From November 23 to December 5, 2025, the 20th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP20) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was held at the Silk Road Samarkand Congress Center in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. 

This marked the first time a CITES CoP was hosted in Central Asia since the Convention entered into force on July 1, 1975. The conference addressed 113 agenda items covering administrative and financial matters, strategic affairs, capacity building, CITES and livelihoods, compliance, illegal trade enforcement, trade management, exemptions, and species conservation. Additionally, 50 proposals to amend the Appendices were reviewed. CITES Secretary-General Ivonne Higuero delivered the opening address. 


Yafang Yin and Yang Lu from the Chinese Academy of Forestry and Isabelle Duchesne from the Canadian Wood Fibre Centre, as wood anatomists, played a scientific role in preparing position papers on plant species-related issues. They delivered interventions regarding the conservation of endangered species, such as Brazilwood (Paubrasilia echinata), and proposals for CITES Appendix amendments. During the meeting, Yafang Yin and Yang Lu introduced "iWood", a proprietary portable wood identification tool developed by CAF, and also submitted a technical report titled “Findings of the assessment of the CITES online repository on Timber Identification Resources and Tools” (CoP20 Inf. 13) supported by the CITES international cooperation project of Global Assessment of Timber and Wood Product Species Identification Technologies and Tools.