The opening of the 15th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES begins with an overwhelmingly load performance through the PA system of local Qatar men, chanting and beating drums, followed by two long speeches from Mr Achim Steiner, Executive Director, UNEP, and the Secretary General of CITES, Mr Willem Wijnstekers. A somber air…
Monthly Archives: Mar 2010
13
Mar
Mar
My journey to Doha, Qatar, with Leonard Compagno, world famous shark researcher, begins a way I would rather forget. Up at 4 am after 3 hours sleep, still packing cameras by 5am, and leaving for the 35 minute drive to catch our 6.20am flight to Johannesburg at 5.20am! Leonard transforms into racing driver extraordinaire. I…
10
Mar
Mar
Gandhi once said that a nation’s greatness is measured by the way it treats its animals. 175 Nations will attend the 15th conference of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) from the 13th to 25th March in Doha, Qatar, and have a chance to prove their…
08
Mar
Mar
[one_half] In the last 5 weeks a lot has happened: I suddenly left the Shark Centre (details about this soon but for now read this article that was published in the Weekend Argus)and chucked nine years of conservation work into boxes… I fervidly begun renovations and decorating of the AOCA office and setting up again, still…