Bonn, 1 June 2012 - The CMS Secretariat is pleased to announce the accession of the Republic of Zimbabwe as the 117th Party to the Convention on 1 June 2012. CMS regards the accession of Zimbabwe as a very positive development with the potential to have a significant impact on conservation activities in the Southern African region. Zimbabwe has also acceded to the Agreement on African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) bringing its membership to 66.

The Republic of Zimbabwe, a land locked country covering some 39 million hectares, is located between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers in the southern part of the African continent. With 80 per cent of its territory lying above 600m, Zimbabwe contains an impressive variety of woodlands and open savannah grasslands.

Furthermore, the availability of water from rivers, pans, swamps and artificial impoundments provides an ideal environment for a variety of wildlife species. Indeed, the variations in topography, flora and wetlands create a range of unique habitats, making Zimbabwe a key point on the crossroad of main inland migratory routes: over 600 species of birds fly over or breed every year in Zimbabwe; whereas from the 337 species of mammals found in Southern Africa, 175 of these occur in Zimbabwe.

Among Zimbabwe's biodiversity a total of six species are listed under CMS Appendix I and 82 under Appendix II. Endangered birds include charismatic species such as the Blue Swallow Hirundo atrocaerulea (Appendix I) and the Lesser Flamingo Phoenicopterus minor (Appendix II). Endangered mammals include the Large-eared free-tailed bat Otomops martienssen and the African Elephant Loxodonta africana (Appendix II).

Zimbabwe is a signatory or party to several Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs), including the Convention on Biological Biodiversity, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and important frameworks including the Convention on Climate Change, the Convention to Combat Desertification and the Montreal Protocol

UNEP/CMS warmly welcomes Zimbabwe and is looking forward to strengthening international cooperation through implementing the Convention in the country.

Click on the image below to see an interview with Olivia Mufute, International Conventions Manager, Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, on occasion of the 5th Meeting of the Parties of the African Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA).