bloc (ie 27 votes) on species-related matters at CITES meetings and thus often play a key role in adopting species listing proposals and other decisions. The EU’s leadership on the global stage is therefore crucial, especially at CITES meetings, where member governments decide on conservation measures for many threatened and potentially threatened wildlife species. I was particularly pleased when, ahead of the CITES meeting, the EU released an ambitious new action plan that will guide the EU’s new action against this crime by 2027.
African elephant. Photo: Arnaud Goessens/WCS
Shirley Bender
Shirley (@bindshirley) graduated from MPA-ESP 2019currently a consultant to the Ministerial Senior Office of the Ministry of Environment of Panama.
Tell us more about your current role at the Ministry of the Environment?
As an advisor to the Minister of the Environment of Panama, I was responsible for organizing the logistical and technical aspects of CITES COP19, hosted by the Government of Panama. In addition, I was Panama’s international negotiator at CITES and Convention on Biological Diversity meetings, as well as Panama’s representative at other high-level events such as the UN Ocean Conference. Before assuming my current position, I worked as Director of National Protected Areas and Biodiversity, Director of Environmental Policy, and Marine Biologist at the Ministry of the Environment of Panama. In these roles, I focused on increasing Panama’s marine protected areas for conservation and sustainable use of the ocean, and engaging communities in the management of marine and terrestrial protected areas.
jaguar. Photo: Julie Larsen Maher/WCS
Why is CITES important?
CITES is one of the most important and enforceable international conventions on the conservation and conservation of specific species. It’s one of those conventions where decisions are tangible, enforceable, and parties actually need to abide by the decisions that are made, or they’re subject to sanctions, including through trade bans. CITES is not just about conservation – its role is to manage international wildlife trade by ensuring it is sustainable and legal. CITES COPs are held every three years, so each COP represents a unique and defining moment when governments agree on conservation measures for species threatened by international trade.
What are your priorities at CITES COP19?
Panama prioritized several species and strategic issues at COP19, but one of our top priorities was listing requiem sharks and hammerhead sharks on Appendix II [species that are not necessarily threatened with extinction but that may become so unless trade is closely controlled]. At the committee meeting, the overwhelming majority of CITES Contracting Parties approved the requiem shark proposal and the hammerhead shark proposal was adopted by consensus. As a result of this success, more than 90% of the shark fin trade will now be regulated by CITES, which will significantly reduce unsustainable trade and promote effective management of sharks. It is important to note that the Appendix II list is not a trade ban, but rather a tool to ensure that wildlife trade is sustainable and legal and that species populations can recover and thrive.
Blue sharks are a type of requiem shark. Trade in these types of sharks will be more regulated as a result of recent actions at CITES COP15. Photo: Hannes Klostermann/Ocean Image Bank
Shira Yashphe
Shira graduated from the MPA-ESP program in 2017 and is now the Director of Wildlife Crime at the Cheetah Conservation Foundation (CCF).
What is your role at the Cheetah Conservation Fund?
For the past four years, I have led the wildlife crime and international policy work of the Cheetah Conservation Foundation (CCF). CCF was founded in 1990 by Dr Laurie Marker to protect cheetahs from threats throughout their range. With fewer than 7,500 cheetahs left in the wild, the species faces threats ranging from climate change and habitat loss to low genetic diversity and disease. Over the past 15 years, another threat, the illegal trade in cheetah cubs, has emerged as a serious threat to East African cheetah populations. I lead our wildlife crime work and international policy engagement, develop and implement programs to stop the trade, and represent CCF with Dr Marker at international conventions such as CITES.
What are your priorities at CITES COP19?
As a CCF representative, my goal is to promote regional cooperation to stop human trafficking. We hope we can bring the countries of East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula together to declare the need to fight the illicit trade and stop it before it is too late. Unfortunately we didn’t get to do that this time around, but there is recognition that cheetah trafficking does pose a threat to cheetahs and attention should be paid to the illegal live trade in live cubs under two new instruments created under CITES, the African Carnivore Initiative and Big Cats Task Force. We will continue to engage with the two regions on both sides of the Gulf of Aden and hope that they will work together as soon as possible.
What are your hopes for the future?
Personally, I’d like the convention to move away from what I’ve seen as a worrying trend – to focus on maximizing trade rather than making sure it’s sustainable and doesn’t harm species. If in the past sustainability was at its core, there is an increasing vernacular around the use of “maximum” – which goes against convention. The convention was created to protect species from overexploitation, not to maximize economic gain at all costs.
I also hope that the welfare of individual animals will be included in discussions and decisions, as currently the parties to the Convention are meeting to discuss and decide on the fate and use (i.e. killing) of living beings without registering animals, much like humans, as sentient beings.
cheetah. Photo: Julie Larsen Maher/WCS
