1

Convention on Migratory Species

■ Guest Article 1

■ Conservation Newsssss 3 • ASCOBANSJastarniaGroupRecommendsCrucial

ActionsforHarbourPorpoisesintheBalticSeaRegion..........3

• ProjectoftheMonthofMay:DistributionandAbundanceofAndeanFlamingosinPeru....4

• ProjectoftheMonthinApril:PromotingTransboundaryCooperationtoSaveSnowLeopardsinCentralAsia............................................................6

• ACAPMeetingsReviewBycatchMitigationMeasures,ConservationStatusandSpeciesActionPlans.............................8

■ Species Campaignesssss 10 • WorldMigratoryBirdDayCallsforInternational

ResponsetoAddressHabitatLoss.................................................. 10

• WorldMigratoryBirdDay2013CelebratedinRecord86Countries................................................. 12

• 19May2013:CelebratingtheInternationalDayoftheBalticHarbourPorpoise......................................................... 15

■ CMS Participation in Other Events 17 • MeetingonSahelo-SaharanWildlifeAcknowledges

RoleofCMS........................................................................................... 17

■ News from the Secretariat 18 • FirstDraftStrategicPlanforMigratorySpecies

2015-2023ReleasedforComments............................................ 18

• CMSRequeststoIPBES..................................................................... 18

• TheRepublicofFijijoinsas119thPartytoCMS...................... 19

• BetterProspectsforMigratorySpeciesintheArctic............. 19

• CMSFamilyMeetings........................................................................ 21

Determining Migration Corridors between Ethiopia and Southern Sudan: A Progress Report

By Cherie Enawgaw Beyene,

Ecologist, Ethiopian Wildlife

Conservation Authority

CMS,theEthiopianWildlifeConserv-ation Authority (EWCA) and otherpartners initiated the “EcologicalNetworksinAfrica”projecttostudythe migration of White-eared Kobantelopes (Kobus kob leucotis) inGambella, Ethiopia. Collaring ante-lopesservedtodeterminethewaysofmanagingandprotectingWhite-eared Kobs and developing tourismin the area in future.The project isfundedbyNorway.

Thefirstcollaringexercisetomapthecritical sitesof the transbound-arywildlifecorridorbetweenEthio-pia and South Sudan took place inJune2012.Theexpeditionobtainedfirst data from the transmitters inthe collars and the ground surveysto setupproperlydesignedwildlifecorridors.

DuringtheexpeditioninJune,ani-mals were successfully tagged withsatellite collars. According to theground surveys, White-eared Kobswereconsideredtobemigratoryand

CMS BulletinGuest Article Contents

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CMS Bulletin 4-5 2013

resident. As the team observed several hundredelephants in theGambella region, itwasdecidedthat these too should also be satellite tagged inspring2013tobetterunderstandtheirmovementswithinthecorridor.

TheobjectiveoftheprojectistodeterminethemigrationcorridorsofWhite-earedKobsandotherspecies between Ethiopia and Southern Sudan.Theanalysisshouldincludeestimatesofthelow-est cost possible for maintaining a corridor andtheresultsobtainedfromcollaredanimals.Factorsderivingfromtheseasonalmigrationbetweenthetwocountrieswerealsoexamined.Onceamapofsuitablehabitats isdeveloped,potential corridorslinkingdifferenthabitatscouldbeconsideredinacost-effectiveway.

InApril2013,43White-earedKobs,4elephantsand 4 Nile Lechwee, an endemic antelope, wereradiocollaredfromtheairbymeansofahelicop-terandonthegroundtobetterunderstandtheir

movements and seasonal distribution.A system-atic aerial wildlife survey was also conducted toascertain the current wildlife distribution in thelandscape.

Since the collaring was a rather challengingexercise,aveterinarianoftheKenyaWildlifeServicewasconsultedtostunthespecieswithadartgunbeforeputtingacollaronthem.Thecollars,whichcouldalsobetracedfromtheground,kepttrans-mittingsignalstosatellites.Thesignalsinturnwereanalysedonawebsiteshowingtheexactpositionsofthespecies.

The expedition was a full and unqualified suc-cess.Thefirstdatafromcollaringshowedthatduetoheavyrainfallsthecollaredspeciesdidnotmovemuchsofar. ItbecameobviousthatWhite-earedKobspreferredaparticularhabitat typeatdiffer-ent seasons. Understanding this preference andthemigrationcorridorsofWhite-earedKobswouldsignificantly contribute to the conservation and

management of the speciesintermsofaddressinghabitatlossandfragmentation.

The collared animals hadbeen continuously on themove between July 2012and April 2013. The projectreportshowsthattheanimalscrossed the boundaries ofGambellaNationalPark.

Thenextstepistoconducta workshop in South Sudantodiscussthefindingsofthisresearch with internationalexpertsandtosetthegroundfor an international wildlifecorridor to preserve thesestunningmigrations.

