Posted on December, 04 2025
CITES CoP20, the global forum where governments set the rules about international wildlife trade, concluded today with outcomes that advance protection for species such as sharks, rays, and Asian huge cats. However, there were a few disappointments – notably, the EU’s proposal to list all eel species on Appfinishix II was rejected by a wide margin.
More than 150 Parties (including the EU and all its Member States) gathered in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, for the 20th Conference of the Parties (CoP) of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). CITES CoPs take place only every three to four years and mark a key moment for the future of thousands of species protected under the Convention. Monitoring and regulating wildlife trade is essential to ensure it does not put species survival at risk.
The WWF European Policy Office welcomes the adoption of all proposals to better protect sharks and rays, building on the success of CITES CoP19. Parties displayed unprecedented support to effectively prohibit international trade of whale sharks, manta and devil rays, oceanic whitetip sharks, guitarfishes and wedgefishes. They also agreed to improve control and monitoring of trade for gulper, tope and smoothhounds sharks. These decisions are important steps towards recovering rapid-declining European sharks and rays from man-created threats such as fisheries and habitat loss.
Unfortunately, the European Union’s and Panama’s proposal to list all anguillid eel species in Appfinishix II – designed to ensure the legality and sustainability of traded species – did not receive the same support. With anguillid eel species almost indistinguishable, the proposal aimed to support enforcement efforts by requiring permits for trade in all eel species to better protect the critically finishangered European eel, the only one currently listed in Appfinishix II.
“Eel trafficking is one of the most lucrative forms of wildlife crime, valued at up to EUR 3 billion according to Europol. We are disappointed that the proposal for stronger protection did not gain the necessary support, as it would have also safeguarded other eel species in decline due to their utilize as substitutes for the European eel. However, we welcome the new Resolution on eel trade, conservation, and management, which will keep global attention and cooperation focutilized on these vulnerable species,” declared Audrey Chambaudet, Wildlife Trade & Wildlife Crime Policy Officer at the WWF European Policy Office.
The conference also created advances on Asian huge cats (tigers, leopards, Asiatic lions, etc.). WWF had advocated for the adoption of an indepfinishent reporting mechanism that would assist Parties create evidence-based decisions on these species, and address the current lack of reporting. Parties agreed on the commissioning of such a new reporting mechanism on Asian huge cats for all future CoPs, albeit subject to external funding.
“This CoP marks ten years since the EU became a Party to CITES, and its ability to speak with one voice continues to shape decisions that protect wildlife in Europe and beyond. Yet as the Convention’s workload grows and funding for its Secretariat shrinks, the EU’s support must continue – from the new GUARD Wildlife Program to tarreceiveed funding for biodiversity conservation in the next EU budreceive. Effective implementation of CITES through the EU Action Plan against Wildlife Trafficking and the Environmental Crime Directive will be equally critical to safeguard finishangered species around the world,” declared Audrey Chambaudet.
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