- Other measures were adopted to safeguard species such as the chimpanzee and giraffe.
- Resolutions, decisions and concerted actions were adopted on over 100 distinct topics by representatives of the treaty’s 133 member states.
A host of new measures to safeguard migratory species were adopted at the 14th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS).
The meeting ended on Saturday in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
Among the measures agreed upon was the addition of 14 species to the coverage of the convention, including the Eurasian lynx, Pallas’s cat, and the sand tiger shark.
Other measures were adopted to safeguard species such as the chimpanzee and giraffe.
Resolutions, decisions and concerted actions were adopted on over 100 distinct topics by representatives of the treaty’s 133 member states.
After nearly two decades of inconclusive negotiations, agreement was also reached on a Central Asian Flyway spanning 30 range states of migratory birds.
The adopted initiative includes the establishment of a coordinating unit in India with financial support from the government.
The week-long UN wildlife conservation conference, the first-ever United Nations COP held in Central Asia, was opened by Uzbekistan’s Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov on February 12.
“COP14 in Samarkand represents a milestone. With the scientific backing of the first-ever State of the World’s Migratory Species report launched at the start of the COP, we must now implement CMS mandates. The ambitious goals set at COP14, coupled with the new Samarkand Strategic Plan for Migratory Species, offer us a clear roadmap for action,” CMS executive secretary Amy Fraenkel said.
Some of the key outcomes of COP14 include the strengthened resolution on climate change, the endorsement of the report on climate change on migratory wildlife, and strengthened measures to address the illegal and unsustainable taking of migratory species.
Others include actions to advance ecological connectivity, new global guidelines to address the impacts of light pollution on migratory species, and recommendations on addressing linear infrastructure development and impact assessment.
A new scientific report, "Insect Decline and its Threat to Migratory Insectivorous Animal Populations," was adopted, along with a call for the CMS Scientific Council to develop new guidelines.
During the meeting, a new decision on wildlife health encouraging CMS parties to implement the recommendations of the scientific report ‘Migratory Species and Health: A Review of Migration and Wildlife Disease Dynamics, and the Health of Migratory Species, was adopted within the context of One Health also endorsed by the COP.
The COP14 also made amendments to CMS Appendices to include fourteen additional species in need of international conservation, such as the Eurasian Lynx, the Pallas’s Cat, the Sand Tiger Shark, and the Magellanic Plover.
A new concerted action was proposed as a priority conservation measure for six species, including the chimpanzee, the straw-colored fruit bat, and the blue shark, and an extension of existing concerted actions for nine species, such as the giraffe, the Atlantic humpback dolphin, and the antipodean albatross.
On migratory aquatic species, a new mandate on addressing the impacts of deep-seabed mineral exploitation on migratory species, their prey, and their ecosystems was adopted, as well as a strengthened mandate on tackling bycatch and aquatic wild meat, a global concern for small cetaceans, sharks, marine turtles, and seabirds.
Three new action plans for aquatic species—the Atlantic Humpback Dolphin, the Hawksbill Turtle, and the Angelshark were arrived at.
One of the key outcomes for migratory birds was an agreement on an Initiative for the Central Asian Flyway, which spans 30 Range States, after nearly two decades of inconclusive negotiations.
The adopted initiative includes the establishment of a coordinating unit in India with financial support from the government.
A new approach to global flyway coordination under the CMS umbrella for CMS and non-CMS parties and partners was also agreed upon.
Parties also agreed for the expansion and reinforcement of the prevention of illegal killing, taking, and trade of migratory birds, with a call for strengthening the recently created Asia-Pacific Intergovernmental Task Force and an agreement on the launch of a new Task Force in Southwest Asia based on the successful model of the Task Force in the Mediterranean region.
In a direct and immediate response to some of the key recommendations from the flagship CMS report, "The State of the World’s Migratory Species," a new Global Partnership on Ecological Connectivity (GPEC) was launched during a special event of COP14.