Yesterday, the U.S. delegation to the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES joined more than 175 other countries’ delegations in Doha, Qatar for the opening ceremonies. Qatar, a small, oil-rich nation along the Persian Gulf is host to this important international wildlife trade convention that last occurred three years ago in The Netherlands. This is the first time that CITES has met in the Middle East and the State of Qatar is demonstrating its commitment to CITES by investing substantial financial resources to host the meeting. CITES is one of the largest and oldest Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEA).
The delegations congregated at the Sheraton Hotel in Doha, the Capital of Qatar, a city with many construction cranes on the skyline. The Sheraton looks like an Egyptian pyramid and has an impressive entryway with the CITES CoP15 entrance and logo. Qatar has developed a logo just for CoP15 depicting an oryx, flamingo, and raptor.
Delegates began trickling into the hotel for the 3:00 p.m. (local time) meeting, finding their seats at the long rows of tables labeled with each country’s name. The plenary hall was bedazzling in burgundy and gold. Each delegate was given a wireless translator that translated the proceedings into four languages – English, Spanish, French, and for the first time Arabic. Walking around the hall, one saw delegates wearing everything from western suits to Arabic white robes and colorful African dress. The many non-governmental organizations also in attendance had placards behind the countries’ delegations.
The opening ceremony featured native Qatar men dressed in white robes with embroidered coats carrying wooden swords and guns chanting an opening welcome while walking down the center aisle to the beat of drums. This syncopated opening was followed by welcoming speeches by His Excellency the Minister of Environment, Abdulla bin Mubarak bin Aboud Al-Madadi of Qatar, Mr. Achim Steiner, the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Program and Mr. Willem Wijnstekers, the Secretary- General for CITES, who will be retiring after this meeting. For more information about their remarks visit http://www.cites.org/eng/news/meetings/cop15/speeches/open.shtml
Besides the opening ceremony, the U.S. delegation met for their first coordination meeting to discuss communications protocols and the daily schedule of events. The delegation plans to meet each morning throughout the conference. Jane Lyder, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, Head of the U.S. Delegation for the first week, met with the Head of the Chinese delegation to discuss interests in common including tigers, sharks and bluefin tuna. Lyder also met with the delegation from Palau and the European Union. These informal meetings will occur throughout the CoP15 as a way to discuss issues with the other countries and share information.
The business of the meeting begins Sunday, March 14 where delegates will divide into two major committees, Committee I that will discuss the major species proposals, and Committee II that will discuss major protocol, procedural, and financial issues. Decisions are discussed in the two Committees, amongst various workgroups, and final votes will happen at plenary sessions scheduled throughout the 15 day meeting.
 | Entrance to Sheraton Hotel, site of CoP15, Doha, Qatar |
 | Plenary Session, Opening Ceremony, Doha, Qatar |
 | Jane Lyder, Acting Head of U.S. Delegation with Head of Chinese Delegation |
 | Qatar Entertainers, Opening Ceremony |
