Target 10: All critical habitats and sites for migratory species are identified and included in area-based conservation measures so as to maintain their quality, integrity, resilience and functioning in accordance with the implementation of Aichi Target 11, supported where necessary by environmentally sensitive land-use planning and landscape management on a wider scale.
Anthropogenic Impact
► The CMS COP Resolution 10.11 (2011) on Power lines and migratory birds includes:
2.3) Establish a baseline of bird distribution, population sizes, migrations and movements, including those between breeding, resting and feeding areas, as early as possible in the planning of any power line project, over a period of at least one year, and with particular emphasis on those species known to be vulnerable to electrocution or collision and if such studies identify any risks, to make every effort to ensure these are avoided; and
2.4) Design the location, route and direction of power lines on the basis of national zoning maps and avoid, wherever possible, construction along major migration flyways and in habitats of conservation importance, such as Important Bird Areas, protected areas, Ramsar sites, the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Site Network, the West/Central Asian Site Network for Siberian Crane and other waterbirds and other critical sites as identified by the Critical Site Network (CSN) Tool for the African-Eurasian region.
► The COP Resolution 12.21 Climate Change and Migratory Species includes:
Monitoring and research:
• Identify key breeding and stopover locations, as well as key wintering sites (hotspots) for migratory species, and focus the monitoring of environmental change on these locations.
Climate change mitigation, human adaptation, and land use planning:
• Develop and/or revise environmental sensitivity and zoning maps, to include critical and important sites for migratory species, as an essential tool for sustainable land use planning and management and adaptation projects.
• Use the environmental sensitivity and zoning maps to inform the selection of sites for climate change mitigation projects, such as renewable energy projects
► The Resolution 11.27 (Rev. COP12) Renewable Energy and Migratory Species includes:
2. Urges Parties and encourages non-Parties to implement these voluntary Guidelines as applicable depending on the particular circumstances of each Party, and as a minimum to:
a) apply appropriate Strategic Environment Assessment (SEA) and EIA procedures, when planning the use of renewable energy technologies, avoiding existing protected areas in the broadest sense and other sites of importance to migratory species;
b) undertake appropriate survey and monitoring both before and after deployment of renewable energy technologies to identify impacts on migratory species and their habitats in the short- and long-term, as well as to evaluate mitigation measures; and
c) apply appropriate cumulative impact studies to describe and understand impacts at larger scale, such as at population level or along entire migration routes (e.g., at flyways scale for birds).
► The COP Resolution 12.21 Climate Change and Migratory Species includes:
• Develop and/or revise environmental sensitivity and zoning maps, to include critical and important sites for migratory species, as an essential tool for sustainable land use planning and management and adaptation projects.
• Use the environmental sensitivity and zoning maps to inform the selection of sites for climate change mitigation projects, such as renewable energy projects. (Parties)
Aquatic Species
Theme 4 - Ecosystem and Habitat Protection:
Objective 1 - Support and encourage the designation (establishment) of national whale/marine sanctuaries, marine park, MPAs in SPREP member countries and territories:
4.1) Support effort to declare/establish EEZ wide / national whale/marine sanctuaries, large MPAs and marine parks with technical/policy advice.
Objective 2 - Support the management of whale / marine sanctuaries, MPAs and marine parks:
4.2) Support the development and implementation of management plans and strategies for sanctuaries/MPAs/Marine Parks.
4.3) Harmonize local and national MPAs for the protection and management of cetaceans where possible.
Objective 3 - Identify and protect critical habitat and migratory pathways.
4.4) Identify (through research etc. including the use of satellite tagging) and protect critical cetacean habitat and migratory pathways.
4.5) Link with and utilize existing large scale marine habitat programs regionally and nationally to share information.
