Bonn,
1 July 2013 - The CMS Secretariat has just released
“Bats
around the World”, an electronic publication
on bats to increase awareness and involve the general public
in the conservation of these fascinating animals. Interesting
facts about bats, species profiles, threats and conservation
activities undertaken by organizations across the globe
can now be accessed by experts and interested laymen alike.
This will serve as an incentive to learn about and protect
these species.

The readers are invited not only to find
out about these fascinating species, but also to take a
quiz after reading the material to test their knowledge
about bats! In addition, a “Build your bat box”
game takes the readers through the steps needed to build
a home for bats. The Secretariat hopes to motivate many
readers to turn the game into reality by getting involved
in the protection of bats!

Under the leadership of the CMS Secretariat,
the Year of the Bat campaign set out to encourage the establishment
of new conservation groups, especially outside Europe, to
raise awareness about the need to protect bats. Throughout
the campaign, schools, universities, museums, conservation
groups and other initiatives shared their activities to
improve the conservation status of bats with the Secretariat.

“Bats around the World” is
the title of this interactive compilation of a wide range
of bat-related issues. It joins a growing array of websites
and organizations that provide ever-increasing information
and opportunities to get involved.

Six different categories can be selected
to learn more about bats around the world. A clickable world
map points to a number of flags, which are distributed across
the continents.

Bat profiles give comprehensive information
on taxa, conservation action, threats and whether the species
are listed on the CMS or EUROBATS Appendices and the IUCN
Red List. Threats are flagged out on all five continents
ranging from bush meat in Africa to wind turbines in Europe.
Strong arguments to conserve bats are outlined in the Benefits
section. The ecosystem services they provide are vital to
our own wellbeing and for generating economic gains. The
section Facts versus myths aims to dispel myths which malign
bats, as their reputation is a major obstacle to conserving
them. It contains interesting information about bats such
as outstanding biological features or hunting practices.
Facts regarding their communication techniques are based
on recent research results.

Conservation at national, regional and
local level, innovative projects, educational activities,
bat box projects, collecting data via electronic portals
can be found under Conservation Action.

In the Organizations section, bat friends
can find information on various associations and their specific
focus on bat conservation. This will meet information needs
of interested laymen and help to involve them in bat conservation
over the long term. The publication is accessible at www.cms.int/bats-around-the-world.
Translations of selected sections into the official UN languages
will be available in the coming weeks.

The production of this publication was
made possible by the generous support of the Federal Office
for the Environment of the Swiss Confederation.