Nairobi,
15 May 2000 – To mark the opening day of the
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) conference,
UNEP Executive Director Klaus Töpfer, together with
Executive Secretary Hamdallah Zedan of the CBD and
Executive Secretary Arnulf Müller-Helmbrecht of
the Bonn Convention on Migratory Species (CMS),
inaugurated the official CMS poster at UNEP headquarters
in Nairobi.
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The winning poster
is based on a design conceived by one of 150 competing
school children from Bonn, Germany, the host city
of the CMS secretariat. The contest was held last
year to mark the Convention’s 20th anniversary.
Ten other prize-winning posters and additional
information on the two conventions were also on
show at the launch.
Winning poster designed by Mechthild
Meyer |
“This event symbolizes the powerful synergies that exist
between the biodiversity and migratory species agreements,”
said Mr. Töpfer. “Dolphins, turtles, birds, and the other
5 – 10,000 migratory species that exist in the world are
an essential and vulnerable part of the biodiversity that
the CBD aims to conserve and sustainably use.”
| Many of the aims of the comprehensive
and thus more general Convention on Biological Diversity
are being met through more focused conservation
treaties such as the CMS. The Bonn Convention’s
Parties employ binding rules and specific mechanisms
to provide strict protection to endangered species
that migrate long distances across political borders.
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After making statements on the
exhibition and launched of the official
CMS poster, the speakers took the opportunity
to sign some of them. (From left to right:
Arnulf Müller-Helmbrecht, Executive Secretary
of CMS, Irma Okopido, Minister of Environmental
Affairs of Nigeria, and Dr. Klaus Töpfer,
Executive Director of UNEP) |
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It
also seeks a coordinated conservation approach
for certain species by promoting regional agreements
amongst all the range states on their migration
route. Such agreements include habitat conservation,
capacity building and training, harmonized national
legislation, coordinated research and monitoring,
and public awareness campaigns.
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Note to journalists:
For more information, A. Muller-Helmbrecht, UNEP/CMS
Secretariat, Martin-Luther-King. Str. 8, D-53175 Bonn,
German, tel.: 49 228-815 24-02/09-10; fax:
49 228-815 24- 49; email: cms@unep.de
The event was supported by Deutsche Lufthansa
and Global Nature Fund.
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