Guest Article

Elephant collaring © EWCA/SDPASE/HoAREC_AAU

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CMS Bulletin 4-5 2013

Conservation News

■ ASCOBANS Jastarnia Group Recommends Crucial Actions for Harbour Porpoises in the Baltic Sea RegionThe Baltic Sea sub-population of the HarbourPorpoise(Phocoena phocoena)iscriticallyendan-gered, with only a few hundred individuals left.‘TheHarbourPorpoiseistheonlycetaceanspeciesnativetotheBalticSea.Inordertosavethispopu-lationfromextinctioninwhatwasoncearegionwithhighdensitiesofthesesmallwhales,Partiesto theAgreement on theConservation of SmallCetaceansoftheBaltic,NorthEastAtlantic, IrishandNorthSeas (ASCOBANS) agreeda Recovery

Plan for the Baltic Harbour Porpoise (also calledJastarniaPlan).

The Jastarnia Group, an expert working groupestablished to take forward the implementationof the Plan, held its 9th meeting from 16-18April2013inGothenburg,Sweden,uponthekindinvitationof theSwedishAgency forMarineandWaterManagement.Under the chairmanshipofMr.RüdigerStrempel(CoalitionCleanBaltic),theGroupconsideredtheprogressmadewithrespecttothevariousrecom-

mendationsoftheJastarniaPlan.Also,forthefirsttimetheGroupdiscussedhowto implementthenew Conservation Plan for the Harbour Porpoise

Population in the Western Baltic, the Belt Sea and

the Kattegat, which was adopted byASCOBANSPartiesinOctober2012.

The Jastarnia Group agreed recommendationstobeforwardedtothe20thASCOBANSAdvisoryCommitteeMeetingtobeheldfrom27-29August2013, in Warsaw, Poland), which will identifyactionstobetakenandprioritiesfortheeffectiveimplementationofthetwoPlans.

Also,inajointsessionwiththeprojectmanage-mentteamofSAMBAH–StaticAcousticMonitor-ingoftheBalticSeaHarbourPorpoisetheGroupreaffirmed its full support for the project. SAM-BAHisfundedbyLife+,theFinancial InstrumentfortheEnvironmentoftheEuropeanCommission.The Jastarnia Group is keen on anticipating itsresults,whichwillfillaveryimportantinformationneed regarding the distribution and abundanceofthecriticallyendangeredBalticsub-populationof theharbourporpoise.Populationdensitiesareso low that traditional survey methods are notsuitableforassessingthispopulation.Theprojectresultswillthereforebevitalnotonlyforincreas-ingourknowledgeofthestatusofthisspeciesintheBalticSea,butalsofordecidingonappropriatemanagement measures.The report of the meet-ing, including all recommendations agreed, willbecomeavailableshortlyandwillbepublishedonthiswebsite.

Related links:

Recovery Plan for the Baltic Harbour Porpoise

(Jastarnia Plan)

Conservation Plan for the Harbour Porpoise

Population in the Western Baltic, the Belt Sea

and the Kattegat

SAMBAH ■

Meeting of the Jastarnia Group, Natural Museum of

History, Gothenburg © Krzysztof Skóra

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CMS Bulletin 4-5 2013

■ Project of the Month of May: Distribution and Abundance of Andean Flamingos in Peru

Andean Flamingos bring life and colour to themarshes,lagoons,estuariesandlakestheyinhabit.Flamingosaresomeof the largestbirds foundathigh altitudes of 4,000 meters.They are habitatspecialists,havespecificeatinghabitsandmovetodifferenthabitatsdependingonseasonalchanges

inhabitatandfoodquality.Extremeenvironmen-tal events, such as droughts, along with habitatloss caused by human activities, can cause aseriousdecline.Asaresult,flamingosaregloballythreatened.

Outof sixflamingospecies in theworld, threeoccurinPeru:theChileanflamingo(Phoenicopte-

rus chilensis),theAndeanflamingo(Phoenicopte-

rus andinus)andtheJamesflamingo(Phoenicop-

terus jamesi).ThelasttwoaremainlyrestrictedtotheAndes.TheAndean Flamingo and the JamesFlamingoareincludedinCMSAppendixItograntthemfullprotectionandinCITESAppendixII.

In Peru, information on distribution and ecolo-gyislargelyinsufficient.Only22sitesoutofmorethan900lakesinthesouthernAndesthatmaybeusedbyflamingoshavebeenevaluated.Abetterunderstanding of flamingos and their habitats isurgentlyneeded.Scientiststhereforeneedtofindoutthenumberandlocationofthebirds.

Asresearchandmonitoringprogrammesarees-sentialtoeffectivelyprotectthespecies,CMSde-

Conservation News

Monitoring Andean Flamingos

© Celeste Santos Apolinario

Andean Flamingos and other waterbirds

© Celeste Santos Apolinario

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CMS Bulletin 4-5 2013

Conservation News

cidedtofundtheprojectthroughitsSmallGrantsProgramme. The application was submitted bytheGeneralDirectorateofForestryandWildlifeof

theMinistryofAgricultureofPeru,incollaborati-onwiththeCentreforOrnithologyandBiodiver-sity (CORBIDI)and theCenter for theStudyandPromotionofDevelopment(DESCO).Theorgani-zationFondoparalasAméricasalsohelpedrealizethisproject.

