The tolerance of the SADC region that holds the largest population of rhino species is severely tested and undermined by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species and Fauna and Flora (CITES). This was said by the Minister of Environment and Tourism last night when he attended the viewing of two environmental conservation documentaries that were organised by the Namibia Nature Foundation. CITES policies and imposed restrictions, Pohamba Shifeta said, interfere with the country's long-term strategic plans for wildlife management. He revealed that a trip by a local conservation representative to CITES in Geneva, Switzerland in 2019 to advocate against the ban in the trade of protected wildlife products, failed to convince the group. Shifta accused CITES of being influenced by some animal rights groups and countries with views not based on any scientific evidence. The last CITES conference, Shifeta said, was also a disappointing affair for conservationists and governments in southern Africa. He added that the conference gave no consideration to countries who confidentially shared their successful wildlife conservation, proposing some of its products, including ivory. The minister also said that Namibia has seen a remarkable reduction in poaching incidents from 81 rhinos poached in 2018 to 31 in 2020.