Member states of the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) are not meeting until September, but some African countries have already drawn their battle lines on divisive issues such as the ivory trade.
Proposals for the meeting in Johannesburg were made public this week, pitting bids by Namibia and Zimbabwe to open up the trade in elephant ivory, against initiatives led by Kenya for a complete global ban on the coveted commodity.
Those seeking to open up the trade of wild animal products argue it will raise badly-needed funds for conservation, but others say it would provide cover to poachers and make products that can endanger species socially acceptable to consumers.
"In all of these issues we have two competing views. They are all aiming for the same objective which is ensuring the survival of species in the wild," CITES Secretary-General John Scanlon told Reuters.
Global trade of ivory is banned though CITES has allowed one-off sales of national stockpiles. Several countries also allow domestic trade.
Kenya, long at the forefront of efforts to shut the ivory trade down completely, last week torched thousands of elephant tusks and rhino horns.
But the African kingdom of Swaziland wants to sell rhino horn to pay for anti-poaching efforts.
"The poaching crisis is really out of control and you have more and more countries that realise the only way to really stop it is to stop the trade," said Susan Lieberman, vice president for International Policy at the Wildlife Conservation Society.
Other initiatives called for added protection for lions. Last year the highly-publicised killing of a big cat named "Cecil" by an American trophy hunter in Zimbabwe provoked a global outcry.