European Union

Highlights for Wednesday, 19 February 2020 © Kazakhstan/CADI Chair Akankwasah Barirega (Uganda) opened the Committee of the Whole (CoW) of the 13th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS COP13), followed by an update on progress from the Friends of the Chair Contact Group, the Budget Working Group, the Avian Species Working Group, Terrestrial Species Working Group, and the Aquatic Species Working Group. The CoW moved swiftly through a long list of agenda items related to the conservation of terrestrial species, as well as cross-cutting issues, including: the joint Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES)-African Carnivores Initiative, a collaborative initiative on the management of lion, leopard, cheetah, and wild dog populations across 27 range states, which many parties supported; the conservation of the African Wild Ass, with Ethiopia and Senegal noting the importance of engaging local communities in their conservation; the Central Asian Mammals Initiative (CAMI), supported by Mongolia, EU, UK, Switzerland, Uzbekistan, and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS); the application of Article III of the Convention, with the EU, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Norway, and CITES calling for an intersessional working group to clarify the nature and scale of the impact of international trade on the conservation status of CMS Appendix I-listed species before reconsidering this issue at COP14; the reservations with respect to Amendments to Appendices I and II of the Convention, with Israel highlighting that reservations undermine the goals and effectiveness of the Convention the review of the conservation status of migratory species, with the EU noting its deep concern that biological resource use is a significant threat facing migratory species; and the conservation implications of animal culture and social complexity, highlighting that a number of socially complex mammalian species, such as several species of cetaceans, great apes, and elephants, show evidence of having non-human culture and that highly social species face unique conservation challenges. In the evening, working groups established by the CoW reconvened. For more details on the day’s negotiations and to hear what delegates said in the corridors, see our daily Earth Negotiations Bulletin. IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage, daily reports, and producde a summary and analysis report from CMS COP13 which is now available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Sean Wu For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Plenary Local media continues their work on the third day of the conference Tom De Meulenaer, CITES Secretariat Mark Jones, Born Free Foundation Marco Pani, Conservation Force Alisher Yunusov, Uzbekistan Conference staff assisting a delegate with technology issue Shira Yashphe and Laurie Marker, Cheetah Conservation Fund A view of the dais Fanuel Kebede Gorfu, Ethiopia Stephen Garnett, CMS COP-appointed Scientific Councillor for Birds, speaking with Marco Barbieri, CMS Secretariat Amy Fraenkel, CMS Executive Secretary, CoW Chair Akankwasah Barirega, and members of the CMS Secretariat in discussions during the morning plenary Dao Nguyen and Jane Smart, IUCN Gina Giiselle Cuza Jones and Carlos Orrego, Costa Rica Ndeye Sene Thiam, Senegal Patricia Cremona, IUCN Kelly Malsch, UNEP-WCMC Around the Venue

Highlights for Tuesday, 18 February 2020 Photo by Amirhossein Khaleghi Hamidi/PWHF The Committee of the Whole (CoW) met throughout the day. On budget, the Secretariat reported to the CoW that despite the widespread acknowledgement that migratory species are at a critical crossroads, funding is sorely lacking, with arrears totally nearly €1 million and only 14% of the Programme of Work (PoW) funded. She lamented that this has detracted from the Secretariat’s work and prevented key staffing positions from being filled, leading to a “downward spiral”. Drawing attention to the fact that the Secretariat only received 14% of the budget required to implement the 2018-2020 Programme of Work, and was facing unprecedented levels of arrears, she urged parties pay their arrears and to make their annual contributions early if possible. She noted that: Scenario 1, which involves no increase to the 2018-2020 budget, would require cuts to certain CMS activities and services; Scenario 2 accounts for inflation in the budget and for staff development to strengthen Secretariat capacity; Scenario 3, a 12.71% increase, would allow for critical staffing increases; and Scenario 4, a 2.82% further increase, would enable the analysis of national reports, and production of a “State of the World's Migratory Species Report.” UK, Switzerland, Seychelles, and Bangladesh called for urgent action to stop the loss of migratory wildlife and their habitats, and for parties to be ambitious not only with regard to targets and work plans, but when discussing and deciding the budget. UK, supported by Switzerland, Israel, Australia and New Zealand supported the Secretariat's proposal, noting that there are few options available to ensure payment of dues, and that adequate and predictable funding is required for CMS to function properly. Brazil acknowledged the lack of funding and resulting “deficit of implementation,” but, supported by Argentina, Peru, and Costa Rica, objected to the addition of a clause that would restrict the activities of members in arrears for three years or more, noting that this would affect 20% of members and compromise conservation of migratory species. The CoW also discussed, among other topics: Illegal Killing, Taking and Trade of Migratory Birds Migratory Landbirds in the African Eurasian Region Prevention of Bird Poisoning Important Marine Mammals Areas Marine Noise; and Bycatch. In the evening, working groups established by the CoW met, including the Budget Committee and Avian, Terrestrial and Aquatic Working Groups. At a side event hosted by Toyota and the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, dignitaries discussed supporting implementation of the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework and the SDGs, and the role business can play in supporting conservation and the transition to a more sustainable world. For more details on the day’s negotiations and to hear what delegates said in the corridors, see our daily Earth Negotiations Bulletin. IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage, daily reports, and producde a summary and analysis report from CMS COP13 which is now available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Sean Wu For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Plenary Amy Fraenkel, CMS Executive Secretary A view of the dais Edgar Buhanga, Uganda Richard Thompson, United Kingdom Igor Barbosa, Brazil Simon Nemtzov, Israel Local media team at work CoW Chair Akankwasah Barirega, Uganda Reinhard Schnidrig, Switzerland Ariuntuya Dorjisuren, Mongolia CMS Secretariat consulting with Amy Fraenkel, CMS Executive Secretary and CoW Chair Akankwasah Barirega Narelle Montgomery, Australia Nicola Crockford, Birdlife International Delegates in an informal discussion during the afternoon plenary Jelena Uros, EU Sarat Gidda, Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Humbulani Mafumo, South Africa The Road Ahead: Toyota and the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ (L-R) Jane Smart, IUCN; Takao Aiba, Toyota Motor Corporation; Soumitra Dasgupta, India; Vivek Saxena, IUCN; and Amy Fraenkel, CMS Executive Secretary Amy Fraenkel, CMS Executive Secretary Jane Smart, IUCN Soumitra Dasgupta, India A view of the room during the side event Vivek Saxena, IUCN Takao Aiba, Toyota Motor Corporation