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Raptors
Experts Join Forces to Protect the Sooty Falcon
 Bonn/Abu
Dhabi, 11 March 2013 - The Sooty Falcon
(Falco concolor) is a fast, highly agile
bird of prey that feeds on small birds and insects
captured in flight. It is classified as 'Near Threatened'
in the IUCN Red List and is listed in ‘Category
1’ (Globally and Near Threatened species) of
the UNEP/CMS Raptors MOU, primarily due to suspected
population declines.
It breeds in harsh desert and semi-arid
habitats, in and around the Middle East, and spends
the winter on Madagascar, with small numbers remaining
along the South-East littoral zone of Africa.
[Read
on]
Raptors MoU 1st Meeting of Signatories: More
Countries Commit to Conserving Threatened Migratory
Birds of Prey in Africa and Eurasia
 Abu Dhabi, 12 December 2012 – For the first time, 100 representatives from almost 50 countries came together to discuss urgent actions to step up international conservation efforts for threatened raptor species. Niger and Somalia both signed the Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Birds of Prey in Africa and Eurasia (Raptors MoU), established under the auspices of the UNEP Convention on Migratory Species. This brings the total number of Signatories to 42.
[Press release] [Communiqué de presse] [Arabic version]
[ENB report of MoS1]
Call for consultancy - Coordinator for the Sooty Falcon ISSAP
Abu Dhabi, 2 November 2012 – The Sooty Falcon (Falco concolor) is classified as Near Threatened due to its moderately small and apparently declining population. It is listed in Category 1 (Globally and Near Threatened species) of the Raptors MoU. There is a clear need to establish coordinated international actions to gather more accurate and comprehensive information on the global population status and the main threats to this species. Accordingly, the Interim Coordinating Unit (ICU) of the Raptors MoU has published a call for a consultancy: Coordinator for the Sooty Falcon International Single Species Action Plan. Deadline for applications is 30 November 2012.
[Terms of Reference]
 Asian
Raptor Research and Conservation Network - 8th Symposium
Pune, India, 1 November 2012
- The organizers of the 8th Symposium of the Asian
Raptor Research and Conservation Network have issued
the first announcement of the event., which takes
place in Pune, India from 6th to 9th February 2014.
Further information on the event
can be obtained from Dr. Satish Pande, Organizing
Secretary, 8th ARRCN Symposium, India Prof. Milind
Watve, IISER, Pune, India, who can be contacted at
pande.satish[at]gmail.com.
Call for applications: side-event, exhibition
stand or poster presentation at Raptors MoU MoS1
Abu Dhabi, UAE, 4 October 2012
- The Interim Coordinating Unit (ICU) of the Raptors
MoU opens a call for applications for Signatories,
Range States, partner organizations and stakeholders
of the Raptors MoU to run a side-event, exhibition
stand or poster presentation on a topic relevant to
migratory birds of prey conservation and management.
Application forms are available here. Please return
the completed application form(s) to Dragana
Stojkovic at the ICU (dstojkovic[at]cms.int)
by Sunday 21 October 2012. The ICU will review the
received applications and contact selected participants
in due course.
[Read
on] [en
français]
International Vulture Awareness Day
 Abu Dhabi, UAE, 29 August 2012 - Around the world, countries from Canada to Germany and India are holding activities to contribute to International Vulture Awareness Day (IVAD) which takes place on 1 September 2012. Vultures are easily recognizable birds, with a long history of importance to many cultures including the ancient Egyptians, Romans, Tibetan Buddhists and Zoroastrians. As scavengers who feed primarily on carrion (animals which are already dead), vultures are associated not only with death but also with renewal.
International Vulture Awareness Day was created through cooperative efforts by the Birds of Prey Programme, South Africa and the Hawk Conservancy Trust, England. Their local Vulture Awareness Days grew into an international event aimed at increasing awareness of vulture conservation. For example, a novel educational tool with conservation benefits which will be showcased in some locations for IVAD is the ‘Vulture restaurant’. These ‘restaurants’ provide carcasses free from contamination for vultures to consume, ideally in an area with habitat suitable for breeding and nesting, where visitors can observe their feeding behaviour.
