The CMS Secretariat launched an Action Plan on
11 January 2008 for one of the world’s most
vital routes for migratory birds, the Central Asian
Flyway (CAF).
The new Plan, finalised after consultations with
the 30 range states, is a detailed document covering
175 species of divers, grebes, pelicans, cormorants,
herons, storks, ibises, flamingos, geese, cranes,
rails, sun grebes jacanas, crab plovers, oystercatchers,
stilts and avocets, pratincoles, plovers, scolopacids,
gulls and terns. 13 of the species are already listed
on Appendix I of the Convention.
The Action Plan contains provisions for species
and habitat conservation, single species action
plans and emergency measures. It will be an umbrella
for the creation of a CAF Site Network. Management
of human activities, including hunting, eco-tourism,
research, capacity building and implementation are
covered. The plan in English and Russian is available
at http://www.cms.int/species/CAF/caf_ap.htm
The CAF territory is essentially centred on one
of the three major wintering areas of waterfowl
in the Old World, the Indian subcontinent (the others
being Africa, covered by the well-established AEWA
Agreement under CMS, and south-east Asia, covered
by a new Partnership (EAAF) in which CMS is engaged).
The three areas do not overlap geographically and
present entirely different ecological, historical
and cultural challenges.
CAF migratory routes include the steppes and cold
deserts of Central Eurasia, and much of the Himalayan
chain, where unique, high-altitude migrations such
as those of the Bar-headed Goose, Anser indicus,
take place. Other Central Asian species for which
the new CAF Action Plan should have the greatest
significance are: Asiatic Dowitcher (Limnodromus
semipalmatus), Black-necked Crane (Grus
nigricollis), Indian Skimmer (Rynchops
albicollis), Ibisbill (Ibidorhyncha struthersii),
Brown-headed Gull (Larus brunnicephalus),
Siberian Crane (Grus leucogeranus), Sociable
lapwing (Vanellus gregarius), Spot-billed
Pelican (Pelecanus philippensis), Relict
Gull (Larus relictus), Black-winged Pratincole
(Glareola nordmannii), Caspian Plover (Charadrius
asiaticus).
The concept of an instrument parallel to AEWA for
the eastern Palaearctic and its associated subtropical
and tropical regions of the Indian subcontinent
and south-eastern Asia was first recognised by the
second CMS CoP in 1988 Since then a series of meetings
of specialists and governments has taken place.
Negotiations on the precise form of a CAF Agreement
under Article IV of the Convention are still incomplete
However Range States have agreed on an Action Plan,
and the last CMS CoP in November 2005 urged its
adoption through a correspondence procedure. The
results of this consultation are now available,
and the Action Plan has been formally launched today.
In parallel with the launch of the Action Plan,
the CMS Secretariat has established an interim co-ordination
mechanism in the shape of a focal point who will
manage the website, facilitate projects and inter-governmental
activities, and prepare for further consultations
with range states, including India as lead country,
on the final legal and institutional framework for
CAF.
The focal point will be Mr Francisco Rilla Manta,
the Convention’s Information and Capacity
Building Officer, assisted by Ms Rebecca Lee,
email: rlee@cms.int who also acts as CMS focal
point for Avian Influenza, which remains a significant
threat to wild birds in the CAF region.
