Documents relating to the 36th Meeting of the CMS Standing Committee are being posted as soon as they become available. They can be accessed either through the "Quick Links" (see right, below the "Year of the Gorilla") or through the "Bodies and Meetings" pages (use the link to the left, then choose "Standing Committee" and access the 36th Meeting documents via the drop down menu).

Bonn, 16 November 2009 – BirdLife International has produced a fascinating film on bird migration as part of its“Born to Travel” campaign. Focussing on migration between Europe and Africa, the film contains excellent footage of a range of species and can be seen via the website of NABU, BirdLife’s German partner.

Click here

Bonn, 13 November 2009 – Melanie Virtue, CMS Inter-Agency Liaison Officer, joined the other biodiversity related convention secretariats and UN agencies at an Environment Management Group meeting in Rome, 10-11 November 2009.

The writing team met to finalise the details of the report “Biodiversity in the UN System: a UN system–wide contribution to the post 2010 Biodiversity Agenda.” The report will be launched at the United Nations General Assembly on 22 September 2010, while a draft will be made available to the 14th meeting of the Convention on Biodiversity’s Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice in May 2010.

For further details contact Melanie at secretariat@cms.int

Bonn, 6 November 2009 – One of the Secretariat’s longest-serving staff members, Liam Addis, is leaving CMS to take up a post at the Climate Change Secretariat (UNFCCC).

Liam joined CMS nearly fifteen years ago to become at that time only the fourth full-time member of staff. Most recently, Liam has worked as an External Relations Assistant and played a key role in bringing the negotiation of the Gorilla Agreement to fruition.

His colleagues at CMS wish him all the best for the future.

Bonn, 4 November 2009 – the latest annual update by the IUCN makes depressing reading, as it appears that there is no end in sight for the continuing extinction crisis. Twenty percent of mammals are in danger of extinction (including the gorilla and the scimitar-horned oryx), as are 33% of amphibians and over 25% of reptiles.

“We are determined to fight on to save endangered migratory species”, said Elizabeth Mrema, Officer-in-Charge of UNEP/CMS. “The latest IUCN report only serves to show how important it is for the countries of the world to work together and to ensure that all the fine words are translated into effective action. CMS is one of the forums that enables governments to do so”.

[read more on the IUCN website]

Randburg/Bonn, 3 November 2009 – On 24 October, a grand total of 160 bird photographers followed the call of Mark Anderson, the Executive Director of Bird Life South Africa and the winner of the 2008 AEWA Waterbird Conservation Award to photograph 350 different wild birds in South Africa over a period of 24 hours and to make these photos available on a single website within the next 24 hours.

This unique presentation of South Africa’s amazing avifauna was one of 5200 creative activities which were carried out in 181 countries in support of the global 350.org’s International Day of climate change on 24 October 2009

[read more on the AEWA website]

Abu Dhabi, 28 October 2009 - the newly established UNEP/CMS Project Office in Abu Dhabi, UAE, has benefitted from an initial training course in the Integrated Management Information System (IMIS), which is considered crucial for setting up the new office. IMIS is used by CMS and UNEP to follow up on personnel and budgetary issues through CITRIX platform and is expected to help efficiently implement the office’s Work Plan.

The Abu Dhabi Team, including two General Staff (Ms. Reema Al Mubarak and Ms. Jumana Farouqa) and three Professionals (Mr. Lahcen El Kabiri, Ms. Donna Kwan, and Mr. Peter Pechacek) appreciated the interactive practical course held in the Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi (EAD) premises from 21st to 28th October 2009. UNEP/CMS Office, co-located with EAD, will move to new buildings by mid-November and hopefully, the team will be complete by then, once the fourth Professional, Ms. Jenn Renell, enters on duty.

[read on]

Cambridge, UK, 28 October 2009 - BirdLife International, one of CMS’s key partners in the international NGO community, has just posted two key news items.

The first concerns new information on the migration route of the Eleonora’s Falcon Falco eleonorae between their European breeding grounds and Madagascar.

The second reports on a recent joint press conference held by the Presidents of Liberia and Sierra Leone during the fourth European Development Days Conference in Stockholm. Subject of the press conference was the reaffirmation of both countries’ commitment to a transboundary “Peace Park” project to protect the Gola Rainforest.

