Gandiwa elected CoP vice chair

Bridget Mabanda

Director for International Conservation Affairs of the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, Patience Gandiwa has been elected vice chair for the Conference of the Parties (CoP) at the ongoing 19th meeting of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) in Panama.

Speaking to Zimbabwe Now, Gandiwa said she is ready to be part of the bureau.

“It is indeed an honour and I feel it's also a recognition endorsement of the work that I have also been doing with the framework of CITES and also for my country and myself as an individual scientist.

“It is an awesome responsibility that I have embraced with both hands and I feel proud to be a Zimbabwean on this role, I think I am the only black African woman in the bureau, maybe the first African woman to take up this post,” she said.

The CoP elected Milciades Concepción (Panama) chair; Shirley Binder (Panama) alternate chair; Patience Gandiwa (Zimbabwe) and May Shih Anna Wong (Singapore) vice chairs; Vincent Fleming (UK) chair of Committee I; Rhedyn Ollerenshaw (Australia) chair of Committee II; and Hayat Mesbah (Morocco) chair of the Credentials Committee.

Governments of 183 countries are gathered for the CoP19 conference being hosted in the Panama City, Panama from the 14th of November to the 25th, 2022.

The CoP convenes every two to three years to review the implementation of the CITES Conventions.

Gandiwa has 15 years of working experience in the field of wildlife conservation and is a recipient of the Pan- African Awards from CEO Global in 2017, 2018 and 2019, Honorary Professor Award, Oxford, United Kingdom (2019), Excellence in Business Leadership International Award- California, USA (2019) and Name in Science International Award-United Kingdom (2021).

The CoP convenes every two to three years to review the implementation of the Convention, including review progress in the conservation of species included in the Appendices, consider proposals to amend the lists of species in Appendices I and II, consider discussion documents and reports from the Parties, the permanent committees, the Secretariat and working groups, recommend measures to improve the effectiveness of the Convention, and make provisions necessary to allow the Secretariat to function effectively.