Bonn,
2 September 2011 - A new Memorandum of Understanding
between the IUCN Environmental Law Centre (IUCN ELC) and
the CMS Family Secretariats, of CMS, AEWA, EUROBATS and
ASCOBANS has been signed at the UN premises in Bonn today.

More than 30 years ago, legal experts of the IUCN ELC produced the text of the Convention, and later on, the drafts of a number of its daughter instruments.

This Memorandum establishes a framework for continued cooperation on legal matters. Based on an agreed number of days per year, the IUCN ELC pledges, upon request and on a non-remunerative basis, to continue providing the CMS Family Secretariats with legal assistance. This includes analyzing gaps to determine the potential benefits of new CMS instruments, drafting new CMS instruments, and assessing implications of the potential structural changes of the CMS Family. This might include the amendment of the Convention or Agreement Text, the geographical coverage of existing CMS instruments or the merger of their secretariats.

A specific but not exhaustive list of tasks for which the CMS Family Secretariats may request the legal assistance of the IUCN ELC has been agreed for the coming year and will be reviewed annually.

Given her personal role as a member of the Steering Committee of the Commission on Environmental Law, CMS Executive Secretary, Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, expressed her satisfaction about this achievement. She will be attending the IUCN Regional Conservation Forum next week in preparation of the IUCN World Congress next year and will take part in a panel discussion concerning the role of IUCN in the European Region.

Mr. Alejandro Iza, Director of IUCN ELC, was pleased to formalize this long-standing cooperation between CMS and the ELC, and confirmed that he and his team were looking forward to working closely with the CMS Family Secretariats. Their support will be also evident at the forthcoming 10th CMS Conference of the Parties.