By Francis Kimanene
On the 3rd of March each year, the world honours the interconnectedness of life on our planet by commemorating the United Nations World Wildlife Day. The day affords humanity a moment to reflect on the myriad ways in which the confluence between flora and fauna “conspires” to make life on earth possible.
On the 3rd of March 1973, a Plenipotentiaries Conference hosted by the United States in Washington DC, with representatives from around the globe gathered to deliberate on the fate of vulnerable creatures in the wake of their unbridled trade. The meeting was later dubbed the “World Wildlife Conference.” It resulted in the signing of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, commonly known by its fitting acronym, CITES.
Four decades passed before the seeds planted in Washington bloomed into a universal day of celebration. The catalyst came in the lead-up to the 16th meeting of CITES, scheduled for 2013 in Bangkok. Thailand, the generous host, had agreed to hold the conference from the 3rd to the 14th of March 2013. The dates marked the 40th anniversary of the Convention’s signing.
Within the corridors of the CITES Secretariat, a fortuitous confluence of ideas took shape. John E. Scanlon, then Secretary-General of CITES, immersed himself in historical documents from the 1973 conference. He noticed that the original meeting was dubbed the “World Wildlife Conference”. The name resonated. At nearly the same moment, his colleague, one Juan Carlos Vasquez made known a proposition he had long harboured but never voiced. He proposed to declare the 3rd of March “World Wildlife Day.”
The idea was presented to Thai authorities, who embraced it with enthusiasm. With meticulous assistance from the Secretariat, Thailand drafted a resolution for consideration at the CITES conference. The proposal garnered widespread support, with the Democratic Republic of the Congo noting the day would honour fallen rangers, and Japan observing it was “high time to bring public attention to wildlife.” On 14th March 2013, the resolution passed by consensus.
That, however, was the first step. Securing recognition from the United Nations General Assembly required a formal UN resolution. Mr Scanlon travelled to New York to assist the Thai mission with the drafting of the resolution. But a procedural hurdle soon emerged. As a rule of thumb, UN resolutions must designate a specific entity responsible for facilitating the observance. Scanlon took the challenge on behalf of CITES.
On the 20th of December 2013, the United Nations General Assembly, at its 68th session, formally proclaimed the 3d of March as United Nations World Wildlife Day. Welcoming the news, Mr Scanlon remarked, “World Wildlife Day is an ideal opportunity to celebrate the many beautiful and varied forms of wild fauna and flora and raise awareness of the multitude of benefits that conservation provides to people.”
With the first official World Wildlife Day set for the 3rd of March 2014, the Secretariat had scarcely three months to construct a global observance. There was no budget, no dedicated staff, and no existing infrastructure. Yet a small team comprising—Juan Carlos Vasquez, Liu Yuan and others—worked with remarkable resolve. They designed a logo in six official UN languages, launched a website and established a Twitter presence.
Subsequently, on the 3rd of March 2014, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, the first United Nations World Wildlife Day was commemorated. The then-UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addressed the gathering, concluding with a spirited call: “Let’s go wild for wildlife.”
In the years since, World Wildlife Day has flourished with annual themes guiding global conversations. These conversations have span from confronting illegal wildlife trade in 2014 and 2015, amplifying youth voices in 2017 to highlighting imperilled predators in 2018. The 50th anniversary of CITES in 2023 brought celebrations full circle, with the main event returning to Washington DC. The event was co-organised by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in partnership with the National Geographic Society.
What began as a spark of inspiration has since then grown into the world’s preeminent annual celebration of wildlife.
Dr Kimanene is a conservation expert based in Geneva, Switzerland.