The22knownsiteswillbereassessedinAugust2013, austral winter in the Southern hemisphe-re and dry season in the highlands.They will beevaluated again in February 2014, during australsummerwetseason.Newlocationswillbeselec-ted and evaluated. Geographic Information Sys-tems,adatabaseof88sitesprovingthehistoricalpresenceofflamingos,900potentiallakes,the22knownsitesandbio-climaticdatawillhelpidentifypotentialnewareas. ■

Andean Flamingos in wetlands, Peru

© Celeste Santos Apolinario

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CMS Bulletin 4-5 2013

Conservation News

■ Project of the Month in April: Promoting Transboundary Cooperation to Save Snow Leopards in Central AsiaScientists estimate that Snow Leopards (Uncia

uncia),whichliveinthehighmountainsofCentralAsia,havedeclinedbyatleast20percentoverthepast16years.Theestimatedglobalpopulationofbetween4,000and6,600animalskeepsdecreas-ing. Poaching, reduced availability of prey andhabitat loss are the maindrivers of their decline. Aswild sheep and goat, thefavouritepreyspecies,havebecome less abundant,Snow Leopards are turningto livestock, which triggersretaliationanddirectkillingby farmers. Moreover, cli-mate change poses an ad-ditionalthreattothefelineanditsfragilemountainha-bitats.

Asaresult,SnowLeopardsarelistedonCMSAppendixI. Along with the BactrianCamel(Camelus bactrianus)andtheWildYak(Bos grun-

niens), the Snow Leopardis one of the species fromCentral Asia which havebeen designated for Con-certed Action.The objecti-ve is to stop thedeteriorationof theconservati-onstatusoftheseparticularlythreatenedspecies.They are also categorized as Endangered by theIUCN, and listed onAppendix I of theConventi-ononInternationalTradeinEndangeredSpeciesofWildFloraandFauna(CITES).CMSalsoworkstoenhancethetransboundaryconservationofargali(Ovis ammon)–apreyspeciesofthesnowleopard

–inter aliathroughthedevelopmentofaninterna-tionalargaliactionplan.

The CMS Small Grants Programme is fundinga project supportingTajikistan to lead on trans-boundarycooperationonSnowLeopards.Thepro-jectisimplementedbyFlora&FaunaInternationalincollaborationwiththeDepartmentofForestryandHuntingundertheCommitteeofEnvironmen-talProtectionoftheRepublicofTajikistan.Other

collaborating partners include governmental andnon-governmental agencies from Afghanistan,KyrgyzstanandTajikistan,aswellasPanthera,anNGOfocusingontheconservationofwildcats.

The Snow Leopard population in the PamirMountains of Tajikistan counts about 180–220individuals,which forma key link topopulationsinKyrgyzstanandtheTienShanmountainstothe

Snow Leopard on the hunt, Hemis National Park, Jammu and Kashmir, India

© Snow Leopard Conservancy

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CMS Bulletin 4-5 2013

Conservation News

North,andAfghanistanandtheHinduKushtotheSouth.Together,Tajikistan,KyrgyzstanandAfgha-nistan are crucial for Snow Leopard distributionthroughthe“MountainsofCentralAsia”biodiver-sityhotspot.

Thekeygoaloftheprojectistobringthethreecountries together to coordinate activities onSnowLeopardsandotherspeciesmigratinginthisregion. In addition, training, mentoring and net-workdevelopmentwillhelptodevelopandimple-mentactionplans.

Asawhole,theprojectwillsignificantlycontri-butetotheimplementationoftheCentralEurasian

Aridland MammalsConcertedAction, which wasestablished byCOP9 in 2008 and its associateddraftActionPlan.ItalsohelpsrealizeobjectivesofanotherCMSResolutionadopted in2008ontheconservationofAsianBigCats.

This initiative is part of the SmallGrants Pro-grammefundedbyUNEP.

It alsocomplementseffortsof theWorldBankGlobalTiger Initiative to develop aGlobal SnowLeopard Ecosystem Protection Programme to beadoptedat the InternationalSnowLeopardCon-servationForumlaterthisyear. ■

Snow Leopard on the lookout, Hemis National Park, Jammu and Kashmir, India

© Snow Leopard Conservancy

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CMS Bulletin 4-5 2013

Conservation News

■ ACAP Meetings Review Bycatch Mitigation Measures, Conservation Status and Species Action PlansTheSeventhmeetingofACAP’sAdvisoryCommit-teewasheldinMayinLaRochelle,France.ItwasprecededbymeetingsofitsPopulationandCon-servation Status (PaCSWG) and Seabird BycatchWorkingGroups(SBWG).

ThePaCSWGundertook themost comprehen-sive assessment of current population trends forACAPspeciesyetundertaken.Theassessmentre-viewedavailabledataover the last twentyyearsandfoundthatpopulationsofnineACAPspecieswere considered to be increasing, eleven speciesweredecreasingandsevenwereconsideredstable,withthetrendstatusforthreespeciesremainingunknown.

TheWorking Group also reviewed progress onactionbeingtakentomanageland-basedthreatsat breeding sites of ACAP species. Considerableadvanceswere reported in the planning and im-plementinglarge-scaleeradicationprogramsthatwillultimatelyimprovetheconservationstatusofACAPspecies,e.g.theMacquarieIslandPestEradi-cation Plan, which is targeting European rabbits,shipratsandhousemice.Followinganextensivebaiting and follow-up hunting phase, there havebeen no signs of target species for almost twoyears.

