This month, the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) marked its 20th anniversary.
On this occasion, AEWA Executive Secretary Jacques Trouvilliez emphasized that through AEWA, the international community has built an effective tool to work together to conserve migratory waterbirds along their flyways.
June 2015: This month, the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) marked its 20th anniversary. On this occasion, AEWA Executive Secretary Jacques Trouvilliez emphasized that through AEWA, the international community has built an effective tool to work together to conserve migratory waterbirds along their flyways.
Also with regard to migratory species, the Secretariat of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) highlighted that on 20-21 May 2015, representatives of the Signatory States to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) concerning Conservation Measures for the Aquatic Warbler met with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and experts to assess the conservation status of the species and recommend priority actions to be undertaken by 2020. One of the recommendations calls for the conservation of the core breeding population of Aquatic Warblers in eastern Poland, Belarus and Ukraine, the countries that hold more than 95% of the global population.
The CMS Secretariat also announced that the German Government is contributing €500,000 towards the African Elephant Fund to address elephant poaching and trafficking of elephant products. It encourages parties and relevant organizations to propose projects that support elephant anti-poaching activities in Africa. This announcement preceded the destruction of confiscated ivory by the US and Chinese Governments, in Times Square, New York and in Beijing; events meant to raise public awareness of the impacts of illegal ivory trade.
Finally, the Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) announced that the CITES Trade Database, a comprehensive resource on international trade in species listed in the Appendices of CITES, has now exceeded 15 million records of trade. [UNEP Press Release on AEWA] [CMS News on Aquatic Warbler] [CMS Notification on Elephant Conservation Funding] [CITES Remarks on Destruction of Ivory in New York, US] [CITES remarks on Destruction of Ivory in Beijing, China]