In this episode of The Conservation Conversation, (9 December 2025) Rumbidzai Takawira sits down with Professor Patience Gandiwa, Director of International Conservation Affairs at ZimParks, Chairperson of the African Group of Negotiators on Wildlife and Vice-Chair of CITES CoP20, for an unfiltered breakdown of everything that went down in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

From stockpile wars to Africa’s historic united front, from Namibia’s rejected ivory and rhino horn proposals to Zimbabwe’s breakthrough on value-added elephant products… this episode pulls back the curtain on the politics, science and power struggles that shaped the 50th anniversary of CITES.

We unpack:

• Consumptive vs non-consumptive conservation, the ideological battle dividing Africa

• Why Proposal 14 is a game-changer for Zimbabwean youth and industry

• What Africa achieved, and what still lies ahead in intersessional negotiations

Featuring supporting voices from CITES SG Ivonne Higuero, Namibia (Horn Nam) and Senegal.

This week (Tuesday 02 December 2025) On The Conservation Conversation , we take you inside CITES CoP20 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, for an unfiltered look at one of the most dramatic weeks in global wildlife governance.

From elephants to eels, sharks to hyenas, ivory debates to taxonomy battles, Africa’s voice is being tested on the world stage.

And we’re bringing you the leaders at the heart of it.

Join Rumbie Takawira as she hosts:

🇿🇼 Ambassador Tadeous Chifamba

Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Climate & Wildlife (Zimbabwe)

🇰🇪 Dr Patrick Omondi

Director-General, Wildlife Research & Training Institute (Kenya)

🇿🇦 Mr Narend Singh

Deputy Minister, Ministry of Forestry, Fisheries & Environment (South Africa)

Together, we unpack:

• why Africa is divided over elephant nomenclature,

• what the ivory and rhino horn votes really mean,

• the politics behind giraffe, eel and hyena proposals,

• and how international wildlife trade decisions impact communities.

Coming to you from the 20th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, (.CITES CoP20) in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, we pull back the curtain on one of the most powerful, and most misunderstood, global environmental conventions: CITES, the body that decides the wildlife trade rules for the entire planet.

In this kickoff episode from CITES CoP20, we sit down with Zimbabwe’s Environment Minister, Dr. Evelyn Ndlovu and the CITES Secretary General, Ivonne Higuero, to unpack the global wildlife trade rules shaping elephants, ivory, rhinos and more.

From powerful interventions against the “stepwise approach,” to Africa’s push for fair, science-based decisions, we break down why CITES matters for communities living with wildlife, and why elephants remain the biggest political animal in the room.

This is The Conservation Conversation…. clear, African, and unapologetically real.