“On the Move to 2010”- More Protection for Migratory Species through the Bonn Convention

Improved measures for the protection of migratory species were adopted by experts from more than 100 countries at the 8th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) in November 2005 in Nairobi. Through a listing on Appendix I of the CMS (also known as the Bonn Convention), eleven animal species will be added to those already given the highest level of protection, namely the gorilla, the short-beaked common dolphin in the Mediterranean, the Bukhara deer, six bird species including two petrel species (the egret and the Basra reed warbler), and also the Atlantic sturgeon and basking shark. However, a few countries are not bound by the listing of the basking shark as they have registered a “reservation”. A further 16 animal species were added to those listed on Appendix II, which has a less strict protective status; these include two further dolphin species in the Mediterranean, bats and further bird species. They all have one thing in common: problems of survival caused by modern Homo sapiens.

The most important aim of the CMS is the conservation of migratory species and their habitats beyond national borders. An integral part of this concerns international co-operation between countries with particular areas of species’ distribution working together to develop specialised regional agreements and MOUs (Memorandum of Understanding), such as those now in place for the West African elephant, the Saiga antelope, marine turtles and the Basra reed warbler.

A resolution was passed concerning the very topical problem of “bird flu”. Precautionary measures and alertness are almost the only weapons that can be used against the spread of this disease. “Nobody should forget that the millions of migratory birds are not the cause of avian flu; they are the victims,” says Jochen Flasbarth, leader of the German delegation and Head of Department for Conservation at the BMU (Federal Ministry for the Environment).

A further resolution – hotly debated and then adopted – will give better protection to whales, dolphins and harbour porpoises. The resolution was developed by Germany and proposed by the European Union and its member states. It includes developing work programmes to address such problems as fisheries and shipping, industry and pollution and calls upon member states to introduce measures against escalating climate change and environmental pollution, against underwater noise pollution and the often fatal ship strikes of whales. Such anthropogenic violations have considerable adverse effects on – and danger to – migratory species. As an example, each year in the North Sea the incidental capture of non-target species in fishing nets causes the death of almost 10,000 harbour porpoises; in the world’s oceans it is an estimated 650,000 marine mammals, more than half of which are whales, dolphins and seals.

Background

The 93 member states of the Bonn Convention are required to prohibit the deliberate killing, hunting, fishing and capturing of strictly protected animal species on Appendix I. In addition, the member states are obliged to preserve the habitats or, as the case may be, to restore them, removing any obstacles which might jeopardise migratory routes. The significance of the Bonn Convention lies in the fact that it meets important requirements for the survival of endangered species, and does not simply concentrate on certain aspects, such as regulating international trade, as is the case with CITES (Convention on Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora), or determining catch quotas, as with the IWC (International Whaling Commission).

More than 100 wild animal species can now rely on strict protection through their listing on Appendix I of the Bonn Convention, such as several large whales, dolphins, monk seals and manatees, bats, snow leopards, Grevy’s zebras and gorillas, turtles, North African antelope and gazelle species, and many bird species, e.g. flamingos, ducks, storks, white-tailed eagles and the Siberian white crane.

The Convention requires the establishment of “regional agreements” for the protection of Appendix II species, tailored to specific areas. The aim of these agreements is to better conserve and manage the survival of these species through cross-border co-operation in research and the protection of habitats, through public relations work and legislation. Appendix II species include the African elephant, European bats, several hundred bird species including several penguins, petrels and all albatrosses, the whale shark, several dolphins and harbour porpoises, seals and marine turtles.

In 1999, Germany succeeded in attaining an Appendix II listing for the endangered sturgeon. The CITES trade agreement, which was supposed to have controlled the trade in caviar since 1st April 1998, is not having the desired effect. The smuggling of “black gold” is flourishing. At least 80% of all caviar on the world market is illegal. These primeval fish are also suffering badly from the destruction of their habitats and, without comprehensive help, they have no chance of survival.

Agreements are already in existence for the protection of bats in Europe, for seals in the Wadden Sea, for small whales in the North and Baltic Seas (ASCOBANS) as well as for whales in the Mediterranean and Black Sea (ACCOBAMS), for marine turtles along the African Atlantic coast, for the Siberian crane and Bukhara deer in central Asia, as well as measures to protect albatrosses and petrels. These majestic seabirds are especially threatened in the Southern Hemisphere by longline fisheries. They swallow the bait intended for others, become entangled and drown miserably. A simple strategy of laying the lines under darkness would save so many seabirds from ending their lives as unintentional by-catch. Approximately 100,000 albatrosses and petrels die each year. The technology is available: the conversion of a fishing vessel would cost less than US$1,000. A new far-reaching resolution against the by-catch of non-target species (seabirds, marine turtles, marine mammals and fish) was adopted.

The most comprehensive agreement to date is the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement (AEWA), which came into force in 1999. The first meeting was held that year. The Agreement encompasses the highest number of range states and covers a geographical area of 60 million square kilometres and more than 170 species, such as storks, pelicans, flamingos and endangered ducks, which are dependent on undamaged wetlands. Migratory birds need protection not only in their breeding and over-wintering grounds but also in their resting places and on their migratory routes. The AEWA is viewed as an essential instrument for the survival of waterfowl. A study by the Max Planck Society has proved that over the past 30 years, 1% of migratory birds have become extinct each year. The progressive expansion of deserts and steppes in North Africa and the conversion of natural landscapes in the Near East and northern Mediterranean are destroying whole areas which are so important for the survival of migratory birds before their long flights through dry zones. Eventually this will lead to the extinction of many other species if conventions such as the CMS do not try to counteract the trend.

It was in 1974 that the German Federal Government undertook to develop the framework for the Convention on behalf of the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP). It dates back to a recommendation at the first Earth Summit (UN Conference on the Human Environment, Stockholm in 1972) and was signed by 29 states on 23rd June 1979. On 1st November 1983 it came into force under international law. In November 1984 a secretariat was established in Bonn under the name of UNEP/CMS.

Petra Deimer

(See also: “CMS – The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species Whales and Problems with Humans”)

see also CMS – The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species Whales and Problems with Humans

you will find more information at: www.cms.int