Bonn, 9 November 2007 – The 32nd Meeting of the CMS Standing Committee took place on 8-9 November at the UN Campus in Bonn.

Executive Secretary Robert Hepworth and Dr. Christiane Paulus, representing the German Federal Ministry for the Environment welcomed the participants to the meeting. The UK retired from the Chair after 5 years of service. Australia, the previous Vice-Chair, was elected to the Chair. Ukraine was elected as Vice-Chair.

The Committee welcomed recent news of the accession of Cuba and Iran to the Convention. This will raise the total number of CMS parties to 106, with several further accessions expected before the next COP at the end of 2008.

CMS staff presented highlights of the conservation programme during the last year. Seven new CMS species agreements were negotiated including a binding mini-treaty on Gorillas, and the first ever Agreement for native American bird species. The Secretariat also reported on the budget, fundraising activities and progress made in the development of partnerships. There was a special presentation on the Task Force on Avian Influenza where Parties supported a scientific and policy statement to be submitted to several MEA meetings and the IUCN Conference during 2008. Flagship CMS projects, such as the Year of the Dolphin and the Sahelo-Saharan Antelopes were presented to participants and progress welcomed. Several members of the committee took the floor to congratulate the Secretariat in the progress which had been made in 2006-7.

During the meeting, several participants offered further support to the Convention. Saudi Arabia agreed to give high priority to finalising the text of the draft Houbara Bustard agreement for circulation to Range States. UNEP offered to work with the Secretariat and Parties to identify possible further co-operation with CMS at Regional Level, using the network of UNEP Regional Offices. IFAW offered to provide a full time officer to support the CMS Secretariat for 12 months, the second NGO to do so (WDCS are already providing staff support under an agreement with CMS).

The Chair of the Scientific Council delivered a report regarding ongoing conservation and focusing on various problems faced by Sahelo-Saharan antelopes as a result of hunting activities in Niger. The regional representatives reported on activities regarding the implementation of the Convention.

During an excursion for Committee members on the Rhine, the Executive Secretary and UNEP’s representative, Ivonne Higuero, introduced the first printed version of the new CMS Family Guide, or “Encyclopaedia” (available here).

The members considered papers on two major topics – one on the future organisation of CMS and the other a Strategic Review of Flyways. They established a Working Group to map the way forward on CMS organisation for the next COP in 2008. Several members of developing countries, including Africa and Latin America, supported the idea of small CMS regional nodes, but others believed that more time was needed to review all available options for addressing the need to extend the Convention’s capacity. On Flyways, the Committee agreed to publish a scientific and conservation review in early 2008 and to prepare a paper with policy recommendations for the next COP.

At the end of the meeting, the Secretariat presented a draft agenda for COP 9. The 33rd Meeting of the Standing Committee will be held in Rome immediately before the COP in November/December 2008.