Abu Dhabi, 5 November 2014 – The Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), administered by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi (EAD) have agreed to extend their arrangement by which an office for the Convention was established in Abu Dhabi in 2009.

H.E. Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, Secretary General of EAD and Mr. Bradnee Chambers, Executive Secretary of CMS, signed the agreement in Abu Dhabi and Quito, respectively, as part of the Eleventh Meeting of the Convention’s Conference of the Parties (CMS COP11) taking place in Ecuador this week.

The original agreement was signed in October 2009 following an offer by EAD on behalf of the Government of the United Arab Emirates to host an office of the CMS Secretariat in Abu Dhabi. The Office has been located at EAD Headquarters ever since. Many migratory species of interest to the UAE are also the focus of the Convention. CMS Office - Abu Dhabi coordinates activities to address common threats to migratory species of national and regional importance including birds, marine mammals and marine turtles.
 

CMS Office - Abu Dhabi is the largest presence of the CMS Secretariat outside its seat in Bonn. It provides two secretariats which coordinate the implementation of the CMS Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the Conservation and Management of Dugongs and the CMS MOU on the Conservation of Migratory Birds of Prey in Africa and Eurasia. The two MOUs were adopted in Abu Dhabi in October 2007 and in October 2008. The UAE has signed both international agreements along with 62 other countries and the European Union.

Mr. Chambers said, “The Arabian Gulf hosts one of the world’s largest and most significant populations of dugongs, with the greatest numbers found in the waters off the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. This population is shared with Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. UAE is also part of the range for 42 of the 76 species of African-Eurasian migratory birds of prey under the Raptors MOU, including the endangered Saker Falcon, Sooty Falcon and the Egyptian Vulture.”

H.E. Al Mubarak added, “The two CMS agreements support the conservation activities of Abu Dhabi and the UAE, and provide a platform for the nation to co-operate both regionally and globally with other countries that share these migratory animals as they pass through our marine and terrestrial environments at different times of the year.”

Mr. Lyle Glowka, Executive Coordinator of CMS Office - Abu Dhabi, noted that the Office represents a major collaboration between the Convention on Migratory Species, the United Nations Environment Programme, and EAD on behalf of the United Arab Emirates to conserve migratory species for the benefit of present and future generations. “The Office serves 147 countries across Africa; Europe; Central, Western and Southern Asia; and the Western Pacific regions”, he said, adding, “EAD’s investment has been critical to our mission of promoting international cooperation across the vast range of the migratory animals we work on, and is one of the many ways the UAE has demonstrated its global leadership on migratory species conservation”.

Note to Editors:

About the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS)

The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), administered by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), is the only global biodiversity-related treaty specializing in the conservation and sustainable use of a wide array of terrestrial, aquatic and avian migratory species, their habitats and migration routes. Contracting Parties to CMS work individually and cooperatively to ensure a favourable conservation status for migratory species across their range. At present, there are 120 Parties to the Convention.
www.cms.int

About CMS Office - Abu Dhabi

CMS Office - Abu Dhabi is the largest presence of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals outside the seat of the secretariat. It has been hosted by Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi on behalf of the Government of the United Arab Emirates since 2009. The Office coordinates two CMS Memoranda of Understanding (MOU): on the Conservation and Management of Dugongs and their Habitats throughout their Range (Dugong MOU) and on the Conservation of Migratory Birds of Prey in Africa and Eurasia (Raptors MOU). The Office also addresses common threats to migratory species of regional interest including birds, marine mammals and marine turtles.

About Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi (EAD)

The Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi (EAD) was established in 1996 to preserve Abu Dhabi’s natural heritage and to raise awareness about environmental issues. EAD is Abu Dhabi’s environmental regulator and advises the government on environmental policy. It works to create sustainable communities, and protect and conserve wildlife and natural resources. EAD also works to ensure integrated and sustainable water resources management, to ensure clean air and minimize climate change and its impacts (www.ead.ae).

For more information please contact:

Florian Keil, Information Officer and Coordinator of the Common Information Management, Communication and Outreach Team of the UNEP/CMS and UNEP/AEWA Secretariats, tel: +49 228 815 2451, e-mail: [email protected]  
 
Veronika Lenarz, Public Information Assistant, UNEP/CMS Secretariat, tel: +49 228 815 2409, e-mail: [email protected]