Bonn, 9 November – The CMS Secretariat welcomes the accession of the Republic of Angola as 99th Party to the Convention as of 1 December 2006. Angola is located in southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Namibia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is already a Party to CMS. More than 12 million people inhabit the seventh largest country in Africa. The climate is semi-arid in the south and along the coast. Its coastline spans a total of 1600 km from North and South. The north is tropical and hot with high humidity. Angola faces many environmental problems caused by the long civil war, which lasted for three decades. The long-term effects of armed conflicts pose serious threats to migratory species.

Angola’s waters are populated by various threatened marine species listed on Appendix I, including the Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus), Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), and five species of marine turtles: the Loggerhead Turtle (Caretta caretta), Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas), Leatherback Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), Hawksbill Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) and the Olive Ridley Turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea). Angola is a signatory of the Memorandum of Understanding concerning Conservation Measures for Marine Turtles of the Atlantic Coast of Africa.

As for birds, the Lesser Kestrel (Falco naumanni) is designated for concerted action under the Convention. Many bird species are listed on Appendix II, ranging from the Southern Giant Petrel (Macronectes giganteus), the White-chinned Petrel (Procellaria aequinoctialis) and the Wandering Albatross (Diomedea exulans), covered by the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP), eight tern, six plover, three sandpiper and two Flamingo species. Angola is also a Party to the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds.

Angola is a range state for lowland gorillas. Currently CMS and the Royal Institute of Natural Sciences (IRSNB) of Belgium are co-operating with CMS and the UNEP/UNESCO Great Apes Survival Project Partnership (GRASP) with a view to negotiating an Article IV Agreement under the Convention for all gorilla species, and between all the range states. This would include a transboundary regional action plan.
Angola is also a range state for an ongoing initiative to develop a CMS instrument for the conservation of small cetaceans and sirenians in West and Central Africa. The accession of Angola to the Convention will further promote the conservation of flagship species in southern Africa.