Bonn/La
Rochelle, 14 May 2012 - The Secretariats of the
Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) and the Ramsar Convention
on Wetlands have renewed their interest and commitment to
work together. Earlier today, Nick Davidson, Deputy Secretary
General of Ramsar and Bert Lenten, Officer in Charge of
CMS, signed a new Memorandum of Cooperation, in La Rochelle,
France, during the opening ceremony of the 5th Meeting of
the Parties to the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian
Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA).

This Memorandum provides the basis for
the development of a Joint Work Plan (JWP) not only between
the CMS and Ramsar Secretariats but also between the latter
and Secretariats of other CMS instruments where applicable.

The new CMS-Ramsar
JWP for the period 2012-2014 has already been
endorsed at the 38th meeting of the CMS Standing Committee
preceding the 10th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties
(COP) to CMS in November 2011. The Ramsar COP11, which will
be held in Bucharest, Romania from 6 – 13 July 2012,
is also expected to approve it.

The AEWA Secretariat is in the process
of finalizing a separate JWP with Ramsar for the current
triennium, while the EUROBATS Secretariat has recently been
encouraged by its Parties to take similar actions.

[ENB
coverage of AEWA MOP5]