The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Republic of Tajikistan have taken an important step in strengthening joint efforts to protect their unique, shared mountain ecosystem of the Panj Amu Darya river basin with the signing of the two nations’ first-ever bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on environmental protection.

The Gobi Bear – the only bear living in the desert - the Persian Leopard and the Urial, a wild sheep, could soon join other Central Asian mammal species that are already benefiting from greater international cooperation under the the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), through its Central Asian Mammals Initiative (CAMI).

CMS and its Family set the course for developing their contributions to the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework which is expected to provide a "New Deal for Nature" for the entire international community. Two years away from its adoption, the post-2020 framework presents the opportunity to raise the visibility of migratory wildlife and promote its conservation. Last week, the CMS Standing Committee (Bonn, 23-24 October 2018) endorsed the establishment of a Working Group (WG) on the development of CMS Family contributions to the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.

The CMS Secretariat is pleased to announce the addition of Przewalski’s Horse, Gobi Bear, and Steppe Eagle, all proposed by Mongolia, to the CMS Appendices at COP12. Przewalski’s Horses were last seen in 1969 in the wild near Mongolian border in Trans-Altai Gobi. The population is currently estimated to consist of more than 50 mature individuals free-living in the wild for the past seven years.