The CoP15 representatives met for the second day of the conference on Sunday morning at 9:00 a.m. local time. Sunday is not a weekend day in Qatar – the weekend is Friday and Saturday - so delegates convened for a full day of business. The meeting began with a plenary session in the great hall where the delegates adopted the agenda and working program for the two week meeting. The agenda has many substantial issues, including 42 species proposals. The plenary session also featured reports from the technical committees for CITES which includes the Animals Committee and the Plants Committee. These committees manage the substantive scientific work of CITES and an impressive body of work has been addressed by these 2 committees since the last CoP.

In addition, the CITES Secretary-General presented a commendation to the country of Viet Nam for their continuing work on behalf of elephant conservation.

Jane Lyder, the head of the U.S. delegation, was invited to speak at a luncheon hosted by Defenders of Wildlife to discuss the U.S. proposal to list the polar bear on Appendix I of CITES. The luncheon was held at the Four Seasons hotel and had a standing room only crowd. Lyder spoke eloquently about the status of polar bears and the growing body of climatic models that indicates sea ice habitat is disappearing at an increasing rate and polar bears are not able to adapt to the loss of sea ice which is essential for their survival and reproduction. Lyder explained that the U.S. has concerns about the impacts of commercial trade in polar bears affecting an already stressed population. Lyder explained that the U.S. anticipates that discussions during the meeting on the polar bear listing will focus on how CITES should consider the impacts of climate change on its scientific decisions. Lyder urged delegates to support the U.S. proposal to list polar bears in Appendix I when the issue comes up for a vote later in the CoP.

Lyder also conducted an interview with a reporter from the Gulf Times, the largest English language newspaper in Doha. She was asked questions about the U.S. position on the bluefin tuna proposal,sponsored by the Principality of Monaco that would list bluefin tuna under Appendix I of CITES and prohibit international trade until depleted stocks can be recovered. Lyder reiterated the U.S. support for the proposal.

In the afternoon, the U.S. delegation met with their North American counterparts from Canada and Mexico to discuss shared interests and positions. The North American regional meeting was a follow-up to a 3 day meeting held by these three neighbor countries in February 2010 in Shepherdstown, WV. The countries discussed issues of mutual interest including bluefin tuna, orchids, corals, bobcat, cacti species, and the budget. The North American countries agreed to meet again periodically throughout the CoP.

The last business of the day was the daily meeting that the U.S. delegation holds with U.S. non-governmental organizations. This is a long standing CITES tradition and exemplifies the open and transparent process that the U.S. has with its NGO partners to share information, understand partner interests, and answer questions. More than 50 people representing over 14 organizations were in attendance. These groups included Defenders of Wildlife, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), International Fund for Animal Welfare, International Primate Protection, Humane Society International, Animal Welfare Institute, World Wildlife Fund, SeaWorld, Shark Research Institute, Safari Club International Foundation, Pew Environment Group, and Oceana. These NGO members asked questions about the U.S. strategy for dealing with the CITES budget, why the U.S. opposes the spiny dogfish Appendix II listing, the U.S. position on the European Union’s document on Asian big cats, and the Introduction from the Sea proposal.

The day concluded with many delegates heading back to the delegation room to review documents distributed by the CITES Secretariat and prepare information in preparation for tomorrow’s session.

	Jane Lyder interviews with reporter from Gulf Times
	Lyder joins Rosemarie Gnam and Craig Hoover from FWS for NGO briefing
	Jane Lyder speaks to delegates at polar bear briefing