25 June 2013
Central Asian Countries Adopt CMS Action Plan on Migratory Species and Impacts of Mining
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Representatives from Germany, Monolgia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan met on the island of Vilm, Germany to adopt an action plan to protect migratory species such as saiga antelopes, wild camels, Mongolian gazelles and Asiatic wild ass from mining infrastructure development in Central Asia.

CMS24 June 2013: Representatives from Germany, Mongolia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan met on the island of Vilm, Germany, to adopt an action plan to protect migratory species such as Saiga antelopes, wild camels, Mongolian gazelles and Asiatic wild ass from mining infrastructure development in Central Asia.

The Action Plan, adopted under the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), in the words of CMS Executive Secretary Bradnee Chambers, seeks to combine the use of natural resources with the conservation of Central Asia’s largest intact and interconnected steppe and grassland ecosystems. Legal and illegal mining as well as large-scale infrastructure projects, particularly in Mongolia and Kazakhstan, can negatively affect species, as they limit the migrations of ungulates and other wildlife.

According to CMS Recommendation 9.1. on “Central Eurasian Aridland Mammals” and CMS Resolution 10.3. on “The Role of Ecological Networks in the Conservation of Migratory Species,” the CMS mandate is to coordinate activities to conserve this unique ecological network in the Central Asian steppes.

The conference was organized by CMS, the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, the Mongolian Ministry of Environment and Green Development and the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN). [CMS Press Release on Action Plan] [CMS Press Release on Launch of Saiga Resource Center] [Saiga Resource Center]