Highlights and images for 26 March 2026

A different kind of infrastructure from the roads and railways we are used to—invisible to the eye, yet highly well traveled—took center stage on Thursday during the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS). None other than flyways, these major airborne highways are the routes that generations of bird species follow to reach their feeding and breeding grounds, and resting spots along the way.

Want to dig deeper into today's talks? Read the full Earth Negotiations Bulletin daily report.

Spanning the globe, these paths are recognized as key ecological networks that require concerted efforts from Range States to safeguard the migratory flows. Delegates considered the development of a permanent flyways instrument under the Convention, although some cited concerns about duplication and fragmentation of efforts. Never straying too far from the Ocean, the Committee of the Whole (CoW) also addressed seabird and marine flyways—which some observers lamented have been overlooked until now.

The formulation of six global marine flyways across four ocean basins based on seabird tracking data was welcomed as “timely and ambitious.” Given the alignment of the associated resolution and decisions with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), the Samarkand Strategic Plan for Migratory Species 2024-2032, and the new Agreement on Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement), delegates welcomed “unprecedented opportunities for synergies in ocean governance.”

Throughout the day, the CoW considered in-session documents reflecting the wealth of discussions taking place in dedicated working groups on cross-cutting, avian, and aquatic matters. Many still require further evaluation, though the CoW was able to recommend several items for eventual adoption by the COP. Among others, these include matters on:

• the Single Species Action Plan (SSAP) for the Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean sub-population of the Tope Shark (Galeorhinus galeus);
• the Multi-species Action Plan (MsAP) for Amazonian Migratory Catfish;
• the prevention of illegal killing, taking and trade of migratory birds
• the MsAP for Bustards; and
• the Steppe Eagle (Aquila nipalensis) Global Action Plan.

Toward the end of the day, the CoW turned to its lengthiest agenda item: proposals to amend the CMS Appendices. Delegates reached agreement to forward several proposals to the COP for adoption, including the Gadfly Petrels (Pterodroma spp.), Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), Striped Hyena (Hyaena hyaena), and Giant Otter (Pteronura brasiliensis). They were unable to reach a decision on the proposal to remove the Bukhara Deer (Cervus elaphus yarkandensis) from Appendix I, and discussions will continue.

Deliberations continued into the evening to resolve outstanding matters in the working groups on aquatic, avian, terrestrial, and crosscutting issues.

The day also saw a new cooperating partner sign onto the Sharks Memorandum of Understanding (MOU): the Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change will now contribute to the MOU’s objective of strengthening international cooperation for the conservation of migratory sharks and rays.