World Wildlife Day 2015

Last year saw the first World Wildlife Day, to be held annually on 3 March as the anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). (See this blog article by Stephanie Cole from a year ago). As is appropriate for a day commemorating CITES, protection of wildlife and combating poaching and illegal wildlife trade was the theme of the 2014 day, and in 2015 the focus of the international day is again that “It’s time to get serious about wildlife crime”. With wildlife in its natural habitat a key resource for tourism in many parts of the world – particularly in sub-Saharan Africa – the UNWTO is one of the leading organisations highlighting wildlife and the value of protection.