Read more on the BLI website

Link to Eleonora’s Falcon story

Link to Peace Park story

Bonn, October 2009 - After having reached its own 30th Anniversary in June, the Bonn Convention has congratulated the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats, also known as the Bern Convention, which has just turned 30 too.

The Bern Convention was the first international treaty aiming to protect both wild plant and animal species and their natural habitats while enhancing transborder cooperation between contracting parties in Europe. The management and sustainable use of European wildlife and natural habitats including migratory species are a cornerstone of the Bern Convention and reveal common objectives of both Conventions.

[Read on]

Washington DC, October 2009 - Supporting the Western Hemisphere Migratory Species Initiative's goal of conserving migratory species through international cooperation and communication, the Rainforest Alliance maintains the bilingual “WHMSI Pathway” as a means to share information about migratory species conservation across geographic and language barriers.

The WHMSI Pathway features more than 350 resources related to migratory species conservation in its "Projects & Tools" section, organised by the priority needs that WHMSI stakeholders have identified.

[click here to link to “Pathway”]

Bonn, 24 October – members of staff of the CMS Family in Bonn joined colleagues from other UN agencies, government ministries, research institutes and NGOs for the annual celebration of UN Day on Bonn’s historic Market Square.

UN Day gives the Secretariat the opportunity of explaining the work of the Convention and its associated Agreements to the general public. Thousands of people were attracted to the information stands and live entertainment provided by a cosmopolitan selection of musical performers. Amongst the visitors was Bonn’s new Lord Mayor, Oberbürgermeister Jürgen Nimptsch who was elected in August to replace Bärbel Dieckmann, who stood down after three terms in office.

Bonn, 22 October 2009 - the Inter-Sessional Working Group on the Future Shape of CMS met at the CMS HQ in the UN Campus in Bonn from 19 to 20 October to review the first draft of report compiled by the consultancy firm, ERIC (Environmental Regulation and Information Centre). The report deals with the current organisation of CMS and the CMS Family.

Under the chairmanship of Olivier Biber (Switzerland), the Working Group took the opportunity of questioning the representatives of the Bonn-based Secretariats and the consultants. Significant headway was made in refining the text of the report, prior to its submission to the Standing Committee in December. The Group also started planning the next two stages of the Future Shape process, which will culminate in three options being submitted to the next COP, due to be held in 2011.

[read on]

for more details of the Future Shape process see the "Quick Link" (right)

Bonn, 22 October 2009 - The UNEP/CMS Secretariat would like to announce that the Internship Programme for 2010 has been advertised and is ready to receive applications for the selection process. The application deadline will be 30.11.09, the final decision regarding the selection on 15.12.09 at the latest. We encourage students with an academic background in environmental science, biology, law, political science, geography, agriculture and media or similar studies to send the relevant documents (CV, completed questionnaire and application letter) to the UNEP/CMS Secretariat, which coordinates all applications for CMS, AEWA, EUROBATS and ASCOBANS. Please refer to the following website for more detailed information:

http://www.cms.int/secretariat/internships.htm

Please disseminate this information to possible candidates. We have benefited from important contributions by interns in the past and are looking forward to continuing with a well-structured and internationally orientated internship programme for 2010. We aim to achieve a balanced regional representation in the internship programme; therefore applications from all over the world are encouraged. For any questions please contact the coordinator for the UNEP/CMS Family Internship Programme, Mr Henning Lilge, by e-mail (hlilge@cms.int) or phone (+49 228 815 2437).

Bangkok, 20 October 2009 - The final Steering Committee meeting and Project Completion Workshop for the UNEP/GEF Siberian Crane Wetland Project (SCWP) were held in Harbin, China, from 12-15 October. The selection of Heilongjiang province as the venue for the gatherings was appropriate, given China’s important contribution to the project. The campus of Northeast Forestry University offered a suitable backdrop for the meetings, which included a special seminar on the conservation of Zhalong Marsh.

