Keynote Speakers

Session Description 

International wildlife trade is one of the major drivers of biodiversity loss, and effective species conservation requires collaboration across borders, sectors and disciplines. This keynote will explore the role of CITES in addressing wildlife trade and the complementary contributions of governments, scientific authorities, zoos, researchers and the wider conservation community in supporting integrated species conservation, in line with the IUCN One Plan Approach. Dr Mona van Schingen-Khan will also reflect on practical experiences, emerging challenges and opportunities for strengthening collaboration through CITES to support effective species conservation. 

Biography

Dr Mona van Schingen-Khan is a conservation biologist specialising in reptile conservation, with expertise spanning field research, wildlife trade regulation and international conservation policy. Since 2017, she has led the Fauna Team of the German Scientific Authority for CITES at the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) and, since 2025, has also served as Deputy Head of Unit. She currently serves as the European regional representative on the CITES Animals Committee. Before joining BfN, she conducted field research on threatened reptiles in Vietnam and received her PhD from the University of Cologne in 2017 for research on the Vietnamese crocodile lizard, undertaken with Cologne Zoo and conservation partners in Vietnam. Her work connects science, policy and legislation to support evidence-based conservation decisions.