Côte d’Ivoire Signs Sharks and Raptors MOUs

Bonn, 17 November 2017– At a second special ceremony held yesterday in the margins of the UNFCCC COP23 in Bonn, Minister Anne Désirée Ouloto of Côte d’Ivoire signed the Memoranda of Understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Sharks and on the Conservation of Migratory Birds of Prey in Africa and Eurasia (Raptors MOU).  Côte d’Ivoire thus becomes the 48th Signatory to the Sharks MOU and the 59th Signatory to the Raptors MOU.

Welcoming Côte d’Ivoire as a signatory of the two instruments, Melanie Virtue of the CMS Secretariat pointed out that the country was an important Range State of several species added to the Convention’s Appendices at the recent CMS COP in Manila, for example the Whale Shark now included on Appendix I as well as Appendix II, the highly endangered Guitarfish, listed on Appendix II by fellow West African countries, and several species of African vultures, listed on Appendix I.

By signing these two MOUs, Côte d’Ivoire confirms its determination to protect migratory species which play a crucial role in their ecosystems and are an important indicator of climate change.

Anne Désirée Ouloto, Minister of Health, Environment and Sustainable Development

Côte d’Ivoire acceded to CMS in 2003 and hosted the second meeting of the African-Eurasian Migratory Landbirds Working Group in Abidjan in November 2015.

Last updated on 20 April 2018