International news

Guidelines to ensure marine animals are better protected from boat-based wildlife watching will be presented at a major migratory species summit in Manila later this month. Leisure cruising to view whales, dolphins, sharks, rays and turtles, as well as seabird colonies is a fast-growing commercial activity worldwide, with positive impacts on local economies.

Migratory species rely on a network of interlinked habitats throughout their journeys, including for feeding, resting and breeding. But their dependence on multiple sites makes them particularly vulnerable: When one or more of these habitats is fragmented by a road or dam, for example, or destroyed by human activity, such as agriculture or mining, it can impact on the species’ long- term survival.

Half of Canada’s wildlife species are in “serious and significant decline” according to a recent report by the World Wildlife Fund, which cites climate change as a key driver. The Living Planet Report Canada says: “Impacts are being felt across the country, from warmer and more acidic oceans to shifting seasons (and corresponding life-cycle events for wildlife species). Different species are feeling the effects in different ways. The most vulnerable species are long-lived, slow to reproduce, require specialized habitats and foods, and are unable to move in response.”

The Secretariat would like to bring to your attention that there will be closed regional consultation meetings held daily from 22 October until the last day of COP12 (apart from th

A multinational plan to thwart the sudden and severe decline in vultures across Africa, Asia and Europe will be presented at a major summit on migratory species this month. Experts estimate the majority of African-Eurasian Vultures are critically endangered and at “very high risk” of extinction in the wild, mainly due to poisoning. Unless effective conservation measures are implemented, there is a significant likelihood that several of these species will become extinct in the near future, they say.

For the upcoming CMS Conference of the Parties (CMS COP12), the Joint Communications Team of the CMS and AEWA Secretariat decided to try to break new ground by producing a rather unconventional publication by abandoning the standard format for conference brochures. Considering the “air, land and sea miles” that some of the migratory species on the CMS Appendices clock up on their vast migrations every year, what would be more appropriate to emulate than an airline Inflight magazine?

The Klaus Töpfer Fellowship Programme for future Leaders in Nature Conservation from countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia took place on 20 September at the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety in Berlin. The Programme takes an integrated approach to the development of personal capacity of early-career conservation professionals, by combining technical learning, management training and network development support.

the second meeting of the multi-stakeholder Task Force on Reconciling Selected Energy Sector Developments with Migratory Species Conservation took place at the UN Premises in Bonn from 14 to 15 September under the chairmanship of Jürgen Friedrich of the German Federal Environment Ministry. The meeting took stock of progress in the implementation of the Programme of Work, which was extended in time and scope to take account of the Energy Task Force’s broadening membership and remit as agreed at the first meeting in Cape Town last year.

The Secretariat of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (UNEP/CMS) is pleased to inform you that the German Federal Foreign Ministry has confirmed receipt of the

After La Paz, Addis Ababa and Bonn, the fourth and final pre-COP workshop was held in Brisbane, Australia from 28 to 30 August for representatives of CMS Parties in the Oceania region. Top of the region’s priorities were the marine species proposals, along with other marine issues, the need to link work done under CMS with other obligations relating to other international fora, such as the UN Oceans Conference, the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and other Multilateral Environment Agreements (MEAs).