CITES – Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species

CITES CoP20 · Samarkand

20th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP20), November 2025

From 24 November – 5 December 2025, the 20th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP20) will be held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. For every CoP, FACE SCI and SCIF create a Sustainable Use Voting Guide with recommended positions on issues that impact hunting and other sustainable use priorities.

View CoP20 Sustainable Use Voting Guide PDF
Cover: CoP20 Sustainable Use Voting Guide
International Agreements · CITES

CITES seeks to regulate international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants at sustainable levels to ensure that this trade does not threaten their survival.

CITES is mainly relevant to hunters in relation to the import/export of hunting trophies, but also as one of a number of key international agreements setting the global conservation agenda, establishing conservation principles and providing the tools and means for cooperation.

Species covered by the Convention are listed in three Appendixes, subject to different levels of protection:

AppendixIFor Appendix I species, the conditions to import a trophy are particularly strict and subject to quotas.
AppendixIIAppendix II lists species that are not presently threatened with extinction but that may become so unless trade is closely controlled. It also includes so-called “look-alike species”, i.e. species of which the specimens in trade look like those of species listed for conservation reasons.
AppendixIIIAppendix III is a list of species included at the request of a Party that already regulates trade in the species and that needs the cooperation of other countries to prevent unsustainable or illegal exploitation.
184Parties to CITES
27EU Member States voting as a block
3 yearsBetween each CoP

CITES currently has 184 Parties, including the 27 EU Member States, which during CoPs, held every 3 years, are expected to speak with one voice and to vote as a block. FACE works on CITES in partnership with Safari Club International and the International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation.

FACESafari Club InternationalCIC – International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation

Resources

PDFTrophy hunting in Africa - Facts & evidence Positive conclusions for hunters at the world’s largest wildlife trade summitNews Largest-ever world wildlife summit recognises the important role of truphy hunting for conservationNews
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