New CITES boss discusses reining in online wildlife trafficking, the next COP, and more

We speak with Ivonne Higuero, new Secretary General of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora — better known by its acronym, CITES. The first woman to ever serve as Secretary General, we discuss how her background as an environmental economist informs her approach to the job, how CITES can tackle challenges like the online wildlife trade and lack of enforcement of CITES statutes at the national level, and what she expects to accomplish at the 18th congress of the parties (COP) this August.

Here’s this episode’s top news:

• Arctic sea ice extent just hit a record low for early June and worse may come
• Nearly 600 plant species have gone extinct in last 250 years
• Sumatran rhinos to get a new sanctuary in Leuser Ecosystem

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