Quito, 3 November 2014 – all the signs are indicating that CMS COP11 will be the biggest and the best in the Convention’s 35-year history.  A last-minute rush of registrations means that there will be over 700 delegates in attendance representing Parties, non-Parties, IGOs, NGOs and the press.

The series of events taking place over the period 2-9 November started with the 42^nd meeting of the Standing Committee on Sunday and continues today with coordination consultations for delegations from the five CMS regions.

Monday’s highlight is however a High Level Ministerial Panel, the theme of which is “uniting the rights of nature with the green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication: finding solutions to protect international wildlife”.  The event will be chaired by Ecuador’s Environment Minister, Lorena Tapia and facilitated by two leading experts, Dr Steven Stone, Head of UNEP’s Economy and Trade Branch and Dr Cormac Cullinan, a lawyer who specialism is the rights of nature.

The Conference itself will be officially opened on Tuesday by Jorge Glas, the Vice-President of Ecuador.  The main items on the busy agenda are: proposals to add 32 species to the Convention’s appendices, including the Polar Bear, the lion and 21 species of sharks, rays and sawfish; Action Plans for the Argali Sheep, the Loggerhead Turtle in the Pacific and the Saker Falcon; the Strategic Plan of the Migratory Species; the launch of the Central Asian Mammals Initiative; a review of the modus operandi of the CMS Scientific Council; and an evening reception at which CMS Champions will be celebrated.  The first Champions are Governments that have supported the Convention’s work over its 35-year existence.