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This joint session, held by the Secretariats of the CMS and CITES Conventions, presented ways in which the two organizations are coordinating their work.
David Morgan, CITES, introduced some of the shared features of CITES and CMS, underscoring that the common currency between the two was species. Melanie Virtue, CMS, outlined the six primary species groups that both conventions cover: migratory birds; terrestrial mammals; marine mammals; marine turtles; fish; and insects.
Morgan drew attention to the Joint Work Programme (JWP) between the two Conventions that was adopted at the 39th Meeting of the CMS Standing Committee on 19 November 2011. He outlined that the JWP included: harmonization of taxonomy and nomenclature; administrative and fundraising cooperation; outreach and capacity-building activities; and joint actions for the conservation and sustainable use of shared species.
On their work on shared species, Virtue and Morgan detailed some of the achievements on sharks, the Saiga antelope, African elephants and gorillas. They noted that these activities included: species listing on the respective Appendices I and II of each Convention; joint agreements and Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs); and co-convened meetings and workshops.
In addition to the species-specific work, Morgan outlined overall achievements made by the two Conventions including: improved conservation outcomes; reduced costs; and improved coordination at an international level, underscoring the development of the InforMEA web portal.
Looking to the future, 2012-14, Morgan and Virtue described plans for fundraising to implement joint projects, outreach and capacity building. They further proposed co-representation at future meetings to save on staffing costs and to reduce their environmental footprints. Morgan finished by questioning how to improve work at the national level, including through articulating conservation policy between different authorities within partner countries.
Participants discussed how Parties could become more engaged with the CITES and CMS processes. |
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This side event provided an overview of the conservation activities addressing migratory species in the North America region.
Bert Lenten, CMS Deputy Executive Secretary, introduced the side event, noting that North America is an important region for the CMS Secretariat. He stressed that having a North America Focal Point will increase CMS’ involvement and raise its profile in the many activities taking place.
Monika Thiele, CMS North America Focal Point, said that having the focal point based in Washington D.C. promotes international cooperation, increases opportunities for international funding and better communicates CMS activities. She noted CMS priorities and actions in the region, underscoring work on carrying out baseline assessments on existing special initiatives and developing partnerships and networks for CMS.
Herb Raffaele, US Fish and Wildlife Service, outlined the Western Hemisphere Migratory Species Initiative (WHMSI), with which CMS has a MoU. He said that WHMSI: seeks to significantly contribute to migratory species’ conservation through building capacity and encouraging exchange of ideas and information; it has universal membership; and its terms of reference are accepted in principle to avoid “red tape.”
Shannon Dionne, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), said the NOAA-CMS letter of cooperation aims to facilitate collaboration between CMS and NOAA on conserving and managing migratory species and their habitats in ways that are consistent with the goals of both NOAA and CMS. She noted that the current cooperation letter expires in December 2012, that a new letter of cooperation is due to be drafted and could include an associated action plan.
Sonja Fordham, Shark Advocates International, lamented that threats to sharks include being prized for their meat, fins, liver oil and hides, as well as their teeth. She said that there is a data deficiency, which limits the ability to effectively manage their populations. Outlining the MoU on the Conservation of Migratory Sharks, she said that it has 17 signatories and that steps are being taken to list the giant manta ray. She lauded the US for their efforts in shark conservation, highlighting steps such as the proposal to ban finning at the 14th Special Meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) held in November 2004. She noted that although the US is not a party to the CMS it has still made a significant contribution to the work of the Convention.
In the ensuing discussion, participants highlighted possible collaborations with CMS, US interests in Shark MoUs, ecotourism and regional fisheries management organizations. |
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Coverage of Selected Side Events at the Tenth Conference of the Parties (COP 10) of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS)
