It’s hard to forget the day I arrived in Thailand. On every corner smells emanated from street vendors cooking a variety of dishes from enticing Thai noodles to spicy cockroaches. The whir of tuk-tuks and motorcycles came from unexpected directions, as drivers sped down sidewalks to avoid traffic jams. Bangkok pushed my senses to new levels, and while it was hard to ignore its attractions, our group of five graduate students from F&ES was on a mission. Our destination: the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP) to the Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES).
The first day of CITES CoP16 was a celebration, not only for the opening of the meeting, but also to observe the 40th anniversary of CITES. CITES was drafted by members…
by Omar Malik | Bangkok, Thailand
When people talk about the atmosphere of the Conference of the Parties (COP) for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), they often do so with a hint of fond disdain. The COP, one hears, is a hectic affair: a geopolitical battleground where country representatives duke it out over never-ending issues of verbiage and finances. And, what’s more, many participants go into it with the ready assumption that little will get done. But our fellow FESers, who have attended many of the COP meetings over the past few years, always come away having found the conferences valuable—not least because they provide insight into the nitty-gritty realities of the policymaking process.
The conference for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)…