► The Conservation and Management Plan for Marine Turtles of the Atlantic coast of Africa includes:
Objective 2 - Protect, conserve and restore terrestrial and marine habitats for marine turtles:
2.1) Establish necessary measures to protect and conserve marine turtle terrestrial and marine habitats:
2.1.1) Identify the critical and non-critical habitats such as nesting beaches, feeding and developmental areas, internesting areas, and migration corridors;
2.1.2) Design and manage critical habitats as protected areas, sanctuaries, or impose seasonal bans on human activities;
2.1.3) Develop incentives for the adequate protection of terrestrial and marine habitats outside classified protected areas;
2.1.5) Manage and regulate the use of nesting beaches around urban areas (for example, placement and construction of buildings, artificial lights, and vehicles); and
2.1.6) Initiate and cooperate in the creation of transboundary protected marine areas, including nesting beaches and feeding and developmental areas.
2.2) Restore degraded marine turtle habitats.
► The Conservation and Management Plan of the Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation and Management of Marine Turtles and their Habitats of the Indian Ocean and South-East Asia (IOSEA Marine Turtle MoU) includes:
Objective 2 - Protect, conserve and rehabilitate marine turtle habitats:
2. 1.a) Identify areas of critical habitat such as migratory corridors, nesting beaches, inter-nesting and feeding areas;
2.1.b) Designate and manage protected/conservation areas, sanctuaries or temporary exclusion zones in areas of critical habitat, or take other measures (e.g. modification of fishing gear, restrictions on vessel traffic) to remove threats to such areas;
2.1.c) Develop incentives for adequate protection of areas of critical habitat outside protected areas;
2.1.d) Undertake assessments of the environmental impact of marine and coastal development and other human activities that may affect marine turtle populations and their habitats;
2.1.e) Manage and regulate within each jurisdiction the use of beaches and coastal dunes, for example location and design of buildings, use of artificial lighting, and transit of vehicles in nesting areas;
2.1.f) Monitor and promote the protection of water quality from land-based and maritime pollution, including marine debris, that may adversely affect marine turtles;
2.1.g) Strengthen the application of existing bans on the use of poisonous chemicals and explosives in the exploitation of marine resources;
2.2.a) Re-vegetate, where appropriate, frontal dunes at nesting beaches, with indigenous flora as far as possible, in order to provide visual barriers to coastal development and to restore appropriate beach temperature regimes;
2.2.b) Remove debris that impedes turtle nesting and hatchling production;
2.2.c) Enhance recovery of degraded coral reefs; and
2.2.d) Enhance recovery of degraded mangrove and seagrass habitats.
Objective 3 – Ecosystem and Habitat Protection:
3.2) Identify key critical habitats, hotspots and migratory pathways that are candidates for improved conservation.
3.3) Support the designation and management of national and transboundary marine protected areas.
► The Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation and Management of Dugongs (Dugon dugong) and their Habitats throughout their Range (Dugong MoU) includes:
Objective 3 – Protect, conserve and manage habitats for dugong:
3.1) Identify and map areas of important dugong habitat such as sea grass beds.
3.2) Establish necessary measures to protect and conserve dugong habitats.
3.3) Assess the risk of, and develop measures to mitigate against, the degradation of dugong habitats.
3.4) Identify and where appropriate, rehabilitate degraded dugong habitats.
Objective 4 – Improve our understanding of dugong habitats through research and monitoring:
4.1) Conduct research into and monitoring of important dugong habitats.
► The ASCOBANS Recovery Plan for Baltic Harbour Porpoises includes:
Theme 4 - Recovery Recommendations:
Objective 3 - Marine Protected Areas:
4.3.1) Expand the network of protected areas in the Baltic Sea and improve its connectivity and ensure the development of appropriate harbour porpoise management plans for these areas.
► The ASCOBANS Conservation Plan for the Harbour Porpoise population in the Western Baltic, the Belt Sea and the Kattegat includes:
Objective 2 - Mitigation of bycatch:
3) Protect harbour porpoises in their key habitats by minimizing bycatch as far as possible:
3.1) Full implementation of the provisions in the Habitats Directive and CFP.