[Press Release] [Communiqué
de presse] [Arabic
version]
Update:
Saker Falcon Task Force Meets in Abu Dhabi MoU
25 July
2012– The Meeting report is now available
here,
together with Annex 5, the STF Revised Work
Plan, and Annex 6, CMS
Resolution10.28 on the Saker Falcon.
See also the initial report dated 29 March 2012
below.
France
and Slovakia Sign the UNEP/CMS Raptors MoU
 La Rochelle,
15 May 2012– France and the Slovak
Republic signed the UNEP/CMS Memorandum of Understanding
on the Conservation of Migratory Birds of Prey in
Africa and Eurasia (Raptors MoU). The Signing Ceremonies
took place during the 5th Meeting of Parties of
the UNEP African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement
(AEWA), which is being held this week at La Rochelle
in France.
The UNEP/CMS Raptors MoU was signed by Ambassador
Jean-Pierre Thébault, on behalf of the Government
of France on Monday, 14 May. France hosts significant
breeding and wintering populations of many of the
migratory birds of prey covered by the Raptors MoU,
and is also located on a major raptor flyway.
[Press
release] [Communiqué
de presse]
World Migratory Bird Day - Pointe de Grave
 Le
Verdon-sur-Mer, 13 May 2012 - The Interim
Coordinating Unit of the Raptors MoU and the League
for the Protection of Birds (LPO) Aquitaine co-organized
a special 'Bird
Migration Watch' day at the Pointe
de Grave in South West France on World
Migratory Bird Day. LPO was also celebrating
its100th anniversary! The weather was perfect and
almost 50 enthusiasts gathered to witness over ten
thousand birds pass over Northwards heading to their
breeding areas. This total included almost 200 birds
of prey, comprising 7 species such as 80+ European
Honey Buzzards (Pernis apivorus), 40+ Black
Kites (Milvus migrans), 5 Short-toed Snake-eagles
(Circaetus gallicus), 2 Western Marsh Harriers
(Circus aeruginosus) and 19 Eurasian Hobbies
(Falco subbuteo). Before the end of the
day, everyone enjoyed a delightful picnic by the
sea comprising fresh local products to celebrate
a highly successful day.
Many other events and initiatives
were held around the world. For example, Nature
Conservation Egypt produced an Arabic
song and video to raise awareness of
the threats to migratory birds as part of the GEF
and UNDP funded Migratory Soaring Birds (MSB) Project,
being implemented by BirdLife International within
11 countries along the Rift Valley Flyway in the
Middle East and North-East Africa. Most of the species
(i.e. 32 out of 37) covered by the MSB
Project are migratory raptors.
[Read
more here] [version
française]
100 telescopes at Pointe de Grave on
13 May 2012 - World Migratory Bird Day celebrates
the 100 years of the League for the Protection
of Birds
23 April
2012– On 13 May 2012, as part of
the World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD), a day for discovering
bird migration will take place on the study site
of Pointe de Grave at Le Verdon sur Mer in Gironde.
WMBD is a global awareness campaign held annually
to promote the conservation of migratory birds and
their habitats worldwide. It was initiated in 2006
by the Secretariats of the Convention on the Conservation
of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS, also
known as the Bonn Convention) and the African-Eurasian
Waterbird Agreement (AEWA), two international treaties
on migratory wildlife under the auspices of the
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
The year 2012 is also the 100th of the League for
the Protection of Birds (LPO). To celebrate this
anniversary, ornithologists and friends of birds
are invited to participate to this event.
