Guest Article #18: CITES at 40 Marks a Major Decision Point for Sharks, Trees, Snakes, Turtles and other Wildlife Species [viewed]
CITES at 40 Marks a Major Decision Point for Sharks, Trees, Snakes, Turtles and other Wildlife Species: Guidelines, toolkits, standards and action plans fostering capacity, financing, law enforcement, livelihoods, science, sustainability, traceability and synergies also adopted
The 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES CoP16) held March 2013 in Bangkok, will be remembered as a defining moment in the 40 year history of the Convention.
May 2013: The final report of the fourteenth regular session of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA 14) of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), including the Commission's decisions, has been made available online.
May 2013: Highlighting the risks posed by climate change to biodiversity, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) has released a study that documents climate-induced changes to ecosystems and measures to promote adaptation.
30 April 2013: A recent publication by a group of research institutions, including Bioversity International, documents the results of multi-site trials on pine species that aim to better understand options for choosing optimal species for forestry in the face of climate change. 
23 April 2013: The first issue of the 2013 UN Chronicle has been released with a focus on the theme of water cooperation. Articles in the magazine address water cooperation in the context of cross-cutting issues such as development goals, women and agriculture, integrated water resources management (IWRM), and private sector involvement.
16 April 2013: Participants at a recent briefing and round table on “Advancing Biodiversity, Ecosystems and Community Empowerment for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” organized by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and hosted by The Nature Conservancy (TNC), discussed ways to integrate environmental sustainability and community-based action into the post-2015 development agenda.
23 April 2013: At the meeting of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) in Vienna, Yury Fedotov, Executive Director, UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and John Scanlon, Secretary-General, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), called on the international community to strengthen its response to wildlife crime through legislation, law enforcement, criminal analysis and international cooperation.
18 April 2013: The Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO), a collaborative effort by Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela to promote sustainable development, has been acknowledged at the tenth session of the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF10).
20 April 2013: The tenth session of the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF10), which met from 8-19 April 2013, in Istanbul, Turkey, focused on the theme "Forests and Economic Development." 