TheSBWGreviewedrecentresearchonseabirdbycatchmitigationmeasuresandupdateditsbest-practiceadviceforavoidingtheincidentalcaptureofseabirdsindemersalandpelagiclongline,trawlandgillnetfishingoperations,aswellasidentify-ingfuturemitigationresearchpriorities.TheWork-ingGroup also reviewed bycatch data collectionrequirements, which are critical for determining,amongst other things, the effectiveness of themitigationmeasuresbeingused.Itwasagreedtoseekaprogressiveimprovementintheresolution

ofthedatasubmittedandtoalsoengageininitia-tivestoinvestigateandpromotetheuseofelec-tronicmonitoring,asanothermeansofcollectingrelevantdata.

Inadditiontoreviewingandendorsingrelevantadvice from its Working Groups, the AdvisoryCommitteeassessedproposalsfortheinclusionoftwonewspeciesunderAnnex1oftheAgreement,thePink-footedShearwater,Puffinus creatopus andtheGalapagosPetrel,Pterodroma phaeopygia. Itsrecommendations will be forwarded to the nextMeetingoftheParties,tobeheldin2015.

TheCommitteealsoreviewedprogresswithde-velopmentandimplementationofspeciesactionplans. France reported on its National Plan ofAction for theAmsterdam albatross. Six actionshaveprogressedsince the lastAdvisoryCommit-teemeeting.Themonitoringofthepopulationhas

Yellow-nosed Albatross

© Tony Palliser

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CMS Bulletin 4-5 2013

Conservation News

continued,andshowsacontinuousincreaseofthepopulation size reaching 38 pairs in 2012. How-ever,thebreedingsuccessappearstocontinuetodeclineprogressively.Since2011acomprehensivestudyofthediseasesoccurringinthe5mainsea-bird species atAmsterdam has been carried out.ThestudyshowsthataviancholeraandErysipelaswas present in all species including Amsterdam

albatrosses,Yellow-nosed and Sooty albatrosses.Presentstudiesaimatidentifyingthereservoirsofthebacteria (environmentand/orbirds), thedis-seminators (birds, human, introduced mammals),atgeneticcharacterizationofP. multocida (acoco-bacillus)isolatesandexaminingthepossibilityofvaccinationbytheproductionofanautovaccine.■

L-R: Mark Tasker (Advisory Committee Vice-Chair),

Dr Marco Favero (Advisory Committee Chair),

Pascal Bolot (Prefect for Terres Australes et

Antarctiques Françaises) and Martine Bigan

(France’s National Contact Point for ACAP)

© ACAP

Pink-footed Shearwater

© Dr Peter Hodum

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CMS Bulletin 4-5 2013

Species Campaigns

■ World Migratory Bird Day Calls for International Response to Address Habitat Loss

As an estimated 50 billion birds – from around19per centof theworld’s10,000bird species–undertakeannualmigrations.However,thecriticalstaging areas they need to complete these jour-neyscontinuetobedegradedoraredisappearingcompletely.

InhismessagemarkingtheDay,celebratedan-nuallyoverthesecondweekendofMaycelebratedeachyearinover65countrieson11and12May,Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon underscored theneedforgreaterinternationalactioninprotectingthewingedfaunaandsavingtheirnaturalhabitats.Withthesteppingstonestotheirmigrationunder

increased pres-sure, some birdspeciescouldfaceextinction withinadecade.

UNEP’sExecutiveDirector,AchimSteinerhigh-lighted the need to conserve migratory birds.Beyondbeinga sourceof joyand inspiration formillionsofpeople, theyalsoarepartof theweboflifethatunderpinsnature’smulti-trillion-dollarecosystemservices.

Manymigratingbirds–includingcranes,storks,shorebirdsandeagles– travel thousandsof kilo-metres across flyways that span countries andcontinents.Nevertheless,pressuresresultingfromrapid urbanization, pollution and climate changehavecausedthesteadylossofthenaturalhabitatsalongthebirds’migrationroutes.

Migratorywaterbirdspeciesthatdependontheintertidalhabitatsalong theEastAsian-Australa-sianFlyway–whichstretchesfromRussiatoNewZealandandencompassessome22countries–areshowingrapiddeclineandareamongtheplanet’smost-threatenedmigratorybirds.Coastallandrec-lamation, particularly around key coastal stagingareasintheYellowSea,hascausedthisdecline.

Lesser Flamingo (Phoenicopterusminor)

© Marc Anderson

Spoon-billed Sandpiper (Eurynorhynchuspygmaeus)

© Smith Sutibut

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CMS Bulletin 4-5 2013

CMSExecutiveSecretary,BradneeChambers, ex-plained that transboundary collaboration wasessentialtoensurethatmigratorybirdscancon-tinuetotravel,refuelandreachtheirdestinations.

This year’s Day highlighted the importance ofecologicalnetworks for the survivalofmigratorybirds, the important human networks dedicatedtotheirconservation,thethreatsmigratorybirdsface,andtheneedformoreinternationalcoopera-tiontoconservethem.AregionaleventalongtheAfrican-EuropeanFlywayswasheldontheshoresofKenya’sLakeElementaitatopaytributetothe

11globallythreatenedbirdspecieswhicharesup-portedbytheKenyaLakesSystem.

