Bonn, 30 April 2008 - UNEP Executive Director, Achim Steiner, met CMS staff today to expound on UNEP’s policy and mandate. While focusing on the exclusive role of the Convention on Migratory Species, he emphasized at the same time its strong links to UNEP.

He suggested that multiple Memoranda of Understanding that are negotiated under CMS should be more embedded in the UNEP system, which in turn should encourage closer collaboration among the different global and regional multilateral environmental agreements.

In the run up to the conference of the Convention on Biodiversity in May, Mr. Steiner called for a greater commitment especially from governments in order to implement conservation measures together with NGOs and other stakeholders.

CMS is currently working on a new capacity building strategy that will be presented to the Parties at the Conference of the Parties on December as part of the CMS Strategic Plan 2006 - 2011.

Following the recent global event on business and the environment, the annual B4E - Business for the Environment Global Summit, jointly hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Global Compact, Achim Steiner highlighted the role of the private sector in supporting UNEP’s objectives.

CMS has been benefiting from a public-private partnership through cooperation with the tourist group TUI to promote the Year of the Dolphin Campaign.