3.2) Development of national management plans for hpSACs (Special Areas of Conservation with harbour porpoise forming part of the selection criteria).
► The Conservation and Management Plan for Marine Turtles of the Atlantic coast of Africa includes:
Objective 1 - Reduce direct and indirect causes of marine turtle mortality:
1.6) Develop nesting beach management programs to maximize hatchling recruitment.
► The Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Sharks: Conservation Plan includes:
Objective 1 - Improving understanding of migratory shark populations through research, monitoring and information exchange:
1.3) Compile relevant data, improve ecological knowledge and conduct baseline studies on…essential shark habitats; shark distributional range… the seasonal and spatial migration patterns and routes of sharks; and
1.5) Identify and prioritize (with a view to developing conservation measures) critical shark habitats including critical migration routes.
Objective 3 - Ensuring to the extent practicable the protection of critical habitats and migratory corridors and critical life stages of sharks:
9.1) Designate and manage conservation areas, sanctuaries or temporary exclusion zones along migration corridors and in areas of critical habitat, including those on the high seas in cooperation with relevant RFMOs and RSCAPs where appropriate, or take other measures to remove threats to such areas.
9.3) Develop, implement and assess spatial and/or seasonal closures of fishing areas to reduce incidental capture of sharks, particularly to protect nursery grounds as well as aggregation areas for mating and pupping.
10.1) Contribute to developing legislation to protect species and their critical habitats and ensure implementation of regulations and policies on national, regional and global scale.
11.1) Develop incentives for adequate protection of areas of critical habitats inside and outside protected areas.
► The CMS COP Resolution 12.13 Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMAs) includes:
1. Acknowledges the Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMAs) criteria and identification process described in the IMMA Guidance Document posted on the website of the IUCN Joint SSC/WCPA Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force (www.marinemammalhabitat.org) for CMS-listed pinnipeds, sirenians, otters, polar bears and cetaceans;
2. Requests Parties and invites all Range States, intergovernmental organizations and partners to identify specific areas where the identification of IMMAs could be particularly beneficial, for example through stimulating protected area network design and connectivity, or addressing threats to aquatic mammals more comprehensively;
3. Recommends that such work to identify specific areas engages the authorities of Parties in the spirit of transparency at an early stage;
4. Invites Parties, Range States, intergovernmental organizations and partners to request the support of the IUCN Joint SSC/WCPA Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force to advance these approaches; and
5. Also invites the Convention on Biological Diversity, the International Maritime Organization and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature to consider IMMAs as useful contributions for the determination of Ecologically or Biologically Significant Areas (EBSAs), Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas (PSSA), Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs).
Avian Species
► The CMS COP 12.10 (Manila 2017) on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Vultures includes:
7. Calls on Parties and invites non-Party Range States to pursue programmes of vulture reintroduction in potentially suitable ecosystems that were historically populated by these species, provided that such programmes are conducted in accordance with the “IUCN Guidelines for Reintroduction and other Conservation Translocations”;
► The Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Birds of Prey in Africa and Eurasia (Raptors MoU)
8.a) Identify important habitats, significant routes and congregatory sites for birds of prey occurring within their territory and encourage their protection, and/or appropriate management, assessment, rehabilitation and/or restoration.
► The Action Plan - Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation and Management of the Middle-European Population of the Great Bustard includes:
Objective 1 - Habitat protection:
1.2.3) Signatories should maintain and promote by appropriate measures land uses which are favourable to the Great Bustard, such as rotation of grazing plots, the alternation between cultivation (cereals and legumes) and fallows. The timing of agricultural practices should be adapted to the life cycle of the Great Bustard.
