The following update was issued by the Wildlife Conservation Society upon the start of the second and final phase of the United Nations Biodiversity Conference (Convention on Biological Diversity CoP15) in Montreal which opens Dec. 7.

WCS congratulates Guyana on the issuance of the world’s first credits from the REDD+ Environmental Excellence Standard (TREES), marking the first time a country has been issued carbon credits specifically targeted at voluntary and compliance carbon markets for successfully preventing forest loss and degradation.

The Cambridge Conservation Initiative (CCI) formally accepted the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) as its 11^thpartner – the first new partner to join since the ground-breaking, multidisciplinary initiative was established 15 years ago.

WCS is holding a virtual media briefing on Thursday, December 1^st, 8AM ET in advance of CBD CoP15 in Montreal Canada.

With the final adoption of proposals to regulate the trade of requiem sharks and hammerheads as governments conclude the 19^th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES CoP19), the following statement was issued by Luke Warwick, Director of the Wildlife Conservation Society Shark and Ray Program:

Rare, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced the launch of Solution Search: Changing Unsustainable Trade, a crowdsourcing contest to identify organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean with innovative approaches to reducing illegal or unsustainable trade of wildlife.

The Government of Mozambique approved by Resolution of Council of Ministers, the National Strategy for the Management and Conservation of Coral Reefs.

A CITES CoP19 committee has agreed by consensus to provide international commercial trade protections for all glass frogs, the family Centrolenidae, by listing them in in Appendix II. Final adoption in CITES Plenary is expected by end of week.

CITES CoP19 Parties agreed by consensus to a proposal to protect both matamata turtle species, Chelus fimbriata and Chelus orinocensis, whose populations are threatened as the turtles are prized by the pet trade. Final adoption in Plenary is expected by end of week.

CITES CoP19 Parties voted to list requiem sharks and hammerheads on CITES Appendix II. Final adoption in Plenary is expected in the coming days.