First Meeting of the Multi-Stakeholder Energy Task Force

The First Meeting of the Multi-Stakeholder Energy Task Force will take place from 1 - 2 December 2016 in Cape Town, South Africa.

The Energy Task Force is a multi-stakeholder platform that works towards reconciling renewable energy developments with conservation of migratory species.

The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) and the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) acknowledge the crucial importance of energy from renewable sources to attain the targets of the Paris Agreement, and support a sustainable deployment of renewable energy technologies. As with other infrastructure developments, the deployment of renewable energy and associated infrastructure such as powerlines may have negative impacts on species and ecosystems. The risk to migratory species can be particularly significant if renewable energy installations and power lines are placed in inappropriate locations and without integrating environmental considerations in planning and assessment procedures.

CMS recognized that there is a need to mainstream conservation of migratory species across the energy sector and to this end adopted the Resolution 11.27: Renewable Energy and Migratory Species and an analogous Resolution was adopted by AEWA Resolution 6.11. To further support the implementation of the resolutions and the use of relevant guidelines, CMS established a multi-stakeholder initiative, the Energy Task Force.

The role of the Energy Task Force is to facilitate the involvement of relevant stakeholders in the process of reconciling energy sector developments with the conservation of migratory species through promoting the implementation of relevant guidelines and tools as well as addressing substantial gaps in knowledge; strengthening regional and international networks and stimulating communication and exchange of information, experience, best practice and know-how.

The Energy Task Force consists of a range of stakeholders, including: representatives of relevant government institutions in the field of environment and energy in the Parties to the participating MEAs, the Secretariats of the participating MEAs representatives of the energy industry, relevant academic institutions, NGOs and other interested stakeholders.

The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany, through the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) were recognized as Champion Plus for their generous support and commitment towards Reconciling Energy Sector Developments with Migratory Species Conservation for the period 2015-2017. The Energy Task Force has been funded with the contribution granted by Germany under the Migratory Species Champion Programme.

Online Registration for the First Meeting of the Multi-Stakeholder Energy Task Force

Visit the Energy Task Force's dedicated webpage