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Opening speeches Saturday 3 June 2007
|
 The
Deputy Mayor of The Hague, Mr Rabin Baldewsingh, gave a short history
of the city, describing its evolution into the International City
of Peace, Justice and Security. He highlighted the first International
Peace Conference that was held in The Hague in 1899 and the establishment
of the International Court of Justice in 1946, as well as more recent
developments such as creation of the Organisation for the Prohibition
of Chemical Weapons in 1997 and the International Criminal Court in
2002. He drew attention to the excellent hospitality and services
available in The Hague, and exhorted delegates to enjoy its rich cultural
offerings. He emphasized the importance of CITES for the future.  Click
here to see the full opening speech. |
 The
Deputy Executive Director of UNEP, Mr Shafqat Kakakhel, speaking on
behalf of the Executive Director, expressed gratitude to the Government
of the Netherlands and the city of The Hague for hosting CoP14. He
noted that, while the 34-year history of CITES was marked by a great
deal of success in combating illegal trade in wild fauna and flora,
many threats remained and new challenges were unfolding. He stressed
the major threat posed to biodiversity by climate change, observing
that decisions taken by the Conference of the Parties to CITES were
important in the light of their impact on species already threatened
by climate change. He further emphasized the role of CITES in the
fight against poverty and the realization of the Millennium Development
Goals, ecosystem management and the achievement of the 2010 Biodiversity
Target. He said that CITES represented a critical pillar of the global
biodiversity endeavour. He stressed CITES for the Great Ape Survival
Project (GRASP), a joint UNEP and UNESCO project, as well as cooperation
in the context of the Green Customs Initiative. He expressed the hope
that governments would give CITES the backing and resources it needed
to fulfil its Strategic Vision for 2008-2013.
Click here to see the full opening speech. |
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|
 The
Secretary-General, Mr Willem Wijnstekers, expressed his gratitude
to the Government and people of the Netherlands and the Mayor and
Deputy Mayor of The Hague for hosting the meeting. He stressed the
importance of CITES in contributing to poverty reduction and achieving
the first Millennium Development Goal. He stressed that CITES needs
to evolve to take livelihood issues into consideration. He encouraged
domestic polices that promote the sustainability of wildlife trade,
recognizing that removal of trade restrictions can lead to the recovery
of species previously threatened by trade, as shown by the exemplary
recovery of the vicuña and Nile crocodile populations. He noted
that CITES was moving into new areas of trade, such as commercially
important marine and timber species, and emphasized the importance
of the involvement of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations and the International Tropical Timber Organization
in these discussions. He expressed concern that, while CITES had great
potential to contribute to achieving global goals and targets, its
budget was currently insufficient to fulfil the objectives of the
Strategic Vision for 2008-2013. He highlighted the need for major
additional financial commitment from Parties to finance the Convention’s
ambitious programme of work. With this, he declared the meeting of
the Conference of the Parties open.
Click here to see the full opening speech. |
The
Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, Ms Gerda Verburg,
offered her appreciation to the Government of Thailand for hosting
the 13th meeting of the Conference of the Parties and noted that
the Hague was pleased to host the current meeting as it would contribute
to the Dutch tradition of hosting international meetings that support
sustainable development principles. The Minister noted that environment
and biodiversity are important issues on the political agenda and
that trade in wildlife is important economically. The ministerial
meeting on 13 June 2007 would increase political support for wildlife
trade issues through leadership, forging alliances between governments,
private sector and civil society, and by matching words to action.
Mr
Cristián Maquieira, the Chairman of the CITES Standing Committee,
indicated that he was especially pleased to participate in the 14th
meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP14) in The Hague and
noted that while there were numerous other conventions dealing with
biodiversity and environmental issues, CITES was the only convention
regulating trade in flora and fauna from a conservation standpoint.
He remarked that there was room for better coordination between
existing international environmental agreements and highlighted
the potential role for additional private sector engagement in conservation,
poverty alleviation and sustainable development.