Theannualcampaign isorganizedbyCMSandAEWA to celebratemigratorybirds andpromotetheir conservation worldwide. People across theglobe joined the celebrations through bird festi-vals, education programmes, presentations, filmscreeningsandbirdwatching.

Full Press Release:

http://www.unep.org/newscentre/Default.aspx

?DocumentID=2716&ArticleID=9498&l=en ■

Species Campaigns

White Pelican (Pelecanuserythrorhynchos)

© Sergey Dereliev (UNEP/AEWA),

www.dereliev-photography.com

World Migratory Bird Day Event (New Caledonia)

© Jerome Spaggiari

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Species Campaigns

■ World Migratory Bird Day 2013 Celebrated in Record 86 Countries

For the first time, theWorld Migratory BirdDay campaign receivedprominent, high levelsupport from UN Sec-

retary-General Ban Ki-moon. In addition, UNEPExecutive Director Achim Steiner addressed thepublicthroughavideomessagetomarktheglobalcommemorativeevent.Anamazing345registeredeventsin86countriesworldwidemadeWorldMi-gratoryBirdDay(WMBD)2013,celebratedon11-12May2013,themostsuccessfulyeartodate.

The 2013 Word Migratory Bird Day Theme –“Networking formigratorybirds”highlighted theimportanceofecologicalnetworksaswellasnet-worksofgovernments,conservationorganizationsandpeopleforthesurvivalofmigratorybirds.

Migratory birds travel incredible distances ontheir annual journeys relying on intact networksofsitesforbreeding,feeding,restingandwinteringpurposestosuccessfullycompletetheirstrenuousmigrations.However,theimpactsofpeoplearoundtheworldhaveledtohabitatlossanddegradation,greatlyaffectingmanymigratorybirdspecies.Asaresult,collectiveconservationactionsbygovern-ments, nature conservation organizations, scien-tistsandthegeneralpublicareneededtoensurethesurvivalofmigratorybirds.

Allacrosstheworld,governments,wildlifecon-servation organizations, scientists, journalists,teachers, students, clubs, and many other dedi-catedgroupsandindividualscelebratedWorldMi-gratory Bird Day 2013. People came together tocelebrateWorldMigratoryBirdDaybyorganizingevents, such as birdwatching activities, exhibi-tions,educationalactivities,filmscreenings,con-certsandotherpubliceventsunitedbytheglobaltheme“Networkingformigratorybirds”.

Highlights of Events from World Migratory Bird Day 2013 around the World

Regional World Migratory Bird Day Event at Lake

Elementaita, Kenya

On 11 May 2013, a regional World MigratoryBird Day event was held on the shores of LakeElementaita in Kenya, the country whereWMBDwasfirstlaunchedin2006.LakeElementaitaisanimportant site formigratorybirds suchasLesserFlamingosandGreatWhitePelicans.Over14East-ern and Southern African countries were repre-sentedattheevent.

Performance of school children

© Birgit Drerup / AEWA

L-R: Ruth Gathura, CMS Ambassador Kuki Gallmann,

James Waweru and Mungai Gathu

© Birgit Drerup / AEWA

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Species Campaigns

Key stakeholders and bird conservation organiz-ationsinKenyadisplayedanumberofexhibitions.In their speeches, CMS Ambassador Ms. KukiGallmann who hosted the launching event ofWorldMigratoryBirdDayin2006,UNEPSpokes-personandDirectorofCommunicationsMrNickNuttallandotherprominentguestsreflectedthegrowing importance they attach to the event.Performance by local schools and an acrobaticshow were part of a diverse entertainment pro-gramme.Theeventprovidedalsoanopportunityto launch Lake Elementaita as aWorld HeritageSiteandWildlifeSanctuary.KenyaWildlifeService(KWS)hostedtheeventincollaborationwiththeAfrican-Eurasian MigratoryWaterbird Agreement(AEWA).

Benefit Concert for the Endangered Grey

Crowned Crane in Bonn, Germany

OnSaturday,11MayinBonn,Germany,theoperachoirCoraleLiricaSanRoccofromBologna, Italy,sangaselectionofworksbyVerdiintheNamen-Jesu-Church. The initiative came from FernandoSpina,ChairoftheCMSScientificCouncil,whoisamemberofthechoir.Donationsmadeatthecon-cert will be used to support the conservation oftheGreyCrownedCrane,anendangeredspecies.

Awareness Raising Events in the City of

Vancouver, Canada

Duringtheweekof6-12May,2013theCity,alongwiththeStanleyParkEcologySociety,BirdStud-iesCanada,NatureVancouver,TourismVancouverand other partners, recognized World Migrato-ryBirdDay in a seriesof eventsheld across thecity.TheCityofVancouverParkBoardproclaimedWorldMigratoryBirdDay,inadeclarationsignedby Mayor Gregor Robertson. The declarationrecognizes the better management of birds andtheirhabitatsthroughinitiativessuchasVancou-ver’sGreenestCity2020ActionPlanwouldben-efitresidentsandover407birdspecies.

