International news

Dr Donna Kwan from the Dugong MOU Secretariat attended the closing workshop of the Dugong and Seagrass Conservation Project (DSCP) in Bali, Indonesia from 26 to 28 February 2019. The workshop was funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The four-year project, Enhancing the Conservation Effectiveness of Seagrass Ecosystems Supporting Globally Significant Populations of Dugongs across the Indian and Pacific Ocean Basins, commenced in 2015 and covered 43 national projects across Indonesia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mozambique, the Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste and Vanuatu.

The ranks of the Secretariat staff in Bonn have been strengthened by the arrival of three new colleagues who started work in Bonn at the start of the New Year. The three are Kanako Hasegawa, Associate Programme Management Officer for the Terrestrial Species Team, Jenny Renell, the new Coordinator for the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic, North East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas (ASCOBANS), and María José Ortiz, Programme Management Officer responsible for the newly adopted Review Mechanism and National Legislation Programme, as well as national reports, capacity-building and outreach to non-Parties.

Further to Notification 2019/004, the UN Environment Programme/CMS Secretariat would like to inform Parties of the interim arrangements for the management of the Secretariat.

The theme of this year’s World Wildlife Day campaign is “Life below Water: for People and the Planet” and is closely aligned to the 14th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG14), which aims to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources.

A paper compiled by an international team of researchers with expertise in animals as diverse as birds and whales has been published online today by the journal Science. The paper sets out the evidence accumulated over the years of the importance of social learning in a wide range of vertebrate species.

Inger Andersen of Denmark is the new Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme. Her nomination to the post by UN Secretary-General António Guterres was approved by acclamation by the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, 20 February.

The Secretariat would like to draw attention to Resolution 12.2 on “Fina

The UN Environment Programme/CMS Secretariat would like to inform Parties of the interim arrangements for the management of the Secretariat.