Republic of Zimbabwe Accedes to the Convention on Migratory Species

Bonn,
1 June 2012
- The CMS Secretariat is pleased to
announce the accession of the Republic of Zimbabwe as the
117th Party to the Convention on 1 June 2012. CMS regards
the accession of Zimbabwe as a very positive development
with the potential to have a significant impact on conservation
activities in the Southern African region. Zimbabwe has
also acceded to the Agreement on African-Eurasian Migratory
Waterbirds (AEWA) bringing its membership to 66.

The Republic of Zimbabwe, a land locked
country covering some 39 million hectares, is located between
the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers in the southern part of the
African continent. With 80 per cent of its territory lying
above 600m, Zimbabwe contains an impressive variety of woodlands
and open savannah grasslands.

Furthermore, the availability of water
from rivers, pans, swamps and artificial impoundments provides
an ideal environment for a variety of wildlife species.
Indeed, the variations in topography, flora and wetlands
create a range of unique habitats, making Zimbabwe a key
point on the crossroad of main inland migratory routes:
over 600 species of birds fly over or breed every year in
Zimbabwe; whereas from the 337 species of mammals found
in Southern Africa, 175 of these occur in Zimbabwe.

Among Zimbabwe's biodiversity
a total of six species are listed under CMS Appendix I and
82 under Appendix II. Endangered birds include charismatic
species such as the Blue Swallow Hirundo atrocaerulea
(Appendix I) and the Lesser Flamingo Phoenicopterus
minor
(Appendix II). Endangered mammals include the
Large-eared free-tailed bat Otomops martienssen
and the African Elephant Loxodonta africana (Appendix
II).

Zimbabwe is a signatory or party to several
Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs), including
the Convention on Biological Biodiversity, Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna
and Flora and important frameworks including the Convention
on Climate Change, the Convention to Combat Desertification
and the Montreal Protocol

UNEP/CMS warmly welcomes Zimbabwe and is
looking forward to strengthening international cooperation
through implementing the Convention in the country.

Click on the image below to see an interview
with Olivia Mufute, International Conventions Manager, Zimbabwe
Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, on occasion of
the 5th Meeting of the Parties of the African Eurasian Waterbird
Agreement (AEWA).

 

Last updated on 16 June 2014