[read on]

Tokyo, 13 October 2009 – Launching the COP10 logo and slogan, Japan marked the one-year countdown to the start of the tenth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 10) to the Convention on Biological Diversity, to be held in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan in October 2010. The COP 10 logo was launched together with the International Year of Biodiversity (IYB) logo and slogan at the Ministry of the Environment in Tokyo.

Mr. Sakihito Ozawa, Minister of the Environment, Government of Japan, and Mr. Issei Tajima, Senior Vice-Minister of the Environment participated in a press conference together with Dr. Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

[read on]

London, 11 October 2009 - – the British Sunday newspaper “The Observer” has reported that the UK government is taking steps to close the loophole in European Community legislation, which leads to the mutilation of rare and endangered shark species.

Two meetings have already taken place under the auspices of CMS – in the Seychelles in 2007 and immediately after COP9 in Rome last year - to negotiate an international instrument to protect migratory sharks.

[link to the Observer article]

Abu Dhabi, 12 October 2009 - The Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi (EAD) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) have signed a Donor Agreement to establish a UNEP/Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) office in Abu Dhabi.

H.E. Majid Al Mansouri, Secretary General of EAD and Ms. Elizabeth Mrema, CMS Officer-In-Charge, UNEP signed the agreement in a ceremony on October 12, 2009 at EAD’s Headquarters.

[Read on]

[link to the EAD website]

Bonn, 13 October 2009 - The Ambassador for the United Nations Year of the Gorilla campaign, Ian Redmond, has called for the inclusion of gorillas and elephants, as important components in African rainforests, in the upcoming climate negotiations in Copenhagen.

Large mammals, such as elephants and gorillas, are keystone species in their relevant ecosystems. Gorillas act as ‘gardeners’ in the rainforests of the Congo Basin, and protecting them helps prevent loss of flora that are ecologically dependent on them.

[Read on]

Click here for a selection of relevant videos

Bonn, 8 October 2009 - An event of great symbolic and conservation importance took place in the Cabo Blanco Mediterranean Monk Seal colony, the largest aggregation of this species that still survives in the world. A pup was born on an open beach.

The newborn pup was discovered by the reserve’s monk seal patrol of the CBD-Habitat Foundation. It was located at the foot of a cliff and was reported to be in good shape. It is the first record of such an event since the XV century.

[Read on]

Nairobi, Kenya, 4 October 2009 - John Mshelbwala, Chair of the CMS Scientific Council and Melanie Virtue of the Secretariat participated in the 3rd meeting of chairs of Scientific Advisory Bodies of the Biodiversity-related Conventions to discuss ways to improve collaboration between the scientific bodies of the MEAs.

The Ramsar Scientific and Technical Review Panel Chair presented a detailed analysis of the overlaps and gaps in work programmes of each of the scientific bodies. This analysis identified a number of areas where there is significant potential for closer collaboration between the various convention scientific bodies. These include: guidance on ecosystem restoration, specific climate change related issues, hunting and harvesting, tourism and ecotourism, urbanisation and invasive species. It was suggested that CMS could undertake some joint activities focusing on such issues. These will be further elaborated in time for the 4th meeting of the group in Paris, in January 2010.

Nairobi, Kenya, 2-3 October 2009 - John Mshelbwala, Chair of the CMS Scientific Council and Melanie Virtue of the Secretariat participated in the meeting of experts from UN agencies, NGOs and individuals, including chairs of the biodiversity related MEA’s scientific bodies.

After more than 12 consultative meetings over the past 12 months, which assessed the 2010 targets, and discussed elements for inclusion in the new, post 2010 targets, this meeting finally got down to the business of attempting a first draft of the new vision, goals and targets. This draft will now provide a base for further discussions. The post 2010 targets will be discussed by Heads of Governments at the UNGA in September 2010 and adopted by CBD COP 10 in Japan in December 2010.

La Paz, Bolivia, 23 September 2009 - The Ramsar Secretariat and the Bolivian Ministry of Environment and Water jointly organised the Sixth Workshop of the Regional Strategy for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of High Andean Wetlands in La Paz, Bolivia. The workshop’s main focus was on the evaluation of the Regional Strategy and the implementation of its regional projects. CMS Information and Capacity-Building Officer, Francisco Rilla, CMS’s main focal point for Latin America, participated in this event, which took place from 21 to 24 September 2009.

