The 5th Meeting of the Sessional Committee (ScC-SC5) of the CMS Scientific Council will take place from 28 June to 9 July 2021 as an online virtual meeting.

Objectives of the Meeting

ScC-SC5 will be the first meeting of the Sessional Committee since CMS COP13. Thus, its main objective will be to make progress on activities for the intersessional period between COP13 and COP14 in line with relevant COP13 mandates.  Prominent items on the agenda of the meeting include:

• The adoption of a Programme of Work for the Scientific Council;
• The development of   a flagship report on the conservation status of migratory species;
• Conservation action for various   migratory species, including Chondrichthyan Species, African carnivores, Sahelo-Saharan megafauna, and African elephants;
• Addressing threats to migratory species such as climate change, infrastructure development, plastic pollution, light pollution, wildlife disease.

In the context of the current pandemic, the meeting is expected to discuss the work under CMS on wildlife disease, particularly as detailed in Resolution 12.06, including the possible reactivation or strengthening of existing mechanisms such as the Scientific Task Force on Wildlife and Ecosystem Health, the Scientific Task Force on Avian Influenza and Wild Birds, and the Working Group on Migratory Species as Vectors of Diseases. The appointment of a specialist COP-appointed councillor on invasive species and wildlife disease is expected to support this work.  

Organizational matters

The meeting will consist of a combination of the following main elements:

• Plenary sessions by videoconference: these will be held mainly at the beginning (with the purpose of setting the scene and explaining the process, and to introduce individual agenda items) and at the end of the meeting (to agree on conclusions and way forward). These sessions are expected to have a duration of not more than 2 hours per day.

• Online platforms: open for several days where written submissions would be made by participants across a number of discrete topics. To maximise opportunity for input, all topics will be open for feedback for the whole of the time the online platform is open. This will allow participation independently of date and time zone, allowing participants to engage when their schedules allow. Online platforms will be closed in advance of the plenary session expected to conclude the item.

• Meetings of Working Group by videoconference: expected to complement the online platforms as needed.

A provisional schedule of these elements is as follows:

Opening plenary sessions: 28-30 June 2021

Online platforms and working groups: 29 June – 6 July 2021

Closing plenary sessions: 8-9 July 2021

The meeting is open to all members of the Sessional Committee, other members of the CMS Scientific Council not members of the Sessional Committee, as well as representatives of CMS Parties, CMS Agreements and CMS partner organizations and institutions.

The Provisional Agenda for the meeting and other papers for ScC-SC5 will be made available in due course, together with further details of the programme, on the ScC-SC5 page of the CMS website.

Simultaneous interpretation in English, French, Spanish and German will be provided for all plenary sessions thanks to support from the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety.

For further information about the 5th Meeting of the Sessional Committee of the CMS Scientific Council, please contact Mr. Marco Barbieri:  [email protected]