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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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CMS COP-8 Concludes Successfully
On Friday, 25 November, at the eighth Conference of the Parties (COP-8)
to the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), the Committee of the Whole
(COW) convened in the morning to endorse outstanding resolutions and
recommendations. Delegates met in plenary to consider the possible
listing of the Gorilla on Appendix II, principles for the expansion of
agreements, and the 2010 target. The plenary also adopted outstanding
resolutions and recommendations, and heard closing statements about the
successful outcome of COP-8. Chair Patrick van Klaveren declared the
meeting closed at 5.29 pm. Above: CMS Executive Secretary Robert
Hepworth gave Vice-Chair Rolph Payet, Seychelles, and Chair van Klaveren
bottles of Danzig Goldwasser liqueur from Germany in appreciation for
their work.
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Friday, 25 November
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Morning Session
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Ian McLean, UK, reported that after coordination between its members,
the European Union supported a proposed resolution on marine turtles.
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Marco Barbieri, CMS Secretariat, introduced changes to the resolution
on human-induced impacts on cetaceans.
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Oliver Schall, Germany, informed participants that New Zealand requested to
be included among the sponsoring countries of the resolution on impacts
on cetaceans.
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Kenya announced that Chad, with Senegal as alternate, would represent
francophone Africa on the Standing Committee, while Tanzania, with Ghana
as alternate, would represent anglophone Africa.
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Norway highlighted the difficulty for the Convention to initiate an
instrument on the Gorilla, and suggested it would be more appropriate to
contribute to international actions.
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Scientific Council Chair Colin Galbraith said conservation of the Gorilla
has been viewed as a one of the highest priorities, as demonstrated by
their listing in Appendix I and the GRASP partnership.
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Press Conference
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During a midday press conference, above, the CMS Secretariat explained
the legal and practical implications of Appendix I and II listings, and
outlined actions undertaken with a focus on Africa. Wetlands
International and Birdlife International stressed the crucial role that
CMS can play in the debate on avian influenza, saying CMS should feed
ecological knowledge into the FAO- and WHO-dominated discussions.
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Afternoon Plenary
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Argentina proposed revised text on cooperation between CMS and the UN
Convention on the Law of the Sea.
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Germany noted that nearly 85% of contributions come from EU member
states, and CMS expenditures are also in Euros, while no parties to
the conference belong to the US Dollar region.
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Martin Brasher, UK, noted that its Minister for Biodiversity, Jim Knight,
had announced a contribution of 100,000 pounds to support conservation of
birds of prey in the African-Eurasian region.
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EUROBATS Executive Secretary Andreas Streit announced that the first
conference on bats in Africa will take place next year with external
funding, and thanked African parties for their interest in the subject.
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Shafqat Kakakhel, UNEP Deputy Executive Director, congratulated COP-8
for a highly successful meeting, highlighting in particular the
decisions on budget, strategic plan and climate change.
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ACCOBAMS asked for their involvement to be noted in the report.
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Standing Committee
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After the close of the COP, the newly elected members of the Standing
Committee held their first meeting.
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