[read on]

[link to WWF press release]

La Paz, Bolivia, 23 de Septiembre 2009 - El Director General de Áreas Protegidas y Biodiversidad del Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Agua de Bolivia, Lic. Omar Rocha ha firmado Memorando de Entendimiento (MdE) para la Conservación de las Especies de Aves de Pastizales de América del Sur en representación de su gobierno.

El MdE fue promovido desde la Secretaría de UNEP/CMS con un comprometido apoyo de parte de los Consejeros Científicos y Puntos Focal Nacionales de CMS de Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, Brasil y Bolivia y firmado inicialmente durante el taller sobre tomadores de decisiones realizado en Panamá en agosto de 2007.

[mas] [English]

Bonn, 23 September 2009 – Ian Redmond, CMS Year of the Gorilla Ambassador, returned home to the UK at the weekend, having completed a groundbreaking State of the Gorilla Journey, in this Year of the Gorilla. In 5 weeks, Ian has travelled through eight of the 10 gorilla range states in Central Africa, using local buses wherever possible. Ian maintained daily blogs of his encounters along the way with local villagers, traders, hunters, conservationists, government officials and even former child soldiers. Video interviews with a wide range of people, all with a story to tell that helps to illustrate the complexities of trying to conserve gorillas and their habitats in a region beset by poverty and frequent unrest, will be uploaded shortly on Ian's blog. [click here for YoGBlog]

[read on]

Bonn, 23 September 2009 – Melanie Virtue, CMS Inter-Agency Liaison Officer, attended the Executive Committee of the Great Apes Survival Partnership (GRASP), 10-11 September in London. GRASP is one of the major partners in the CMS Year of the Gorilla Campaign, and a close collaborator in the Gorilla Agreement. Upcoming events under YoG, such as a concert in Calabar, Nigeria, a lecture tour by Ambassador Redmond in the USA, and a small symposium at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris were discussed. A mini soccer tournament between the national teams of the gorilla range states and some European sides is planned for the lead up to the 2011 World Cup in South Africa.

The meeting grappled with the issue of how to maximize coordination between the scientific bodies dealing with great ape conservation (Gorilla Agreement Technical Committee, GRASP Scientific Commission, IUCN Primate Specialist Group etc) and similar issues with the overlap between focal points to the various agreements.

[link to GRASP website]

19 September 2009 - Representatives from 11 countries met in Bonn, Germany, from 16-18 September under the auspices of the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic, North East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas (ASCOBANS).

Supported in its deliberations by several international and nongovernmental organisations dealing with marine conservation, the meeting agreed a number of measures to protect and enhance populations of small whales and dolphins in these European waters. A new strategy for the future prioritises activities focusing on the key threats to small cetaceans, namely bycatch (the incidental capture of animals by fishing activities) and disturbance by noise.

[read on]

18 September 2009 - The CMS Secretariat is sad to have to report the death at the age of 88 of Jacques Gronier, its long serving French translator. He had worked for CMS, translating documents and papers for the Conference of the Parties, Standing Committee and Scientific Council for nearly twenty years.

Born in Amiens in 1921, he worked for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, NATO and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, retiring in 1981.

Mr Gronier impressed staff of the Secretariat with his reliability, punctuality, his ability to accept work at short notice and above all his ever pleasant and polite manner. The CMS Secretariat would like to extend its heartfelt condolences to his wife, Françoise.

Haren, the Netherlands, 12 September 2009 - The world habitats are changing and the Sahel region is no exception. Affected by climate change and other rapid man-made habitat changes related to deforestation, irrigation and reclamation of wetlands, the Sahel is changing its face.

For long-distance migratory birds, the Sahel is a very important wintering area and the transformation of the region will also have a strong influence on migratory bird populations that depend on it. [read more on the AEWA website]

Bonn, 2 September - A new EUROBATS leaflet on "Bats and Forestry" has just been published. It is available in English, French and German and provides high-level guidelines for bat-friendly forestry. The EUROBATS Parties and Non-Party Range States are encouraged to translate the leaflet into their language and adapt it to the national needs. The leaflets and guidance for the translation is available on the EUROBATS website. Click here.