|  The
WCASN was formally launched on 18 May 2007 in Kazakhstan,
in a special signing ceremony held during the Sixth
Meeting of the Signatories to the CMS Memorandum of
Understanding on Conservation Measures for the Siberian
Crane (MoU)under the Convention on Migratory Species
(CMS).
The establishment of a Siberian Crane
site network has critical importance for Siberian
Cranes. It has also benefited other cranes and waterbirds.
The WCASN is the first step towards developing a more
comprehensive site network for migratory waterbirds
under a widerframework proposed within the Central
Asian Flyway (CAF) Initiative under CMS. The WCASN
will eventually be integrated within the wider waterbird
site network under CAF.
The WCASN focuses on conservation
efforts on sites of internationalimportance for the
SiberianCrane along its West and Central Asian flyways
in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, India, Islamic Republic
of Iran, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Russian Federation
(western Siberia), Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
The goal of the WCASN is to ensure
the conservation of the Siberian Crane and other migratory
waterbirds along the Western and Central Asian Flyways
through recognition and appropriate management of
a network of internationally important sites.
The Site Network
Ten
sites from five countries (India, Iran, Kazakhstan,
Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) were formally accepted
into the WCASN at the launch ceremony in Kazakhstan
on 18 May 2007. The sites were nominated by national
representatives  of each of the countries. Certificates
were presented at the launch by Mr. Khairbek Mussabaeyev,
Deputy Chairman, Forest and Hunting Committee of the
Ministry of Agriculture, Republic of Kazakhstan, and
by Mr. Douglas Hykle, Senior Advisor of the Secretariat
of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS).
Two sites from Pakistan were designated
for including in the WCASN at the lunch ceremony in
Germany on 8 June 2010. Certificates were handed to
national representative from Pakistanby Mrs. Elizabeth
Mrema, Executive Secretary of CMS.
Additional sites nominated by Azerbaijan,
and the Russian Federation are currently under formal
consideration.
The population of Siberian Cranes migrating along the Eastern flyway is covered by the Flyway Site Network under the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership (EAAFP):
http://www.eaaflyway.net/flyway-site-network.php
More information:
Guidelines for the Preparation of Site Nomination Documents
The Western/Central Asian Site Network for Siberian Cranes and Other Waterbirds (WCASN) (as of June 2010) [PDF 184 KB]
WCASN
Fact Sheet (general information) [PDF 216 KB]
Atlas of the Siberian Crane Sites
of Western/Central Asia: English [PDF 7,382 KB]; Russian
[PDF 7,100 MB]
|
