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Eighth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties
to the Convention on Migratory Species
of Wild Animals
UNEP Headquarters Gigiri, Nairobi, Kenya | 20-25 November 2005
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MOU on West African Elephants Signed at CMS COP-8
On Tuesday, 22 November, delegates to the eighth Conference of the
Parties (COP-8) to the Convention on Migratory
Species (CMS) met in plenary in the morning to address the strategic
plan and budget, and in the afternoon for the signing ceremony of the
West African Elephant Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The Committee
of the Whole (COW) met in the
morning to consider party reports and the CMS information management
plan (IMP), and in the afternoon to address measures for the
conservation of Appendix I and II species, and recommendations and
resolutions submitted by parties. Working groups on sustainable use, the
new strategic plan and the budget met in the afternoon. Above: Wearing a
delightful elephant print shirt, Holly Dublin, IUCN, signed the
West African Elephant MOU, while other signers looked on.
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Tuesday, 22 November
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Plenary
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Sustainable Use Working Group Chair Ian McLean, UK, reported on the
outcomes of the Working Group.
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Strategic Plan Working Group Chair Olivier Biber, Switzerland, introduced
the resolution on the new 2006-2011 strategic plan, emphasizing the
role of parties, MOUs and Agreements in the plan's implementation.
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CMS Executive Secretary Robert Hepworth introduced an overview of the
outcome of the 2003-2005 budget, noting that due to the US dollar
devaluation, reserves were used to deliver programmes agreed to at
COP-7.
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In the afternoon plenary, the MOU on a strategy for the conservation of
West African elephants was signed by Robert Hepworth for CMS, 12 Range
States (Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte D'Ivoire, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea
Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Togo), and Holly
Dublin for IUCN.
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Committee of the Whole
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Michael Donoghue, New Zealand, suggested language including the
International Whaling Commission (IWC) among the organizations
working on by-catch.
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Nigeria called for intersessional regional meetings to finalize party
reports.
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Tapan Kumar Dey, Bangladesh, called for integrating updated species
information into the CMS Information Management System.
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On Appendix II species, Marie-Christine Van Klaveren, ACCOBAMS,
noted that when a party is covered by two agreements, the CMS
Secretariat should act as an intermediary.
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Sadegh Sadeghi Zadegan, International Crane Foundation, presented the
Siberian Crane Wetland project.
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Antonio Manila, the Philippines, called for a MOU on migratory sharks.
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Ndeye Sene Thiam, Senegal, stressed time constraints in organizing the
Year of the Sea Turtle in 2006.
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Luis Alberto Amarilla, Paraguay, proposed a recommendation on the
conservation of grassland birds in South America.
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Rosario Acero Villanes, Peru, proposed a recommendation on the
conservation of Andean flamingos.
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Working Group on Budget
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The working group on budget, chaired by Véronique Herrenschmidt,
France, met in the afternoon. Delegates agreed to the Chair's proposal
of considering a new budget proposal, taking into account scenarios of
no increase in the total expenditure incurred and maintenance of the
outputs generated during 2003-2005, and adding a new column reflecting
savings measures. The working group will resume on Wednesday.
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Side Events
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UNEP's Division of Environmental Conventions presented a lunchtime side
event on Issue-Based Modules for the Coherent Implementation of
Biodiversity-Related Conventions.
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UNEP/Regional Seas and the CMS Secretariat presented a side event
launching the Review of Small Cetaceans, as part of their joint work
to conserve marine mammals.
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Around COP-8
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Left: Delegates review documents in the corridors.
Right: Delegations signal their desire to participate in the Working
Group on Budget.
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