Bonn/La Rochelle, 14 May 2012 - The Secretariats of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands have renewed their interest and commitment to work together. Earlier today, Nick Davidson, Deputy Secretary General of Ramsar and Bert Lenten, Officer in Charge of CMS, signed a new Memorandum of Cooperation, in La Rochelle, France, during the opening ceremony of the 5th Meeting of the Parties to the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA).

This Memorandum provides the basis for the development of a Joint Work Plan (JWP) not only between the CMS and Ramsar Secretariats but also between the latter and Secretariats of other CMS instruments where applicable.

The new CMS-Ramsar JWP for the period 2012-2014 has already been endorsed at the 38th meeting of the CMS Standing Committee preceding the 10th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to CMS in November 2011. The Ramsar COP11, which will be held in Bucharest, Romania from 6 – 13 July 2012, is also expected to approve it.

The AEWA Secretariat is in the process of finalizing a separate JWP with Ramsar for the current triennium, while the EUROBATS Secretariat has recently been encouraged by its Parties to take similar actions.

[ENB coverage of AEWA MOP5]