Press releases

New Partnership Strengthens Global Campaign for Migratory Birds

The East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership (EAAFP) was announced as an official Partner of the World Migratory Bird Day campaign during the 11th Meeting of Partners (MOP11) of the EAAFP which ended in Brisbane, Australia today. The new Partnership unites efforts to raise awareness to conserve migratory birds globally. The World Migratory Bird is an annual global awareness-raising campaign to celebrate the amazing journeys of migratory birds, and to inspire worldwide conservation of migratory birds and their habitats. Traditionally observed on the second Saturday of May and October, the two days of World Migratory Bird Day are a way to reflect the cyclical nature of bird migration as well as the fact that there are varying peak migration periods in the northern and southern hemispheres.

16 March 2023

UN Initiative to Establish a Global Atlas on Animal Migration Sets Milestone with Launch of New Bird Migration Atlas

Visualizing how migratory animals connect continents, countries, sites and habitats is the result of an international scientific effort under the aegis of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), in developing the first atlas of bird migration across three continents. CMS, an environmental UN treaty, will launch the Eurasian-African Bird Migration Atlas today at the Museum of Migration on the Italian island of Ventotene, as the first part of a broader initiative to develop a global atlas of animal migration.

25 May 2022

World Migratory Bird Day: Light Pollution Threatens Birds across the World but Solutions are Readily Available

Light pollution and its impact on migratory birds is the focus of World Migratory Bird Day 2022, a global campaign that aims to raise awareness of migratory birds and the need for international cooperation to conserve them. Activities to mark the day will be held globally under the theme “Dim the Lights for Birds at Night”.

12 May 2022

Thirty Years of Conservation Measures for Small Cetaceans in European Seas

Thursday 17 March 2022 marks the 30th anniversary of the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic, North East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas (ASCOBANS) – a regional environmental treaty of the United Nations. Concerns over the impacts of human activities on small cetaceans led to the negotiation of ASCOBANS under the auspices of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS). The Agreement was concluded on 17 March 1992 and has subsequently been signed by 10 countries. 

17 March 2022

UN Report Assesses Risk of Plastic Pollution to Migratory Species in Ganges and Mekong Rivers

A new report on plastic pollution and migratory species was launched today during the fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA5) in Nairobi. The report, “Risk assessment of plastic pollution to migratory species in the Mekong and Ganga River Basins”, was prepared under the UN’s Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS). 

01 March 2022

Scientific Task Force on Avian Influenza and Wild Birds Issues Recommendations

In response to recent large-scale outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in wild birds, the Secretariat of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) convened the Scientific Task Force on Avian Influenza and Wild Birds. The highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 virus, plus other subtypes including H5N8 caused multiple avian influenza outbreaks that occurred in the UK, The Netherlands, Israel, and India seriously affecting wild birds.

25 January 2022

New International Conservation Actions Agreed for Saiga Antelopes

Kazakhstan, Mongolia, the Russian Federation, and Uzbekistan agreed on new joint conservation measures to conserve the Saiga Antelope under the United Nations’ Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS). For the next five years, the international Work Programme for the Saiga Antelope will provide a new framework to conserve and sustainably use the species throughout its migratory range.

27 October 2021

World Migratory Bird Day on 9 October Celebrates Birds and Nature

On Saturday, 9 October people all over the world will be celebrating World Migratory Bird Day, a global campaign that aims to raise awareness of migratory birds and the need for international cooperation to conserve them. The UN-backed campaign is organized by a collaborative partnership among two environmental treaties - the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) and the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement (AEWA), and the non-profit organization, Environment for the Americas (EFTA).

07 October 2021

CMS Standing Committee Adopts Decisions to Advance the Implementation of the Convention

Following a week of global meetings held entirely online, the 52nd Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) concluded with important outcomes to take the work forward under the Convention.  CMS Executive Secretary Amy Fraenkel said: “The 52nd Session of the Standing Committee, held online for the first time, advanced important work under the Convention. The CMS Secretariat has been able to function and deliver on its mandate by making progress in implementing the current Programme of Work.”

30 September 2021