31 March 2015: The Secretariat of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) has announced that this year’s theme for World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) will be ‘Energy – make it bird-friendly!’ It will “highlight the importance of deploying energy technologies in a way that prevents, minimizes and mitigates impacts on migratory birds and their habitats.”

CMS has also reported on the second meeting of the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to the Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Birds of Prey in African and Eurasia (Raptors MoU), which brought together in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, twenty specialists to develop conservation responses to threats to migratory birds of prey. The TAG developed a series of recommendations, such as measures to conserve vultures, including plans for a ‘Year of the Vultures’ campaign.

CMS also announced that Iran has become the 51st country to join the Raptors MoU, which came into effect in the country on 1 April 2015. Iran may be one of the last remaining strongholds for the rapidly declining and endangered Egyptian Vulture.

On another avian-related issue, CMS announced a new project on the Siberian crane, funded under the CMS Small Grants Programme. The Siberian crane, subject to an international MoU designed to promote cooperation amongst signatories, relies on the Central Asian Flyway. The project titled ‘Safe Flyways: Monitoring threatened waterbirds along the Central Asian site network’ will be undertaken by the Kazakhstani conservation NGO Naurzum, with the goal of improving monitoring activities on cranes and other important waterbird species in the Central Asian Flyway.

Finally, CMS has also reported that the members of the CMS Strategic Plan Implementation Working Group (SPIWG) have been appointed. [Press Release on World Migratory Bird Day] [Press Release on Second Meeting of Raptors MoU TAG] [Press Release on Iran] [Press Release on Safe Flyways: New Project] [Press Release on Appointment of SPIWG]