► The Central Asian Flyways Action Plan for the conservation of migratory water birds and their habitats (CAF) includes:
Objective 3 - Habitat Conservation and Management:
3.2.1) Range States shall endeavour to take decisions and implement measures to ensure:
· Adequate and timely supply of water required to maintain natural functions of wetlands and other important habitats known to be of importance for migratory waterbirds (especially in arid areas);
· Maintain and sustainably manage wetlands and other habitats important to migratory waterbirds (e.g. steppe grasslands); and
· A participatory approach in the planning, management (and conservation) of waterbird habitats, to enable benefit sharing with local communities.
3.2.2) Range States shall endeavour to avoid degradation and loss of habitats that support populations listed in Table 2 through the introduction of appropriate regulations or standards and control measures. Additionally, they shall endeavour to prepare and distribute information material, in the appropriate languages, describing such regulations, standards and control measures in force and their benefits to people and wildlife.
3.2.3) Range States shall provide official support to designate, conserve and manage all important breeding, moulting, staging and non-breeding (wintering) sites for populations listed in Table 2, by establishing national networks16 of all important sites under appropriate national and international conservation categories.
► The Program of Work on Migratory Birds and Flyways includes:
Objective 5 - Enhance implementation through participatory planning, knowledge management and capacity building:
13) Promote the identification of priority bird species and sites for conservation action; develop/update full lifecycle conservation business plans as appropriate; foster the building of coalitions of partners to implement priority actions.
► The Program of Work for the African-Eurasian Migratory Landbirds Action Plan (under development) will:
· Seek synergies with relevant regional workshops and meetings (e.g. African Congress for Conservation Biology, Morocco, Sept 2016).
· Support the development and implementation of pilot projects in West Africa that address key aspects of sustainable land use.
· Promote the use of the CMS/ Migratory Soaring Birds Project (MSB) agricultural guidelines (Bird poisoning, agrochemicals and sustainable agriculture) within the region.
· Identify stop-over and wintering sites for migratory landbirds.
· Identify and enhance conservation of the stop-over sites immediately to the north and south of the Sahara (including through data collection and seeking linkages with relevant stakeholders).
· Hold a workshop on land use change for and in the West African region.
► The Siberian Crane MoU Action Plan for Western/Central Asia Site Network includes:
Objective 1 - Western/Central Asian Site Network for the Siberian Crane and Other Waterbirds:
1.8) For site selection, attention will be focused on sites important for the conservation, recovery and reintroduction of the Siberian Crane, including sites that are also important for other migratory cranes and waterbirds. Please see the Site Information Sheet (Annex 1) and Explanatory Notes (Annex 2) for details. These include; Site’s Importance for Siberian Cranes, Site’s importance for other crane species, and Site’s importance for other waterbird species.
► The CMS COP Resolution 12. 11 on Flyways includes:
6. Calls on Parties to effectively implement the POW as applicable and in accordance with the circumstances of each Party and invites non-Parties and other stakeholders, with the support of the Secretariat, to strengthen national and local capacity for flyway conservation including, inter alia, by developing partnerships with key stakeholders and organizing training courses; translating and disseminating documents, sharing protocols and regulations; transferring technology; designating and improving management of critically and internationally important sites; understanding the ecological functionality of flyways through research of migratory birds and their habitats; strengthening monitoring programmes; and promoting the conservation of migratory birds and ensuring any use of migratory birds is sustainable;
14. Urges Parties, invites Range States and calls upon other partners and stakeholders, including the private sector, through formal designations and voluntary measures as appropriate, to afford high priority to the conservation of sites and habitats identified as being of importance to migratory birds (based on sound scientific information) expanding and strengthening existing flyway site networks (including inter alia the East AsianAustralasian Flyway Site Network, African-Eurasian Waterbirds Agreement Site Network, Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network, West/Central Asian Site Network, Emerald Network, Ramsar Sites and World Heritage Sites, BirdLife International’s Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas), and to carry out work to determine how best to manage landscapes, including the designation of protected trans-boundary habitat corridors and ecological networks with suitable and sufficient habitat in which to breed, forage and rest;
