Held from 28-29 September 2006, in Bonn, Germany, the 31st meeting of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) Standing Committee heard reports on the accession of new Parties to the Convention and on intersessional activities since November 2005, as well as reports from Committee members and observers.

It also discussed: issues regarding the 2010 biodiversity target; cooperation with other conventions; developments regarding the Scientific Task Force on Avian Influenza; and a work plan and priorities for 2007-2008 and beyond. According to IISD sources, the Committee identified as a top priority the development of new agreements regarding grassland birds of South America and cetaceans in the Eastern Atlantic. Amongst existing Agreements, it prioritized those protecting Saiga antelope, the Central Asian Flyway, and Gorillas in western, central and east Africa, western African turtles and elephants, and Pacific Island cetaceans. The meeting also discussed a high-level hunting party in Niger in September 2006, resulting in the presumed killing of a large number of protected animals. A closed session, reserved for Committee members, observer States and senior CMS Secretariat officers, agreed on the conditions for a possible merger of the Secretariat of the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic and North Seas (ASCOBANS) with the CMS Secretariat, changes to Secretariat manpower and organization, and a resolution regarding additional scientific councillors, approving the nominations of Zeb Hogan, Barry Baker and Alfred Oteng-Yeboah as Scientific Councillors for fish, by-catch and African fauna respectively. It was proposed that the next meeting of the Standing Committee would take place from 6-7 September 2007, while CMS COP-9 would convene from 9-21 November 2008. The meeting concluded by agreeing on a statement to support the new East Asia/Australasian flyway partnership.
Link to further information
Meeting documents