Wildlife meet mulls trade rules to counter 'unprecedented' species declines

Amid growing alarm over accelerating extinctions, a major international conference opened in Geneva Saturday aiming to tighten rules on trade in elephant ivory and other endangered animal and plant species.

Thousands of conservationists and policymakers from more than 180 countries will meet for 12 days to evaluate regulations and species protection listings under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

"Business as usual is no longer an option," CITES Secretary General Ivonne Higuero said at the start of the meeting, warning that "nature's dangerous decline is unprecedented."
"My fear is that we are... now really on the edge," Higuero told AFP ahead of the conference, saying she hoped the delegates in Geneva would "make what we call transformative change."
Inger Anderson, who heads the United Nations Environment Programme, echoed her sense of urgency, warning the conference that "we are losing species at a rate never seen before."
Southern white rhinos, the American crocodile and a range of shark and ray species are also on the agenda, as is the African giraffe, amid warnings that the gentle giant is facing a "silent extinction."