The CMS Secretariat is pleased to announced that the membership of CMS has grown to 76 Parties as of 1 November 2001 with the accession of Cyprus.

Cyprus, the third largest Mediterranean island after Sicily and Sardinia, is situated in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. It covers an area of approx. 9,251sq km. Cyprus' terrain is characterized by a central plain (Messaoria Plain) and two mountain ranges, the Troodos Massif in the Southwest (highest point: Olympos at 1,953 m) and the Keryneia or Pentadaktylos Range in the North (highest point: Kyparissovounos at 1,024 m).