5 December 2008: The ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP9) to the Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), held from 1-5 December 2008, in Rome, Italy, adopted a resolution on the impacts of climate change on migratory species.

In
the resolution, the COP urges parties: not to delay decision making and action,
despite the remaining uncertainty surrounding the full scale of the impacts of
climate change on migratory species; to identify which migratory species are
most likely to be directly or indirectly threatened or impacted by climate
change, or climate change mitigation or adaptation activities; to foster and
promote capacity building to implement conservation action on migratory species
threatened by climate change; and to support increased capacity in the
Secretariat to effectively address climate change issues.
The COP also recommended
that parties design and implement adaptation strategies for migratory species,
and requested parties and the Secretariat to coordinate the incorporation of
climate change impacts and relevant adaptation measures into species-specific
action plans. [IISD RS Coverage of the Meeting] [CMS Press Release] [CMS COP9
Website]