News

The Coordinating Unit of the Raptors MOU welcomed the opportunity to actively participate in the Summit for the Flyways on 23-26 April at Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. The summit was hosted by the International Fund for Houbara Foundation and convened by BirdLife International.

On 26 October 2017 on the sidelines of the CMS COP12 in Manila, Environment for the Americas (EFTA), the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) and the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA), announced an innovative partnership to boost awareness of the plight of migratory birds around the world. The new partnership formally unites two of the world’s largest bird education campaigns, International Migratory Bird Day (IMBD) and World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) in a bid to strengthen recognition and appreciation of migratory birds and highlight the urgent need for their conservation.

Institutions and organizations from 14 countries in the Balkans, Middle East and Africa have come together under a flyway conservation project for the Egyptian Vulture. The aim to reinforce the easternmost Egyptian Vulture populations in Europe by implementing urgent conservation measures to address major known threats at the breeding grounds and along the flyway.

The CMS Secretariat is pleased to announce the addition of Przewalski’s Horse, Gobi Bear, and Steppe Eagle, all proposed by Mongolia, to the CMS Appendices at COP12. Przewalski’s Horses were last seen in 1969 in the wild near Mongolian border in Trans-Altai Gobi. The population is currently estimated to consist of more than 50 mature individuals free-living in the wild for the past seven years.

At a second special ceremony held yesterday in the margins of the UNFCCC COP23 in Bonn, Minister Anne Désirée Ouloto of Côte d’Ivoire signed the Memoranda of Understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Sharks and on the Conservation of Migratory Birds of Prey in Africa and Eurasia (Raptors MOU). Côte d’Ivoire thus becomes the 48th Signatory to the Sharks MOU and the 59th Signatory to the Raptors MOU.

Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) have today taken two momentous decisions to promote the conservation of Old World vultures. During the last week, almost 100 countries from across the globe have gathered for the 12th Meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP12) to CMS, which has been hosted by the Government of the Philippines at their flagship Convention Centre in Manila.

At a ceremony held during the CMS COP and presided over by CMS Executive Secretary, Bradnee Chambers, four countries became members of CMS Memoranda of Understanding while the WWF and the Peregrine Trust became cooperating partners to the Sharks MOU and Raptors MOU respectively. Burkina Faso signed the Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Birds of Prey in Africa and Eurasia becoming the 58th Signatory to do so.

The Coordinating Unit of the CMS Raptors MOU is pleased to announce that the Final Draft of the Multi-species Action Plan to Conserve African-Eurasian Vultures (Vulture MsAP) was endorsed by the Sessional Committee of the CMS Scientific Council (ScC-SC) which held its second meeting last week in Bonn, Germany.

The illegal killing, taking and trade of birds (IKB) is still of great concern globally, as some bird populations continue declining rapidly. Political commitment is key to making progress in addressing this problem and international cooperation can help. This is the reason why CMS joined forces with the Bern Convention to convene a joint meeting in Sliema, Malta on 22 and 23 June.

Members of the Energy Task Force, including the CMS and AEWA Secretariats, BirdLife International, and the German Ministry for the Environment (BMUB) joined forces at the UNFCCC Bonn Climate Change Conference to raise awareness of the importance of reconciling migratory species conservation with the deployment of renewable energy and power lines globally.