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CMS Standing Committee
- 2-3 December - Bonn |
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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).
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BirdLife International
“Born to Travel” Campaign |
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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
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Biodiversity in
the UN System Report in Preparation |
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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 |
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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.
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IUCN Red Data List
Update |
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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]
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350+ Species of
Wild Birds Photographed in South Africa in
One Day! |
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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]
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News from Abu Dhabi:
First Training Course for Staff at the UNEP/CMS
Project Office |
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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]
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BirdLife International
News Alerts |
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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
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The Bern Convention:
Protecting Wildlife and Habitats for 30 Years |
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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] |
WHMSI Pathway Update
- October, 2009 |
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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”]
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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.
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Future Shape Working
Group Reviews Phrase 1 Report |
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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)
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Call for Applications
- Internship Programme 2010 UNEP/CMS Family
(CMS, AEWA, EUROBATS and ASCOBANS) |
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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).
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Siberian Crane
Wetland Project Winding Up on a High Note |
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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] |
CBD COP10 and IYB
Logos launched in Tokyo |
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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]
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Shark-finning to
be Banned in UK Waters |
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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]
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EAD and UNEP Sign
Donor Agreement to Establish a UNEP/CMS Office
in Abu Dhabi |
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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]
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Carbon finance
is key to better protection of gorillas and
elephants to maintain health of African rainforests
says UN Ambassador |
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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
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First Record of
a Monk Seal Pup Born on an Open Beach in Centuries |
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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]
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3rd Meeting of
the Chairs of the Scientific Advisory Bodies
to the Biodiversity Related Conventions |
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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.
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Expert Meeting
on the Development of Post 2010 Global Biodiversity
Targets |
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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.
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Sixth Workshop
of the Regional Strategy for the Conservation
and Sustainable Use of High Andean Wetlands |
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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]
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El Gobierno boliviano
firma el Memorando de Entendimiento (MdE)
para la Conservación de las Especies
de Aves de Pastizales de América del
Sur |
|
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]
|
State of the Gorilla
Journey |
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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]
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GRASP - Planning
the Way Ahead for Gorilla Conservation |
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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]
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Action Plans for
Harbour Porpoises in the North and Baltic
Seas |
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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]
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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.
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Book launch: Living
on the Edge - Wetlands and Birds in a Changing
Sahel |
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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]
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New EUROBATS Leaflet
Published |
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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.
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