Advisory Committee

The Technical Advisory Group (TAG) of the CMS Raptors MOU was established at the Second Meeting of Signatories to the Raptors MOU in October 2015.

A new membership of the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) of the CMS Raptors MOU was established at the Third Meeting of Signatories to the Raptors MOU in July 2023.

The purpose of the TAG is to serve and assist the Signatories in the effective implementation of the Raptors MOU, including the Action Plan

The Coordinating Unit of the Raptors MOU will serve to receive and transmit requests from the Signatories for advice from the TAG. Members of the TAG serve in their capacity as specialist individuals rather than as representatives of Governments or organizations with which they also may be affiliated.

Please refer to the full Terms of Reference for TAG.

Read the  latest TAG report covering the period 2015 - 2023 here.

The current composition of the TAG can be found in CMS Notification 2023/022.

Meet the members of the TAG below and learn more about their interest in raptor conservation.

 

Mr. Andre Botha, Chair
Co-Chair, Vulture Specialist Group and Manager, Vultures for Africa Programme, Endangered Wildlife Trust, South Africa

"Raptors are charasmatic and live fascinating lives, many of them undertake long distance migrations and it is fantastic to be able to work with them"

 

Mr. Mátyás Prommer, Vice-Chair
Nature Conservation Expert, Herman Ottó Institute Nonprofit Ltd., Hungary



Dr. Karen Aghababyan
Legal Adviser to the Minister of Environment, Armenia and Executive Director, BirdLinks Armenia, Armenia

 

Dr. Arianna Aradis
Senior Researcher, Bird Migration Research Area, Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA), Italy

 


Dr. Nyambayar Batbayar
Director, Wildlife Science and Conservation Center of Mongolia, Mongolia

 

Dr. Ralph Buij
Senior Scientist, Animal Ecology, Wageningen University & Research, The Netherlands and Africa and Asia Program Director, The Peregrine Fund

 


Dr. Imad Cherkaoui
Associate Professor, Ecole Supérieure de Technologie de Kénifra, (University of Ibn Tofail), Morocco

 

Dr. Neil Deacon
International Association for Falconry and Conservation of Birds of Prey and President, BirdLife Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe

 


Prof. Des Thompson
Principal Adviser on Science and Biodiversity, NatureScot, United Kingdom

Rachel Carson, Joe Hickey, Derek Ratcliffe, Tom Cade and Ian Newton are conservation legends who secured a brighter future for raptors – and us.

Mr. Ohad Hatzofe
Head Avian Ecologist, Division of Science & Conservation, Israel Nature & Parks Authority, Israel

 


Dr. Vicky Jones
Flyways Science Coordinator, BirdLife International, United Kingdom

 

Ms. Fadzai Matsvimbo
Preventing Extinction Programme Coordinator, BirdLife International, Africa Secretariat, Kenya 

 


Dr. Campbell Murn
Head of Conservation and Research, Hawk Conservation Trust, United Kingdom and Lecturer, School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, United Kingdom

 

Dr. Darcy Ogada
Africa Program Director, The Peregrine Fund, Kenya

Video Message from Dr. Darcy Ogada


Prof. Mohammed Shobrak
Consultant & Board member at the National Centre for Wildlife, Saudi Arabia

"Vultures are an amazing group of species, they fascinate me."

 

Dr. Munir Virani
Chief Operative Officer at the Mohamed Bin Zayed Raptor Conservation Fund, United Arab Emirates 

TED Talk: Why I love Vultures