March 2014: The Secretariat of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) has released the second draft of the Strategic Plan for Migratory Species 2015-2023. Prepared by the CMS Parties’ Inter-sessional Strategic Plan Working Group, it has now been released for comments, which are due by 30 June 2014.

This draft incorporates the comments received on the first draft Strategic Plan. It is divided into four chapters on: rationale; vision and mission; strategic goals and targets; and enabling conditions for implementation. The proposed goals and targets for migratory species are based on the Aichi Biodiversity Targets in the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, adapted for migratory species purposes.

The process of developing this draft Strategic Plan started in 2012, through the gathering of stakeholders’ initial views and the preparation of background reports on lessons learned from the implementation of the current Strategic Plan 2006-2014. The Working Group has met twice (in November 2012 and November 2013), and written contributions have also been received from CMS Parties and partners in a first round of consultation undertaken in 2013.

The Strategic Plan, once finalized, will be the guiding framework for all work supporting the conservation of migratory species and support the entire CMS family of instruments. The implementation of the Plan might be supported through future development of a technical Companion Volume on Implementation. A final draft Strategic Plan will be presented to the 11th meeting of the CMS Conference of the Parties (CMS COP 11) in November 2014. [CMS News] [Publication: The Strategic Plan for Migratory Species 2015-2023]