The 18th World Wildlife Conference convened by the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna & Flora (CITES) is being held in Geneva, from August 17-28. Delegates from 183 countries along with other participants observed a minute’s silence, before starting proceedings, to pay tribute to victims of Sri Lanka’s Easter Sunday terrorist attack.Known as 18th Conference of Parties (COP18) of CITES, this international conference was originally intended to be held in Sri Lanka last May. But the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks forced the event to be postponed and subsequently, shifted to CITES’ headquarters in Geneva.Sri Lanka’s delegation included officers of the Department of Wildlife (DWC) which is the responsible local agency to handle CITES matters.