15. Invites Parties to implement Resolution 11.26 on climate change and continue taking action to mitigate the impacts of climate change on migratory bird species, including addressing immediate threats that might reduce adaptive potential, ensuring adequate environmental safeguards for renewable energy projects, monitoring the status of migratory birds and their habitats, developing indicators to identify the effects of climate change, promoting adaptive management, seeking new partnerships with other international bodies and considering how to assist species to adapt to climate change (e.g. through securing critical site networks)
16. Requests Parties to review the coverage and protection status of current site networks noting the need to make due allowance for any exploitation and degradation of sites, and to consider the resilience of sites to climate change, taking account of the potential for shifts in the range of species due to climate change, as well as other factors;
17. Requests Parties to ensure that known key migratory stop-over sites are all protected and managed and additional sites identified to form part of coherent site networks for migratory species and to continue to support the development of flyway-scale site networks, especially where they are least developed, to include the widest possible range of available habitat for migratory birds, giving particular attention to tidal flats (see Resolution 12.25 on conservation of critical intertidal and other coastal habitats);
18. Urges Parties to foster trans-boundary collaboration within flyway networks and to implement existing site management plans and develop new ones where needed at key sites, supporting the development of a Global Critical Site Network Tool modelled on the redeveloped Critical Site Network Tool for the African-Eurasian region;
19. Recommends that Parties enhance and strengthen monitoring of migratory bird populations and the important sites they rely upon (including surveying new sites to fill information gaps), and to increase capacity for and sustainability of such monitoring in the long term, where appropriate by institutionalizing it as an ongoing activity within government, in partnership with other organizations, including through provision of support initiatives such as the Global Waterbird Fund (established in response to the invitation of AEWA and the Ramsar Convention and managed by Wetlands International) in order to present to key stakeholders with up-to-date information on the distribution, status and trends of migratory birds and the sites and habitats that they need;
20. Requests Parties to support analyses of existing datasets on individual bird movements and to support the development and use of new tools and techniques, including geolocators, radio and satellite tracking, remote sensing, and genetic and connectivity UNEP/CMS/Resolution 12.11 7 analyses, in order to help identify migration strategies, covering the entire life cycle of species, and including the routes taken via sites ranging from those used most regularly to those of occasional importance;
25. Requests the Scientific Council to produce guidelines and/or case studies on mechanisms to enhance the conservation of migratory birds through site networks;
► The Programme of Work on Migratory Birds and Flyways (2014-2023), attached as Annex I to Resolution 12.11 includes:
Theme A - Ensuring Migratory Bird Conservation through Flyway/ Ecological Networks and Critical Sites and Habitats and Addressing Key Threats
Theme B. Flyway-specific Actions for African-Eurasian Flyways region, Central Asian Flyway region, East Asian - Australasian Flyway region, Pacific Flyway region, Americas Flyways region, Seabird Flyways
► The Action Plan for the Americas Flyways 2018-2023 attached to Resolution 12.11 as Annex 3, includes:
1. CRITICAL SITES & HABITAT CONSERVATION
1.1. Ensuring Migratory Bird Conservation through Flyway / Ecological Networks and Critical Sites and Habitats and Addressing Key Threats
2. FLYWAY SPECIFIC ACTIONS: Effective implementation of the Americas Flyways Framework
Interdisciplinary
► The CMS COP Resolution 12.25 (Manila 2017) on Promoting Conservation of Critical Intertidal and Other Coastal Habitats for Migratory Species includes:
1. Calls on Parties, as a matter of urgency, to enhance significantly their efforts to conserve and promote the sustainable use of intertidal wetlands and other coastal habitats of importance for migratory species worldwide;
Protected areas
5. Urges Parties, in line with Target 10 of the Strategic Plan for Migratory Species 2015- 2023, to give urgent protection to remaining intertidal wetlands and associated coastal habitats of international importance, especially but not exclusively, in coastal regions that are suffering high rates of intertidal wetland loss, notably in Asia, paying particular attention to those sites that form part of the critical site networks of migratory species, such as the EAAFP Flyway Site Network and the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network;