[Press
release] [Communiqué
de presse]
Summit to Save Africa’s Vulture
Populations
20 April 2012, Abu Dhabi –
The 1st Pan African Vulture Summit (PAVS) was convened
in the Masai Mara, Kenya on 16-20 April 2012 and
invited input from a wide range of Vulture specialists,
researchers and Government wildlife representatives
from across the continent. The objective was to
gather information from both local and regional
perspectives and to devise and promote the implementation
of a Pan-African Vulture Conservation Plan. The
Plan aims to provide a broad framework for effective
conservation action that can be adjusted to suit
the situation and needs of individual regions, countries
and areas and to facilitate the implementation of
action in areas where there currently is little
or no focus on the conservation of Vultures.
[Media
release] [PAVS
resolution]
Saker Falcon Task Force Meets in Abu Dhabi
 29
March 2012, Abu Dhabi – The UNEP/CMS
Office - Abu Dhabi is holding the inaugural meeting
of the Saker Falcon Task Force in Abu Dhabi, United
Arab Emirates (UAE), today, 29 March 2012. It is
expected to welcome almost 30 participants from
18 different countries, including Government officials
and representatives from international and non-Governmental
organizations.
[Press
release - English] [Arabic
version] [Russian
version]
[version française]
[meeting
photo]
see also the update of 25 July
Raptors MoU – 100 days as Programme
Officer
 29
February 2012, Abu Dhabi – Programme
Officer, Nick P. Williams, reports back on his first
100 days in office.
CMS 10th Conference of the Parties (COP10)
held in Bergen, Norway 20–25 November 2011
- In addition to meeting and listening to the views
of delegates from as many Range States as possible,
most of our efforts were focused on supporting the
Saker Falcon Working Group that was established
to consider the implications of the European Union-led
proposal to uplist the species onto CMS Appendix
I. The Group met on seven occasions during the week
and comprised 38 representatives from Saker Falcon
Range States and other interested parties. Highly
intensive negotiations held in a positive and constructive
atmosphere led to the development of CMS Resolution
10.28 that was unanimously adopted at the plenary
session on the final day (click
here).
[Read
on] [version
française]
Saker Falcon Task Force Takes Off
11 January 2012, Abu Dhabi –
The Saker Falcon Task Force (STF) was established
by Resolution 10.28, adopted at the 10th Conference
of the Parties (COP10) to CMS, held in Bergen, Norway,
in November 2011. The text of the Resolution is
available online here.
The Task Force aims to bring together Range States,
Partners and interested parties, to develop a coordinated
Global Action Plan, including a management and monitoring
system, to conserve the Saker Falcon (Falco
cherrug). It will operate under the auspices
of the Interim Coordinating Unit (ICU) of the Raptors
MoU.
Under the mandate granted at CMS COP10, the ICU
of the Raptors MoU has taken forward preparations
to establish the Task Force. Terms of Reference
(available here)
have been drafted for adoption at the 1st meeting
of the STF. These Terms of Reference have been circulated
to all key Saker Falcon Range States, Partners and
other interested parties, along with a request for
Expressions of Interest from representatives who
wish to be considered to serve on the STF. A call
for a consultant to act as Specialist Technical
Advisor (Raptors) to the STF has also been posted
on the CMS
website
vacancy page.
The ICU is planning to host the 1st meeting of
the STF on 29 March 2012 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab
Emirates.
Welcome to Nick P Williams
as Programme Officer (Raptors - Birds of Prey)
 Abu
Dhabi, 2 November 2011 - The Interim Coordinating
Unit for the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on
the Conservation of Migratory Birds of Prey in Africa
and Eurasia welcomed a new Programme Officer this
week as Mr Nick P. Williams joined the UNEP/CMS
Office in Abu Dhabi.
Nick has held a lifelong interest
in birds, particularly raptors. Whilst still at
school, he began voluntary fieldwork with the Royal
Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and other
non-governmental conservation organizations. He
has travelled extensively to study raptors in over
50 countries and has gained practical field experience
of a wide range of species. Nick is a qualified
bird ringer and has published a range of scientific
research papers, mostly related to birds.
[Read
on]
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