At the end of last year, or century if you prefer, the CITES Secretariat published Issue Number 6 of CITES World Official Newsletter of the Parties. The main article, Global wildlife treaty celebrates 25 years of saving endangered species, has been drafted by the Secretariat. The article provides some background information about the treaty and its evolution in the last 25 years, and refers to some of its challenges for its future, which should be guided by the Strategic Plan that has been adopted by the Conference of the Parties at its last meeting in Gigiri, Kenya. Reference is of course also made to that meeting and to its broad participation, which included Parties, governmental and non-governmental organisations.

Many times, and without surprise, the article underlines the role of CITES with regard to the conservation of species of wild animals and plants and, on not less than five occasions, this role is associated with the sustainable use of these natural resources, a principle not expressly mentioned in CITES, contrary to the Convention on the Biological Diversity, but which is indeed fundamental for CITES and its implementation. IWMC is pleased to notice this clear position from the Secretariat.

On the other hand, IWMC was surprised to read, with reference to the Gigiri meeting, "a big inflatable whale from a certain NGO could be seen as the symbol of the presence of the NGOs at the CITES meetings". Although the ‘certain NGO’ in question was not named in the article, most, if not all of the readers of CITES World, and of this Newsletter, know that it is Greenpeace, i.e. not an organization that has established its reputation as an active promoter of the sustainable use of wildlife, in particular regarding whales and whaling. We would therefore prefer, in the future, that the participation of NGOs in CITES meetings be ‘symbolised’ by whatever item, inflatable or not, closer to the principles on which CITES should live in the new century, as clearly stated in its Strategic Plan.