Bonn, 2 December 2005. Last month, CMS was very proud to announce that Dr. Klaus Töpfer, the current Director of UNEP, had agreed to be the first chair of the Freunde der Bonner Konvention, the “Friends of CMS”, a non-profit German association created to assist the Convention with fundraising for conservation projects. Today, the CMS Secretariat is even prouder to congratulate Dr. Töpfer on being awarded the Hammarskjöld Prize, an award by the German Association for the United Nations (DGVN) in recognition of his outstanding commitment and work for the United Nations Organization.

Many were the personalities attending the meeting to congratulate the Executive Director of UNEP, including the outgoing German Minister of Environment Mr. Trittin, Ms. Bärbel Diekmann, the Lady Major of Bonn, the German Minister for International Affairs and Dr. Christopher Zöpel, the president of the DGVN.

Amongst these personalities were also Mr. Robert Hepworth, the Executive Secretary of CMS, and Mr. Andreas Streit, the Executive Secretary of CMS daughter agreement EUROBATS. In his speech, Mr. Töfper recognized the successful outcome of the eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species, which took place in Nairobi from 20 to 25 November 2005, and appreciated the considerable budget increase agreed by the Parties, which will allow the Convention and the Secretariat to effectively work to implement the newly adopted Strategic Plan, thus contributing to the achievement of the 2010 biodiversity target.

As highlighted by Mr. Hepworth in his final speech at the Conference of the Parties in Nairobi, although the finances of the CMS have been significantly boosted, much has yet to be done to allow the CMS to work at its full potential. More initiatives will be needed to raise the necessary funds to develop CMS Agreements for the conservation of species as well as practical conservation projects to be implemented on the ground, where action is most needed.

CMS counts on the eminent presence of Dr. Töpfer at the head of the association to increase the visibility of the Convention amongst the general public and the private sector, and to identify possible new and alternative sources of funding.

For more information on the Friends of CMS please click here: Friends of CMS (Announcement)