6. Urges also Parties with appropriately qualifying intertidal sites to consider them for nomination as World Heritage Sites as well as Ramsar Sites, including as serial transboundary sites as appropriate, and thus for waterbirds and other migratory species potentially forming ecological site networks with other key sites, in line with Resolution 11.25, and building on the approach of the Wadden Sea Flyway Initiative;
7. Encourages Parties to ensure that intertidal protected area boundaries include the entire ecosystem of importance to migratory waterbirds and other dependent migratory species, including inland roost sites; and urges Parties to review and modify boundaries of relevant protected areas to this end and create new protected areas as appropriate;
Solutions to loss of intertidal flats
8. Encourages Parties to recognize fully the international importance of their intertidal wetlands for migratory species and ecosystem services halting further approval of intertidal flat conversion (land claim) at priority sites for migratory species and other biodiversity, irrespective of protection status, until a full assessment of the economics of ecological services and identification needs for migratory species and other biodiversity can be completed;
9. Urges Parties, in line with Target 4 of the Strategic Plan for Migratory Species 2015- 2023, to withdraw or modify any perverse incentives to convert intertidal or other coastal wetland habitats, and additionally, to implement sustainable coastal engineered measures for climate adaptation, coastal defense and risk reduction, in line with innovative nature-based solutions including “Building with Nature” principles, that ensure maintenance and restoration of mudflats, sand banks, barrier islands and other critical habitat such as mangroves, saltmarshes and seagrass beds;
10. Encourages Parties to develop pilot schemes to demonstrate flyway-scale Net Positive Impact of critically important areas including offsetting approaches that involve corporations and governments;
11. Urges Parties and invites non-Party Range States to ensure that coastal sediment needs from riverine inputs are maintained through the appropriate regulation of outflows from dams or other water regulation structures through the implementation of the Ramsar Convention’s guidance on environmental flows (Resolutions VIII.1 and X.19);
12. Encourages Parties and invites Range States along the East Asian - Australasian Flyway, in line with Document WCC-2012-Res-028 on Conservation of the East Asian - Australasian Flyway and its threatened waterbirds, with particular reference to the Yellow Sea (International Union for Conservation of Nature, IUCN), and the West Asian-East African Flyway, in view of the importance of cooperation between countries for achieving effective management, to develop international and national action plans and coastal zone plans by 2020 to secure the future of this fundamentally important resource, and for new Parties, particularly those with important intertidal areas, to join up to this Convention;
13. Encourages Parties and invites Range States in the Americas to implement the strategies and actions to protect, maintain, manage and restore intertidal habitats as identified in the Atlantic Flyway Shorebird Initiative Business Plan, and the Pacific Americas Shorebird Conservation Strategy
► The CMS COP Resolution 12.24 (Manila 2017) on Promoting Marine Protected Areas Networks in the ASEAN Region includes:
1. Calls upon Parties to continue development of transboundary area-based conservation measures including marine protected areas, particularly in the ASEAN Region;
2. Encourages Parties and other Range States of the ASEAN Region to participate in promoting marine protected area networks and connectivity that will improve the identification and governance of important sites for migratory species and support internationally coordinated conservation and management, with support from the CMS Scientific Council, where appropriate;
► The CMS COP Resolution 12.07 The Role of Ecological Networks in the Conservation of Migratory Species, includes:
4. Encourages Parties and other Range States, when identifying areas of importance to migratory terrestrial, avian and aquatic species, to take into account and make explicit by description, schematic maps or conceptual models the relationship between those areas and other areas which may be ecologically linked to them, in physical terms, for example as connecting corridors, or in other ecological terms, for example as breeding areas related to non-breeding areas, stopover sites, feeding and resting places;
5. Invites Parties and other Range States and relevant organizations to collaborate to identify, designate and maintain comprehensive and coherent ecological networks of protected sites and other adequately managed sites of international and national importance for migratory animals while taking into account resilience to change, including climate change, and existing ecological networks;