Bologna Opera Choir in Namen-Jesu-Church, Bonn

© Francisco Rilla Manta / CMS

Vancouver Skyline © Andre Chan

Birdwatching in Stanley Park, Vancouver © Andre Chan

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CMS Bulletin 4-5 2013

World Migratory Bird Day Partners World Migratory Bird Day Partners is supportedby a growing number of committed partners:The United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP), BirdLife International, Wetlands In-

ternational, thePartnership for the East Asian

- Australasian Flyway (EAAFP)andthe Interna-

tional Council for Game and Wildlife Conserva-

tion (CIC).OnceagainWMBDwasmadepossiblethrough the kind voluntary contribution to theCMSandAEWASecretariatsbytheGermanFed-eralMinistryfortheEnvironment,NatureConserv-ationandNuclearSafety(BMU).

Animpressivenumberofdedicatedstatementsto mark World Migratory Bird Day 2013 werereceived from WMBD Partners, Experts, Ambas-sadors, and supporters from around the world,including amongst many others UNEP ExecutiveDirectorAchimSteiner,UNCCDExecutiveSecre-taryLucGnacadjaandUNFCCCExecutiveSecre-tary Christiana Figueres. Marco Lambertini, CEOBirdLifeInternationalandtheGermanMinisterfortheEnvironmentPeterAltmaiermarked theDay.AllstatementscanbefoundontheWMBDState-mentsPage.Visit the WMBD Statements Page ■

Species Campaigns

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CMS Bulletin 4-5 2013

Species Campaignes

■ 19 May 2013: Celebrating the International Day of the Baltic Harbour PorpoiseThisyear’sInternationalDayoftheBalticHarbourPorpoise(IDBHP)wascelebratedontheweekendofSunday,19May2013.Itwasthe11thtimethatthisspecialdayinhonourofthecriticallyendan-gerednativewhalespeciesof theBalticSeawasobservedarounditsshores.TheDayiscelebratedincountriesaround theBalticSeaeveryyearonthethirdSundayinMay.

Museums in Denmark, Finland and LithuaniashareddetailsoftheircampaignactivitieswiththeASCOBANSSecretariat.

In Denmark, a historical society interested inthepasttraditionofhuntingporpoiseswaswork-ingwiththeForsideMiddelfartMuseumandotherpartners to participate in the International Dayof theBalticHarbourPorpoise for thefirst time.

The town of Middelfart had a hunting traditiongoingbacktothemiddleages.Until1892,about30 hunters went out every winter in ten boatshuntingporpoisesinordertousetheirblubberforproducinglampoil.Nowadays,porpoisesarepro-tectedinDenmark,andthesocietyisusingthelo-caltraditionasawayofhighlightingtheneedtoprotectthespecies,whichnowhasmanythreatstocontendwith.Educationalactivities suchasacompetition for children, historic exhibition andwhalewatchingontheBeltattractedpublicinter-estinthesmallwhales.

TheSärkänniemi DolphinariuminFinlandpro-videdavarietyofinformationandactivitiescen-tring on the harbour porpoise for children andadultsalike.

The Lithuanian Sea Museum invited primaryclassstudentstogettoknowthelittlewhalesoftheBaltic Sea.Duringeducational talks the chil-

dren learned about theserare Baltic Sea inhabitantsanddiscussedwiththemu-seum’s biologists the envi-ronmental issues threat-ening the species’ survival.Duringacreativeworkshopparticipants jointlycreateda sculpture dedicated totheBalticharbourporpoise,tobeplacedintheentranceofthemuseum.

In order to recruit crea-tivemindsforthecauseofthe harbour porpoise, theASCOBANSSecretariatandits NGO partners, Whaleand Dolphin Conservation(WDC), NABU and Oce-anCare, have launchedthe creativity competition

Educational activities during ASCOBANS Roadshows

© Ana Berta García / ASCOBANS

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CMS Bulletin 4-5 2013

Species Campaignes

“Thelast300–WhatdoGermany’sNativeWhales Mean toYou?”Thecompetition is aimed at German-speaking countries. More informa-tiononthecanbeaccessedatwww.schweinswal.eu.

Amateurs and professionals arecalledupontoreflectthroughtheirartanddesignworkstheimportancetheyattachtotheseuniqueanimalsintheBalticSeain.Thecompetitionisopenuntil19October2013.

Related links:

Forside Middelfart Museum

Särkänniemi Dolphinarium

Lithuanian Sea Museum

Competition: The last 300 ■

Educational activities during ASCOBANS Roadshows

© Ana Berta García / ASCOBANS

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CMS Bulletin 4-5 2013

■ Meeting on Sahelo-Saharan Wildlife Acknowledges Role of CMS Duringameetingof theSahelo-Saharan InterestGroup (SSIG) inAgadir,Morocco,2-4May2013,theroleofCMSincatalyzingactionfortheconser-vation of the region’s antelopes was highlighted.AntelopesinthisregionincludetheAddaxandtheDamaGazelle,whichareonthebrinkofextinction,whiletheScimitar-HornedOryxisalreadyextinctinthewild.

Participantsdiscussedthewidespreadpoachingofgazellesintheregion.Inthepast,camelswerevictimsofpoaching,nowoverhuntingaffectsga-zelles.Organized gangs use motorbikes and 4x4vehiclesforhunting.Inaddition,babygazellesarecaptured for trade.Governments have organizedanti-poachingmeasurestostoptheslaughter.

