Bonn, 6th May 2009 - The Ambassador of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Ms. Blancanieve Portocarrero and
Mr. Carlos Querales, First Secretary of the Venezuelan Embassy, paid a visit to the CMS Secretariat on 28 April to discuss details of accession of the South American country to the Convention.

Deputy Executive Secretary Lahcen El Kabiri explained the main objectives and the functioning of the Convention and summarized results of the last Meeting of the Conference of the Parties in December 2008. In addition, he explained CMS’s cooperation with CBD.

The Ambassador stated that Venezuela was aware of the importance conserving its natural heritage and that the country was already Party to all other major biodiversity-related conventions. Venezuela saw the advantages of joining CMS, which has a much more specific approach to single species and can therefore be an effective tool for their conservation. The Ambassador acknowledged the benefits and proposed to organize a meeting with experts from the Ministry of Environment in order to clarify outstanding points or constraints. She also requested more detailed information about the mechanisms for accession and membership requirements.

The CMS Secretariat has recently increased its efforts to promote the accession of Venezuela to CMS.