Bonn,
2 January 2013 - The CMS Secretariat is pleased
to announce the accession of the Kingdom of Swaziland as
the 118th Party to the Convention on 1st January 2013. CMS
regards the accession of Swaziland as a very positive development
with the potential to have a significant impact on conservation
activities in the Southern African region. Swaziland has
also acceded to the Agreement on African-Eurasian Migratory
Waterbirds (AEWA) bringing its membership to 69.

The Kingdom of Swaziland, a land-locked
country covering some 17,000 km2, is located between South
Africa and Mozambique in the southern part of the African
continent. Swaziland contains an impressive variety of highlands
and open savannah grasslands.

The variations in topography, flora and
wetlands create a range of unique habitats, making Swaziland
a key point on the crossroad of main inland migratory routes:
over 500 species of birds fly over or breed every year in
Swaziland. In the Mbuluzi Game Reserve alone, famous for
its bird-life, 400 bird species can be found breeding and
feeding either all year round or passing through on migration.
Due to the diversity of its terrain, as many as 107 species
of mammals have been identified.

Among Swaziland's biodiversity a total
of four species are listed under CMS Appendix I and 59 under
Appendix II. Endangered birds include charismatic species
such as the Blue Swallow Hirundo atrocaerulea (Appendix
I) and the Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus ruber (Appendix
II). Endangered mammals include the Cheetah Acinonyx jubatus
and the African Elephant Loxodonta africana (Appendix II).

Swaziland is a signatory or party to several
Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs), including
the Convention on Biological Biodiversity, the Convention
on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna
and Flora and important frameworks including the UN Framework
Convention on Climate Change, the Convention to Combat Desertification
and the Montreal Protocol.

UNEP/CMS warmly welcomes Swaziland and
is looking forward to strengthening international cooperation
through the implementation of the Convention in the country.