Since1994CMShasbeenleadingamajorcon-certed action for Sahelo-Saharan Antelopes torestore populations of these herbivores.The cul-mination and conclusion was the designation oftheNatureReserveofTermittinToummainNiger,Africa’s largest protected area. Co-funding fromthe Fonds Français pour l’Environnement Mon-

dial(FFEM)andtheEuropeanUnion(EU)fortwolargeprojectshelped implement theActionPlan.TheAgence Française pour le DéveloppementhasgrantedfundingforphaseIII.

SSIG meetings provide an opportunity to ex-changeideasandtojoinforcestocontinuework-ing on behalf of Sahelo-Saharan wildlife andpeople.Presentationsanddiscussiongroupscoveranumberoftopics.Themeeting is facilitatedbytheSaharaConservationFund. ■

CMS Participation in Other Events

Bou Hedma National Park, Tunisia © A. Jebali

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CMS Bulletin 4-5 2013

■ First Draft Strategic Plan for Migratory Species 2015-2023 Released for Comments

ThefirstdraftoftheStrategicPlanforMigratorySpecies2015-2023,preparedbytheCMSParties’Inter-sessional Strategic PlanWorkingGroup, hasbeen released for comments to be submitted by30September2013.

The draft presents the proposed Goals andTargets,basedon theapproachused in theStra-tegicPlanforBiodiversity2011-2020anditsAichiBiodiversityTargets. Other chapters, such as theoneonimplementation,willbeelaboratedindetailforafutureroundofconsultation.

The Working Group agreed at its first meet-ingheld inNovember2012 that the future PlanwouldfocusonconservationissuesasaStrategicPlan for Migratory Species.The CMS conventiontextdefinesmigratoryspeciesasfollows:“Migrat-ory species means the entire population or anygeographicallyseparatepartofthepopulationofanyspeciesorlowertaxonofwildanimals,asig-nificant proportion of whose members cyclicallyandpredictablycrossoneormorenational juris-dictionalboundaries”.

ThePlanwillthereforeserveasaguidingframe-workforallofthoseworkingtowardstheconserv-ationofthesemigratoryspeciesandalsosupporttheentireCMSFamily.ThecurrentdrafttakesintoconsiderationCMSParties’andpartners’viewsonthe implementationof thecurrentStrategicPlan2006-2014aswellasideasonthecontentofthefuturePlan.

TherewillbefurtheropportunitiestocommentonthedifferentstagesofthePlanwhileitisbeingelaborated, and allCMS Parties and stakeholdersarehighlyencouragedtoengageearlyinthisim-portantexercisebycommentingonthisfirstdraft.

Thefinaldraftwillbepresentedtothe11thmeet-ingof theCMSConferenceof the Parties in late2014.

Viewsshouldbeemailedtocms@cms.int,

inesverleye@gmail.comandwjackson@doc.

govt.nz.ThedraftPlanisavailableinFrench,Spanishand

Englishatthisweblink:http://www.cms.int/bodies /StC/strategic_

plan_2015_2023_wg/strpln_wg_drafts.html ■

■ CMS Requests to IPBES

The Plenary of the Intergovernmental PlatformonBiodiversityandEcosystemServices(IPBES-1),heldinBonnfrom21to26January2013(seeBul-letinFebruary/March), requested itsMultidiscipli-naryExpertPanel(MEP)andBureautodevelopadraftprogrammeofworkfor2014-2018inordertoadvance thePlatform’s four functions (assess-ment, knowledge generation, policy support andcapacitybuilding)(DecisionIPBES1/2).

Pursuant to thisdecision, the IPBESSecretariatcalled for the submissionof requests, inputs andsuggestions on scientific and technical mattersthatrequirethePlatform’sattentionandcouldbeconsidered for theprogrammeofwork (DecisionIPBES1/3).

In response to this call, Prof. Alfred Oteng-Yeboah,Chair ofCMS StandingCommittee, whoalsochairedtheIPBESSession,submittedthefol-lowing six requests for scientific assessments toIPBESonbehalfofCMS,AEWA,andEUROBATS.1. The function of migratory species in ecosys-

tems2. Theeconomicsofecosystemservicesprovided

bymigratoryspecies3. Protected areas systems and the needs of

migratoryspecies

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CMS Bulletin 4-5 2013

4. Migratory species in areas beyond nationaljurisdiction

5. Migratoryspeciesandclimatechange6. Traditionalknowledgeandmigratorybirds

Assessmentbasedonanyofthesixproposalsareexpectedtohaveasignificantimpactonmakingthecaseformigratoryspeciesconservation,there-bycontributingtotheachievementoftheStrate-gicPlansofCMSanditsrelatedinstruments,and,morebroadly,totheStrategicPlanforBiodiversity2011-2020.Therequestsalsohighlighttheexper-tise that is available for addressing these issuesthroughtheCMSnetworkofspecialists.

