20 May 2012: Delegates at the fifth Meeting of the Parties (MOP 5) to the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) discussed, among other things: implementation of the Agreement and Action Plan; international reviews; the International Implementation Tasks 2009-2016; the African-Eurasian Flyways Global Environment Facility (GEF) Project; and implementation and revision of the communication strategy.MOP 5 met from 14-18 May 2012, in La Rochelle, France. Participants also discussed the Plan of Action for the Implementation of AEWA in Africa (2012-2017); proposals for amendments to the Agreement’s Action Plan; and international Single Species Action Plans and Species Action Plans.

The meeting concluded with the adoption of 27 resolutions. Among the meeting’s main achievements was the adoption of a budget that will allow the Secretariat to maintain its current level of staff and activities. In addition, the African Initiative will benefit from additional technical assistance through the provision of a funded, France-based technical coordinator, who will work directly with African subregional coordinators.

Other recommendations include: calls for greater use of the Wings Over Wetlands (WOW) UN Environment Project (UNEP)-GEF Africa-Eurasian Flyways Project outputs; a request for the Secretariat to revise the Communication Strategy and support by actors at all levels of its implementation and revision; adoption of the Plan of Action for the Implementation of the African Initiative; and adoption of the the newly developed conservation guidelines for mitigating/avoiding the conflict between migratory birds and electricity power grids, and for the translocation of waterbirds for conservation purposes, and revised versions of the previously adopted conservation guidelines on identifying and tackling emergency situations for migratory waterbirds, regulating trade in migratory waterbirds and avoidance of introductions of non-native waterbird species.

In its resolution on renewable energy and migratory waterbirds, the MOP, among other things, calls on Parties to develop and strengthen national renewable energy planning and development to include monitoring in order to avoid and minimize adverse effects of renewable energy installations, including for biofuels, on waterbirds. In its resolution on climate change adaptation measures for waterbirds, the MOP, among other things, encourages Parties to: complete the identification of relevant areas and build national networks of protected areas and other adequately managed areas; undertake national assessments of the resilience of these sites both individually and collectively; and to report such assessments to future MOPs.

Delegates also adopted a resolution on the Aichi biodiversity targets that, inter alia, requests that the AEWA and CMS Secretariats work together with the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Secretariat to ensure that information on the status of migratory waterbirds are fully included in future CBD assessments against the Aichi targets and to report progress to MOP 6. MOP 6 is expected to take place in 2015.

The AEWA is an agreement under the auspices of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS). [IISD RS coverage of AEWA MOP 5]