Bonn, 14 September 2011 - The CMS Secretariat and the recently launched Migratory Wildlife Network have signed a Partnership Agreement today seeking to enhance the engagement of conservation NGOs, wildlife scientists and wildlife policy specialists to coordinate and progress the conservation of migratory wildlife through the CMS.

CMS Executive Secretary Elizabeth Maruma Mrema said: “CMS and the Migratory Wildlife Network pursue common goals in the conservation and sustainable use of migratory species, which can only be successfully met by concerted actions among all actors involved.”



CMS provides a comprehensive package of tools for Parties to work with nationally and in a trans-boundary context to conserve migratory species and the habitats on which they depend. Civil society’s engagement with the process is important but the process can be difficult to understand for national or local NGOs and wildlife specialists, whose expertise Governments in turn wish to draw upon.



To facilitate coordination, the Network is providing its members with a regular Migratory Wildlife Network Digest tuned to the needs of civil society. The Digest covers reports of the business of Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEA), collaboration with a number of wildlife and habitat alliances, and communications with various MEA Secretariats. A specific Network Member Area on its website grants access to additional information tools. In the run up to the CMS Conference of the Parties (COP10) in November 2011, the Network will also support members with specific information related to the discussions that will take place at the Conference.



The complexity of policy issues has become increasingly challenging.  The new partnership between CMS and the Network complements conservation efforts already undertaken by other NGOs around the world. CMS welcomes the networking role of its new partner with a view to strengthening support of CMS.

“With an important CMS COP around the corner, we are now reaching out to people on all continents to become part of the Migratory Wildlife Network and to build our joint capacity. The response to the Network Membership has already been strong with over 350 individuals joining from Argentina to Morocco and Mozambique to Uganda - all are experts in their fields and engaged in wildlife conservation work for many important and influential organizations around the world. We are really heartened by this response by civil society”, the Networks's Policy and Negotiations Director Margi Prideaux said.

For more information, please visit

www.wildmigration.org