TherelatedResolution10.8,adoptedatthe10thMeetingoftheConferenceofthePartiestoCMSin 2011, also invited IPBES to address these sci-ence-policylinkagesandhighlightedtheneedforassessments,policysupport,capacitybuildingandknowledgegenerationrelatingtotheconservationand sustainable use of migratory species of wildanimals.All requests submitted to the IPBES Secretariatareavailableonlineathttp://www.ipbes.net/in-

tersessional-process/comments-received.html. ■

■ The Republic of Fiji joins as 119th Party to CMS

TheRepublicofFijihasaccededas119thPartytotheConventionwitheffectfrom1April2013.

Fijicomprisesanarchipelagoofmorethan300islands,amountingtoatotallandareaofexceed-ing18,000squarekilometres.Themarinebiodiver-sityofFijiisveryrichanddiverse:dolphins,sharks,swordfish can be found in the surrounding seas.Around30speciesofseabirdsand22wadersmi-grate through thecountry. Inaddition, there isa

significantnumberofothermigratoryspeciessuchasturtles,sharksandwhales.

In 2006, Fiji signed the CMS Memorandum ofUnderstandingfortheConservationofCetaceansand their habitats in the Pacific Islands RegionundertheumbrellaofCMS.TheConventionwel-comesthecountry’scontributiontotheconserva-tionofmarineturtles,cetaceansandotherspeciessofar.

As a Party to theConvention, the Republic ofFijihas increasedCMSmembershipinthePacificregionandamongSmallIslandDevelopingStates(SIDS),whichplayakeyroleforthespecieslistedonbothCMSAppendices.

Withitsaccession,FijipavesthewayforCMS’sambitiousgoaltoaddressmorechallengesincon-serving sharks, whales, dolphins and porpoiseswhichinhabititswatersandthoseofneighboringstates.

SpeciessuchastheBlueWhale,theGreenTurtle,whichareclassifiedasendangered,mightreceiveadditional support in terms of conservation andmanagement.

Furthermore,theMonarchButterfly,seabirdsandothermarinemammalsinhabitinginFijiarelistedon both by CMS Appendices could significantlybenefitfromenhancedregionalco-operation. ■

■ Better Prospects for Migratory Species in the Arctic

CMS and theArcticCouncil’sWorkingGroup ontheConservationofArcticFloraandFauna(CAFF),havesignedaresolutionofcooperationtobetterintegrate efforts to protect and conserve Arcticmigratory species. Evgeny Syroechkovskiy, Chair-manoftheCAFFBoard,andCMSDeputyExecu-tiveSecretaryBertLentensignedthecooperationagreementon29April2013inBudapest,Hungary.

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CMS Bulletin 4-5 2013

News from the Secretariat

In the lightof significant stress factorsonArcticfauna,understandingbiodiversitychangesandre-sponsesisnecessarytoensuretheconservationofmigratoryspecies.TheArcticisanessentialbreed-ingandfeedingareaforhundredsofspeciesthatmigrateacrosstheregionandbeyond.

TheArctichostsasignificantarrayofbiodiver-sity, includingmigratoryspeciessuchastheBlueWhale, the Fin Whale, the Harbour Seal, sharkspeciesandbirdssuchastheRedKnot,whicharelistedontheCMSAppendices.

The objectives and activities of both CMS andCAFFcomplementoneanother.CMSprovidesanimportant global framework for conserving mi-gratoryspecies,whileCAFFcarriesoutimportantworkforbiodiversityandassessmentsintheArcticregion.Inthiscontext,CMSwelcomesthefindingsand policy recommendations of the new Arctic

Biodiversity Assessment releasedbyCAFFinMay.Mutualsharingofinformationanddataassess-

ments on migratory species between the CMSFamilyandCAFFisacrucialelementoftheJointWorkPlan2013-2015whichwasrecentlydevel-opedinthecontextoftheresolutionofcoopera-tion. ■

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CMS Bulletin 4-5 2013

News from the Secretariat

ImprintUNEP/CMSSecretariat secretariat@cms.int,www.cms.intHermann-Ehlers-Str.10,53113Bonn,Germany Responsibleeditor:VeronikaLenarzT.+49228815-2401/2,F.+49228815-2449 Design:KarinaWaedt

Date Event Venue

27-28May TechnicalWorkshoponPoisoningofMigratoryBirds Tunis,Tunisia

3rdQuarter InternationalSingleSpeciesActionPlanningWorkshop(EgyptianVulture) Bulgaria

26August ASCOBANS:3rdMeetingoftheNorthSeaGroup Warsaw,Poland

27-29August ASCOBANS:20thAdvisoryCommitteeMeeting Warsaw,Poland

9-12September SakerFalconTaskForce:StakeholdersWorkshop AbuDhabi,UAE

18-20September AEWA:9thStandingCommitteeMeeting Trondheim,Norway

9-10October CMSScientificCouncilStrategicandPlanningMeeting Gaeta,Italy

5-8November ACCOBAMS:5thMeetingoftheContractingParties Tangier,Morocco

October/November CMSStrategicPlanWorkingGroupMeeting(priortotheStC41) Bonn,Germany

25-26November StrategicPlanWorkingGroupMeeting Bonn,Germany

26November(aft) BudgetandFinanceSub-CommitteeMeeting Bonn,Germany

27-28November CMS:41stStandingCommitteeMeeting Bonn,Germany

■ CMS Family Meetings