 The
CMS Secretariat participated in the First Meeting of the Ad
Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Protected Areas, which was
held in Montecatini, Italy from 13 to 17 June 2005. The working
group was established by the Conference of the Parties to
the Convention on Biological Diversity in February 2004 to
support and review the implementation of the programme of
work on protected areas. The objective of this programme of
work is the establishment and maintenance, by 2010 for terrestrial
and by 2012 for marine areas, of comprehensive, effectively
managed and ecologically representative national and regional
systems of protected areas that contribute to achieving the
2010 target to significantly reduce the current rate of biodiversity
loss.
The CMS Secretariat delivered a
statement in the plenary session, to stress
CMS's commitment to and role in the implementation of the
programme of work on protected areas. In particular CMS
elaborated on assistance CMS can offer to the achievement
of goal 1.3, calling for the “establishment and strengthening
of regional networks, trans-boundary protected areas and
collaboration between neighboring protected areas across
national boundaries”. As envisaged in the programme
of work, the CMS Secretariat confirmed it stands ready to
collaborate with the CBD Secretariat at the review of the
potential for regional cooperation under the Convention
on Migratory Species with a view to linking protected area
networks across international boundaries and potentially
beyond national jurisdiction through the establishment of
migratory corridors for key species.
Delegates to the meeting also had the opportunity to consult
with the CMS Secretariat and obtain information on CMS and
Agreements’ activities at the CMS stand, displaying
main publications as well as information on relevant species
(see picture above). As part of the preparation for this
meeting on protected areas, CMS also collaborated with CBD
Secretariat at the publication entitled “Protected
areas for achieving biodiversity targets”
with an article on “Conserving
wildlife pathways and corridors”. The
article stresses how, by brining together the States though
which animals migrate, the CMS and the Agreements lay a
legal foundation for conservation measures through extended
migratory ranges, measures that can then be embedded and
defined in detailed conservation and management plans. Moreover,
the article elaborates on CMS projects to conserve species
and their habitats through the establishment of networks
of protected areas.
The CMS is following with interest the development of the
CBD working group on protected areas, as also in the agenda
of future meetings there are a number of issue of relevance
to the CMS and its Agreements, including ecological criteria
for area identification and bio-geographical classification
systems as well as options for cooperation for the establishment
of marine protected areas beyond national jurisdiction.
CMS is also interested in providing further contributions
to specific objectives of the programme of work, and follow
closely their implementation.
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