Bonn, 30 June 2008 - the fourth edition of “Conservation Measures for the Siberian Crane” has recently been published by UNEP and the Secretariat of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS). The publication is an important manual for all countries involved in the conservation of the Siberian Crane and outlines the results of recent work and priorities for the future management of the species and its habitats.
The new publication is available as CMS Technical Series No. 16 and consists of five sections containing: the text of the Memorandum of Understanding concerning Conservation Measures for the Siberian Crane and Conservation Plans for the Western, Central Eastern Siberian Crane populations; a listing of activities to be carried out by each Range State; information about the Western/Central Asian Site Network for the Siberian Crane and other waterbirds; a summary report of the 6th Range State Meeting (Almaty, Kazakhstan, May 2007) and reference materials.

The Siberian Crane is protected under AEWA and is listed under Column A, Category 1a, 1b, and 1c1. In Asia it is also one of the most threatened waterbird species (with less than 15 individuals left in Central and West Asia, and about 3,000-4,000 in East Asia).

1 Column A

Category 1: (a) Species which are included in Appendix I to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory species of Wild Animals;
(b) Species which are listed as threatened in Threatened Birds of the World (BirdLife International 2000); or
(c) Populations, which number less than around 10,000 individuals.