Bonn,
24 January 2011 - German actor, film producer and
Chair of the Friends of CMS Mr. Hannes Jaenicke was awarded
the NatureLife Environment Prize 2011 for his commitment
towards saving endangered species. The environment foundation
Umweltstiftung Nature Life acknowledged Hannes Jaenicke’s
role in trying to preserve the world’s last refuges
of migratory and other threatened animal species and prevent
further unsustainable exploitation. 



Hannes, who in 2010 became Chair of the German association Friends of CMS to promote the Bonn Convention, produced a series of documentaries on orang utans, polar bears, sharks and gorillas. Migratory sharks, the most heavily commercially exploited species on our planet according to Hannes, were subject of a global conservation instrument concluded under CMS in February 2010. The last documentary on gorillas illustrated impressively the serious threats resulting from hunting and habitat destruction to the remaining 200 gorillas in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. CMS negotiated a legally binding gorilla agreement with ten African range states, which came into effect in October 2008.



In order to mark the International Day of Biodiversity 2010, Hannes recorded a video message published on National Geographic Channel and the CMS website to speak up for migratory animals. CMS congratulates Hannes on winning this renowned Environment Award and looks forward to working with him to convey the message of the urgent need to conserve migratory species.