Turkmenistan officially became the 185th Party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). This accession will take effect on January 2, 2025, and will strengthen wildlife trade regulations in Central Asia, promoting biodiversity conservation, as reported by the CITES press service on Wednesday.
The country, with its diverse natural landscapes, hosts many species listed in the Red Book, including the Asian kulan, Imperial eagle, and Persian leopard.
Charygeldy Babanyyazov, Turkmenistan's Minister of Environmental Protection, emphasized that this accession underscores the country's commitment to wildlife conservation and its readiness to cooperate under CITES, noting that “Turkmenistan has joined almost all international conventions aimed at protecting wildlife.”
One of the topics for discussion at the upcoming 20th Conference of the Parties to CITES (CoP20) in 2025 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, will be the conservation of species such as the Peregrine falcon, which is listed in CITES Appendix II.
CITES Secretary-General Ivonne Higuero emphasized the importance of this step for Turkmenistan, highlighting the Convention's growing influence on the international stage.
CITES, established in 1973, regulates international trade in over 40,900 species of wild animals and plants to protect them from illegal trade.