Hong Kong wildlife officers among thousands forced to cancel trip to Sri Lanka conservation conference after terrorist attacks

Part of China’s planned delegation, the officers were to attend the World Wildlife Conference, a three-yearly, 12-day summit

But the Colombo gathering has been postponed after coordinated bombings hit the country on Easter Sunday

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The Sri Lankan government had hoped to use the summit to present its biodiversity, including its wildlife parks with thousands of elephants. Photo: AFP

Published: 11:00am, 1 May 2019Updated: 5:10pm, 1 May 2019

Four Hong Kong wildlife officers were among thousands of people from more than 180 countries forced to cancel or push back a trip to the world’s largest conference on endangered species, after terrorist attacks in the host country, Sri Lanka, caused its postponement.

The World Wildlife Conference, a three-yearly, 12-day summit on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), was scheduled to begin on May 23 in the capital, Colombo.

The conference, which usually attracts thousands of participants including government officials, NGOs and media, was put on hold due to security concerns after a series of coordinated bombings hit the country on Easter Sunday, killing more than 250 people.

CITES is the international treaty that regulates cross-border trade in more than 36,000 species of plants and animals with a permit system. Representatives from 182 member countries plus the European Union were to consider proposals to protect wild animals and plants from overexploitation and illegal trade during the conference.

The previous World Wildlife Conference was used to upgrade protections for pangolins. Photo: AP

On April 26, CITES secretary general Ivonne Higuero, announced that the meeting would be postponed to an unconfirmed date.

“This decision has been taken out of respect for the victims of the recent attacks and the recognition by the standing committee, the secretariat and the United Nations Department of Safety and Security of the time needed for the government of Sri Lanka to address the current situation in the country,” she said, adding that it would monitor the situation closely.