7. Highlights the added value of developing ecological networks under CMS where no other network instruments are available, as for example with the West Central Asian Flyway Site Network and the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Site Network, and urges Parties and invites Range States to strengthen management of existing network sites and their further development through designation and management of additional sites
11. Calls upon Parties to develop transboundary area-based conservation measures including protected and other area systems, when implementing the CMS ecological network mandate and to strengthen and build upon existing initiatives, including the KAZA TFCA;
14. Urges Parties to address immediate threats to national sites important for migratory species within ecological networks, making use, where appropriate, of international lists of threatened sites, such as the ‘World Heritage in Danger’ list of UNESCO, the ‘Montreux Record’ of Ramsar and the ‘IBAs in Danger’ list of BirdLife International;
16. Invites the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, the World Heritage Convention, the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) and others to use existing ecological networks, such as the Important Bird Areas of BirdLife International, to assess and identify gaps in protected area coverage, and secure conservation and sustainable management of these networks, as appropriate;
17. Requests Parties to adopt and implement those guidelines developed within CMS and other relevant processes, which aim to promote connectivity and halt its loss, for example through the provision of practical guidance to avoid infrastructure development projects disrupting the movement of migratory species;
► The CMS COP Resolution 12.26 (Manila 2017) on Improving Ways of Addressing Connectivity in the Conservation of Migratory Species, includes:
1. Urges Parties and invites others to give special attention to the issues highlighted in this Resolution when planning, implementing and evaluating actions designed to support the conservation and management of migratory species, both at national level and in the context of international cooperation, including in particular when:
(i) devising strategic conservation objectives, so that these may more often be expressed in terms of whole migration systems, and in terms of the requirements for the functioning of the migration process itself, as opposed to merely the status of populations or habitats;
(ii) identifying, prioritizing, developing and managing protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures, both within and beyond areas of national jurisdiction, taking account inter alia of the need for connectivity to be a key factor in the definition of appropriate conservation management units, including at the landscape or seascape scale, and the need for actions to be addressed to the connections between places as well as to the places themselves;
(iii) strengthening and expanding ecological networks to conserve migratory species worldwide and enhancing their design and functionality in accordance with Resolutions 10.3 and 11.25;
(iv) evaluating the sufficiency and coherence of ecological networks in functional and qualitative terms as well as in terms of extent and distribution, having regard to Resolution 11.25 and to the desirability of sharing experiences and best practices on this issue;
(v) monitoring and assessing the effectiveness of the protection and management of the areas and networks referred to in the present paragraph;
2. Encourages Parties and invites others, working with all relevant stakeholders in government authorities, local communities, the private and other sectors, to intensify efforts to address threats to the conservation status of migratory species which are manifested as threats to connectivity, including barriers to migration, fragmented resources and disrupted processes, genetic isolation, population non-viability, altered behaviour patterns, shifts in range caused by climate change or depletion of food or water resources, inconsistencies in management across and beyond national jurisdictions, and other factors;
4. Invites Parties, other States and relevant organizations to provide support for the longterm maintenance of large-scale databases on migratory species distributions, movements and abundance such as the European Union for Bird Ringing (EURING), Movebank, the International Waterbird Census, BirdLife International’s Seabird Tracking Database, the World Database on Key Biodiversity Areas and the UNESCO-IOC Ocean Biogeographic Information System;
5. Further invites Parties, other States and relevant organizations to provide support for the enhancement of the databases referred to in the preceding paragraph in order to address in more targeted ways a range of connectivity questions of relevance to CMS implementation as well as to engage in targeted joint analyses of animal movements and other factors using these databases in an integrated way across the marine and terrestrial realms so as to improve understanding of the biological basis of migratory species connectivity; and
6. Urges Parties and invites others to foster the development of radio receiver systems that could be deployed worldwide to detect movements of small animals on land and at sea.
