'CITES and wildlife trade – how CITES works and how it links to wildlife tourism’

_{CITES Secretary-General's keynote address on Wildlife and Tourism at Colombo, Sri Lanka.}

Good morning and thank you to our colleagues from Sri Lanka Tourism for organizing today’s Public Seminar and for giving me the opportunity to address you.

In particular, I would like to thank and to recognize the Hon. John Amaratunga, Minister of Tourism Development and Christian Affairs, the Hon. Gamini Jayawickrema Perera, Minister for Sustainable Development and Wildlife and their staff.

Questions of how CITES works what CITES is, and is not, are frequently raised by the media and members of the general public and it is a great topic for today’s event.

In the time available, I will touch upon some of the issues that arise most often, and in particular, I will spend some time focusing on wildlife based tourism, which was profiled at a recent World Bank event, and law enforcement, as it is a topic that generates a lot of discussion.