News

Preventing Pandemics Together - Nature4Health Applications Now Welcome

Bonn, 18 August 2022 – The Nature for Health (N4H) initiative is currently inviting low-and middle-income countries to apply for technical support in i

18 August 2022

New IPBES Assessment on Sustainable Use Confirms the Need to Address Major Threats to Reverse Current Trends of Loss of Wild Species

Bonn, 8 July 2022 - The findings of the IPBES assessment on sustainable use of wild species, released today, are consistent with recent reports of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) on the importance of wild species for people and nature, and on the need to address major threats to reverse current trends of biodiversity loss.

08 July 2022

Action Plan Addressing Unsustainable Use and Trade of Hawksbill Turtles in South-East Asia and the Western Pacific Ocean Agreed

This new Single Species Action Plan outlines what needs to be done ‘To address unsustainable use and trade of hawksbill turtles in the South-East Asia and Western Pacific Ocean region and build resilience in the populations’ at both the domestic and the international level.

02 June 2022

Ecological Connectivity: An Essential Component of Ecosystem Restoration

With a confluence of unprecedented crises facing the world today, such as relentless environmental changes causing accelerating biodiversity loss, increasing global warming, and advancing land degradation, restoration is key to counter these trends and return nature to a healthy state.

13 May 2022

Avian Influenza Continues to Impact Wild Migratory Birds: The Case of Prespa National Park

On March 11 2022, an outbreak of avian influenza was reported at the Prespa National Park, in Greece, resulting in mass mortality events that have severely impacted the Dalmatian pelican (Pelecanus crispus) nesting population found in the Lesser Prespa Lake. The Dalmatian pelican is classified as Near Threatened according to the IUCN  and is protected under the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) – listed on both appendix I and II – and the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement (AEWA).

30 March 2022

New Review Finds the Consumption of Wild Meat of Aquatic Megafauna Protected Under CMS to be Widespread Throughout the Tropics

Published on 21 March was a review of the literature and overview of the contemporary use of aquatic megafauna (cetaceans, sirenians, chelonians, and crocodylians) in the global tropics and subtropics, for 37 species listed on the Appendices of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS).

22 March 2022

The Kingdom of Bahrain Accedes to CMS

The Kingdom of Bahrain has acceded to the Convention bringing the number of Parties to 133.  It joins the ever-growing number of contracting Parties from Asia. The Kingdom of Bahrain, whose capital is Manana, is an island country located in the Persian Gulf that comprises an archipelago of natural islands and artificial islands with a total land area of 728 km2 and approximately 3000 km2 of territorial waters. 

28 February 2022

"Dim the Lights for Birds at Night!" – The World Migratory Bird Day 2022 Slogan Announced!

“Dim the Lights for Birds at Night!” has been selected as the official slogan of the 2022 edition of the UN-backed global World Migratory Bird Day campaign. This year, the campaign’s focus is on the impacts of light pollution on migratory birds.  “World Migratory Bird Day 2022 is not only about raising awareness on the negative effects of light pollution on migratory birds. We also hope the campaign will trigger concrete commitments and pledges from Parties, cities, and other key stakeholders across the world,” said Amy Fraenkel, Executive Secretary of CMS.

25 February 2022

Alert: Increased Risk of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Outbreaks in Wild Bird Populations in Africa

FAO recommends countries in Africa to be on high alert for wild bird mortalities due to H5 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). Given recent reports from West and Southern Africa detecting the virus in Great White Pelicans and coastal birds respectively, the risk of HPAI introduction into other African countries and outbreaks in wild bird populations is regarded as high. Countries should have in place enhanced measures for early detection, diagnosis and outbreak response, in both wild birds and poultry.

21 February 2022