Decision 12.91 directed to Parties, Parties are invited to:
a) Review the means by which the measures for addressing connectivity in the conservation of migratory species set out in Decisions of the Conference of the Parties including UNEP/CMS/Resolutions 12.7 on The Role of Ecological Networks in the Conservation of Migratory Species, 12.26 on Improving Ways of Addressing Connectivity in the Conservation of Migratory Species and others can be applied more effectively through their national laws, policies and plans and through international cooperation;
b) Support the development of the African-Eurasian Bird Migration Atlas and the proposed CMS Global Atlas of Migratory Animal Movements, as well as the further redevelopment and application of the African-Eurasian Critical Site Network tool, as contributions to the provision of a sound scientific basis for action and as contributions also to the fostering of greater public awareness concerning connectivity issues;
c) Provide support, both financial and in kind, for the work of the Scientific Council described below.
► Decisions 12.94-12.97 on Transfrontier Conservation Areas for Migratory Species include:
Decision 12.94 directed to Parties, Parties are invited to:
a) Identify transboundary habitats of CMS-listed species, which could be considered as transfrontier conservation areas (TFCAs), meaning an area or component of a large ecological region that straddles the boundaries of two or more countries and is within their national jurisdiction, which may encompass one or more protected areas, as well as multiple resource use areas;
b) Consider developing jointly with neighbouring Range States bi- or multilateral arrangements, including joint management plans, to improve the conservation of the habitats and species concerned;
c) Enable, in the development of such arrangements the participation of local communities and stakeholders for the purposes of benefitting wildlife and the sustainable development of the communities living within it.
Decision 12.96 directed to Parties, IGOs & NGOs:
Parties, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations are encouraged to provide financial and technical support to implement Decisions 12.94 and 12.95
Please, also continuing in implementing the following instruments:
► The Americas Flyways Framework: A Framework For The Conservation Of Migratory Birds In The Americas attached to Resolution 12.11as Annex 2
► The Action Plan for the Far Eastern Curlew adopted through COP Resolution 12.12
► The Action Plan the Baer’s Pochard adopted through COP Resolution 12.12
► The Action Plan for the European Roller adopted through COP Resolution 12.12
EUROBATS
The EUROBATS MOP Resolution 8.5 Conservation and Management of Important Overground Sites for Bats includes:
1. Confirms the importance of a EUROBATS list of overground roosts as a contribution to the maintenance of populations of European bats;
5. Urges Parties and encourages non-party Range States to ensure listed sites are managed so as to maintain their importance for bats following Resolution 5.7;
The EUROBATS MOP Resolution 8.7 Bats and Climate Change includes:
4. Ensure habitat availability and connectivity for bats now and in the future by appropriate means of habitat protection, the establishment of ecological networks and adaptive habitat management.
AEWA
The AEWA MOP Resolution 7.7 Strenghtening Monitoring Of Migratory Waterbirds includes:
4. Urges Range States to develop and maintain adequate national monitoring schemes following the principles presented in the revised AEWA Conservation Guidelines on waterbird monitoring and its annexes including the recommended seasons and monitoring methods both for breeding and non-breeding waterbirds so as to identify and monitor international and national important sites, contribute to the production of flyway-level population size and trend estimates for populations listed on Table 1 of the AEWA Action Plan;
The AEWA MOP Resolution 7.9 Climate Resilient Flyways includes:
7. Urges Contracting Parties to provide adequate legal protection to the Critical Sites and to improve their management to enhance the conditions for waterbird populations, in order to maximise persistence, particularly in the face of climate change, and to facilitate population range shifts;