CITES meetings are a big deal in the environmental calendar, but just what is it and what does it do?

What on Earth?

One of the biggest dates in the environmental calendar is happening in November when the 19th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora – aka CITES – opens in Panama City. But just what is CITES?

Justin Gosling, the Senior Project Coordinator for EIA's Securing Criminal Justice projects in West and Central Africa talks with EIA Senior Press & Communications Officer Paul Newman about the Convention, how it came about, what it does and – just as importantly – what it doesn’t do.