UNEP-WCMC played a key role informing decisions taken at the 26th meeting of the Animals Committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) that took place 15th-20th March 2012 in Geneva.

Experts on sustainable use discussed a UNEP-WCMC report with information on sustainability findings for a range of species in trade (included in the “Review of Significant Trade” process). On the basis of this information, they agreed on a number of recommendations, such as the setting of cautious export quotas, for a number of species, including Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin from the Solomon Islands, grey-crowned and black-crowned cranes from Africa, golden mantella frog from Madagascar, seahorses from Southeast Asia, beluga sturgeon from the Caspian Sea, emperor scorpion from Africa, and giant clams from the Pacific.

The Animals Committee also relied on UNEP-WCMC reports (see reports on recent taxonomic changes and on coral nomenclature) to inform discussions on CITES nomenclature. The list of coral species extracted from the UNEP-WCMC Species Database was recommended for adoption as the CITES nomenclature standard reference for corals.