NRDC Activist,

We did it! We helped protect some of our planet's most endangered wildlife at the 2019 World Wildlife Convention in Geneva.

NRDC experts were there and we fought for protections for these specific species: giraffes, elephants, rhinos, Asian otters, sharks, and vaquitas.

Supporters like you sent in tens of thousands of messages urging America's CITES delegates from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to vote to save these magnificent creatures.

And I am excited to report that, with your help, action was taken to increase protections for — or maintain protections for — each of the animals we advocated on behalf of, that will help stave off their extinction!

This is a major victory that demonstrates how much we can do to protect our wildlife — and our environment — when we work together. Read more about this fantastic outcome for some of our most imperiled species in my blog post here. Be sure to share it with friends and family after!

While we were on the ground at the conference attending meetings and leading important conversations to advocate for these endangered species, NRDC activists were sending in messages, urging for important protections that these animals need.

And it worked! Together, we helped:

• Limit the deadly trade in giraffes, mako sharks, guitarfish, and wedgefish, by securing their listing under CITES Appendix II and opening the door for additional protections, if necessary
• Ban the international commercial trade in two species of Asian otters, by listing them on Appendix I — the highest level of protection under the international law
• Defeat efforts to undo vital measures that help stop the heartless trade in rhino and elephant parts
• Compel countries to work together to improve the way they implement CITES shark listings in order to combat ongoing illegal trade in these marine predators
• Encourage CITES parties to urge Mexico to take specific and immediate action to save the highly endangered vaquita porpoise

These wins are ours to own. So be sure to check out our blog highlighting these victories and more from our time at CITES, and then share the blog with your friends and family!

Of course, our work only continues from here.

As you may know, the Trump administration moved to drastically weaken the Endangered Species Act earlier this month — a bonafide "extinction plan" that further threatens many of the more than one million species already on the brink of extinction.

NRDC and our partners are already fighting in court to stop this assault on imperiled wildlife and the bedrock law that protects them.

I hope you'll join us in celebrating these exciting victories for wildlife — as we prepare for the critical battles ahead. And if you're able, will you consider chipping in with a gift — whatever you can afford — to help NRDC defend the environment and escalate this all-important fight for endangered species survival?

Thank you for everything that you've done, and continue to do, in this fight to protect our wildlife and our environment.

Sincerely,

Zak Smith
Director, International Wildlife Conservation Initiative, NRDC