Bird trapped in a net © Holger Schulz

The First Meeting of the Intergovernmental Task Force on Illegal Killing, Taking and Trade of Migratory Birds in the Mediterranean (MIKT) will take place in Cairo (Egypt) from 12 to 15 July 2016. The establishment of this Task Force is based on Resolution 11.16 on the Prevention of the Illegal Killing, Taking and Trade of Migratory Birds adopted at the 11th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CMS, which took place from 4 to 9 November 2014 in Quito, Ecuador.

The Resolution recognizes illegal killing, taking and trade of migratory birds as a global problem, but focusses on the Mediterranean as a region where this activity is especially acute and needs a proactive approach to find solutions that can help to prevent or minimize it. To this end, this Task Force will focus on the implementation of existing guidelines and action plans, in particular the Tunis Action Plan adopted under the framework of the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (Bern Convention).

The Task Force is convened in conjunction with the Secretariats of AEWA, the Raptors MOU Coordinating Unit and the African-Eurasian Migratory Landbirds Action Plan (AEMLAP).

The first meeting of the Task Force will gather governmental representatives of CMS Parties around the Mediterranean, including the European Union and other interested Parties. In addition, representatives from Non-CMS Parties as well as relevant international organizations and networks will also be invited as observers. The main objective of the meeting will be to adopt a Programme of Work for the Task Force until 2020, identifying the main activities and regional priorities, and to discuss practical initiatives and projects targeting hotspots to be implemented in parallel.

Online Pre-registration