1 July 2011: Burundi has acceded as the 116th party to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS). Announcing the accession, the CMS Secretariat anticipated joint efforts between CMS and Burundi to protect the country’s unique migratory waterbirds through signature of the Agreement on African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA).

Burundi’s varied topography, climate and soil harbor a large number of flora and fauna, according to the CMS Secretariat. Its Lake Tanganyika, the second deepest lake in the world, contains more than 300 species of fish, of which 90 percent are endemic. Burundi also possesses extensive wetlands, and mountain rainforest home to a rich variety of species including monkeys, butterflies and birds. Deforestation, soil erosion and habitat loss are the anthropogenic factors that contribute most to biodiversity loss. Currently there are a total of 13 protected areas that cover approximately 5 percent of the country. The Rusizi delta and northern shore of Lake Tanganyika is designated as a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention.

Burundi is already a signatory to the Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) concerning the Conservation of Migratory Birds of Prey in Africa and Eurasia, and to the African Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. It has ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). [CMS Press Release]