CITES CoP20 Side Events
Delegates attending the 20th Conference of the Parties to CITES (CoP20) in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, from 24 November to 5 December 2025, have access to a varied programme of side events. These events offer additional opportunities for participants to discuss key issues, share knowledge, and explore collaborative approaches beyond the main plenary and committee sessions.
The table below provides a selection of side events where TRAFFIC is leading or is involved. This table can also be downloaded for ease of reference as a PDF document.
| Side Event Title | Description | Date and time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| Samarkand Declaration and Action Plan: Central Asia Wildlife Trade | Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan, will showcase the Samarkand Declaration and Action Plan (2025–2032). These landmark commitment and initiative represent a historic commitment by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to a unified Central Asian regional framework to strengthen biodiversity protection and combat illegal and unsustainable wildlife trade. | 24 November 13.00-14.30 | Saiga |
| CITES Enforcement - China and the European Union: Fostering effective wildlife trade enforcement | This side event focuses on EU-China cooperation to combat illegal wildlife trade and CITES-listed species. It will begin with remarks from the EU, China, and the CITES Secretariat, emphasising their commitment in the context of their respective 50th anniversaries. The session includes presentations and a multi-stakeholder panel (including Interpol and UNODC) to review effective policy and law enforcement interventions, and set priorities for future cooperation across global trade chains. | 24 November 13.00-14.30 | Bukhara Deer |
| TigerTrade, Captive Tiger Facilities and the Law | This side event presents the latest ‘Skin and Bones’ report on 25 years of global tiger trafficking seizure data. It will also launch a new report assessing the legal frameworks of 12 tiger range countries, which reveals critical inconsistencies and loopholes. The session will provide expert recommendations for CITES Parties to strengthen national legislation and effectively combat tiger crime. Find out more | 25 November 12.15-13.45 | Saiga |
| CITES AIA-ID Initiative | This side event, organised by China CITES SA, will provide an update on the CITES Appendix I-listed Animal species and their products (AIA-ID) database. Developed by China CITES SA with support from partners like TRAFFIC, this tool aims to assist global experts in efficiently updating and developing identification materials for all CITES Appendix I animal species. | 26 November 17.15-18.45 | Central Asian Tortoise |
| Asian Big Cats & CITES | This side event will present key findings and recommendations from a new report examining trends in ABC legal and illegal trade and their population status. It will also assess the implementation of existing CITES measures, highlighting gaps and opportunities for strengthened action. | 26 November 19.00-20.30 | Central Asian Tortoise |
| Data sharing as an effective tool to support coordinated responses to illegal wildlife trade: Global case studies through the lens of Central Asia | This side event led by Fauna & Flora and co-hosted by TRAFFIC and other partners will showcase regional efforts to combat wildlife trafficking. It will draw on activities conducted over the past 5 years and highlighting the importance of data sharing in strengthening regional awareness of IWT patterns, trends and routes and supporting coordinated law enforcement responses to effectively tackle illegal and unsustainable wildlife trade. This will include the presentation of new digital database developed for Kyrgyzstan to enhance CITES implementation. This digital platform registers all permits and illegal trade cases, significantly improving coordination and data sharing among the country’s Customs and Border services. The demonstration will share lessons learned and encourage other Central Asian governments to adopt similar tools to strengthen their regional response to wildlife crime. | 27 November 12.15-13.45 | Saker Falcon |
| The Illusion of Legality: Wildlife Laundering in International Trade | This side event will showcase global cases of wildlife laundering through CITES permits, and convene perspectives from source and destination countries to discuss concrete policy recommendations aimed at strengthening CITES procedures, closing laundering loopholes, and advancing international cooperation to safeguard biodiversity. Find out more | 28 November 12:15 – 13:45 | Saker Falcon |
| Ranched aquatic species | This session examines ranching’s evolution, its relevance for aquatic species, and associated sustainability, legal, and enforcement challenges for CITES-listed taxa like Anguilla spp. and Cheilinus undulatus. | 28 November 17.15-18.45 | Saiga |
| ETIS 2.0 - What’s new? | This side event will present key programme developments to the Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS), following the implementation of the review recommendations adopted at CoP19. This will include the ETIS data validation process, the ETIS Alerts feature, and the network analyses designed to offer deeper insights into illegal trade dynamics. Party panellists will reflect on improvements to date and discuss future priorities for ensuring ETIS science more effectively informs policy, supports targeted law enforcement, and strengthens collaboration between the Parties. Find out more | 28 November 19:00 – 20:30 | Saker Falcon |
| A Decade of Demand Reduction | This side event offers a review of the decade-long global effort to curb the illegal wildlife trade by actively reducing consumer demand. Experts will share success stories and challenges, focusing the discussion on effective methodologies for changing buyer behaviour and assessing the true impact of these strategies on targeted species to inform future market mitigation measures and policy for all participating parties. | 29 November 12.15 - 13.45 | Markhor |
| Sustainable Trade in MAPs: Healing Plants, Healthy Trade through Strengthening CITES Implementation for MAPs | This side event, co-hosted with Nepal and the UK, addresses the challenge of ensuring sustainable and legal trade in the over 1,500 CITES-listed medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) vital to global health and livelihoods. The session will share research findings of relevance to CoP20 Doc.100 and the outcomes of the recent workshop on CITES-listed Himalayan MAPs. The event will demonstrate practical approaches to international sustainable trade in MAP species (through the example of Nepal’s Jatamansi/Spikenard), and convene an expert panel discussion on practical priorities and approaches for sustainable trade in CITES-listed MAPs, including in the context of the World Wildlife Day 2026. Find out more | 3 December 12.15-13.45 | Markhor |
| Ensuring Legality and Sustainability of Wild Animal Trade | This side event will present TRAFFIC’s research from the Live Animal Trade Projects in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan and activities focussing on legality and sustainability of exotic pet trade in China. The project in Central Asia use¬d a four-part framework to expand knowledge of the illegal exotic pet trade, understand the role of captive breeding, assess regulatory frameworks, and promote best practices for strengthening regional efforts against illegal wildlife trade across the region. The complementary approaches in China through consumer demand reduction will demonstrate full scope of necessary interventions. Find out more | 4 December 17.15-18.45 | Bukhara Deer |
Deepwater Sharks, Rays and Chimaeras: the need for Trade, Conservation and Management Attention | This side event, led by TRAFFIC with support from Deakin University & the University of Tasmania, examines the challenges around sustainable, legal and traceable fisheries and trade in deepwater sharks, rays and chimaeras. The Global Deepwater Shark Initiative team and some key Parties will outline what action is needed for developing forensic tools, trade and traceability, fisheries and management, capacity building and social and behaviour change to conserve these species. Find out more | 4 December 19.00-20.30 | Markhor |
