Decisions 15.157 to 15.160 - Seabirds and Marine Flyways
Avian Species Conservation Issues
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Decision directed to: Parties
Parties:
a) are urged to support meetings of the Flyways Working Group and the appointment of a marine flyways coordinator for the triennium 2026–2029;
b) are encouraged to undertake, based on Annex B of Resolution 15.9 Seabirds and Marine Flyways, all necessary consultations with Range States, and to submit proposals for Concerted Actions for the consideration of the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties;
c) are encouraged to engage in the processes of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement), as relevant, to support the development and implementation of area-based management tools that benefit seabirds across the marine flyways;
d) are urged to report progress in implementing Resolution 15.9 Seabirds and Marine Flyways in their National Reports, including monitoring the efficacy of measures taken, to the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP16).
Decision directed to: IGOs & NGOs, Others
Non-Parties, organizations, the private sector, donors and other stakeholders are invited to collaborate and engage in partnerships to support the work of the Flyways Working Group, including through technical contributions, and to cooperate in the implementation of its priorities on marine flyways.
Decision directed to: Scientific Council
The Scientific Council, through its Flyways Working Group, is requested, subject to the availability of resources, to:
a) facilitate a discussion among Parties, non-Party Range States, relevant regional instruments and stakeholders to explore options for a preferred collaborative framework for the marine flyways under CMS, as outlined in the high-level recommendations (UNEP/CMS/COP15/Doc.26.3.2/Annex 2 - Policy Gap Analysis on Marine Flyways);
b) review relevant scientific and technical issues, international initiatives and processes linked to migratory seabirds, their habitats within marine flyways, the threats associated with them and evidence for effective solutions, and make recommendations on priority actions and gaps in information to be addressed;
c) develop situation analyses for individual marine flyways in order to advance targeted conservation action with the relevant stakeholder groups;
d) identify critical networks of sites within the six flyways that represent key areas associated with important life-history stages of migratory seabirds, including breeding, foraging, stop-over and wintering, noting that the sites may encompass both national and international waters, for consideration for protection, management and restoration by the 10th meeting of the Sessional Committee of the Scientific Council and subsequently the 16th Conference of the Parties;
e) facilitate the development of an implementation plan for each marine flyway that identifies roles and responsibilities and priorities for implementation.
Decision directed to: Secretariat
The Secretariat is requested, subject to the availability of resources, to:
a) organize subregional meetings aimed at sharing best practices and lessons learned on marine flyway-scale conservation, awareness-raising of marine flyways and migratory seabirds, and on the development of adequate institutional frameworks to protect them;
b) facilitate dialogue between the BBNJ Agreement and the relevant CMS processes on seabirds to ensure relevant area-based management tools can benefit migratory seabirds;
c) encourage a focus on marine flyways and migratory seabirds as a theme for World Migratory Bird Day.