5 November 2012: The Working Group on the Convention for the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) Family Manual met to review progress made in developing the capacity building tools of CMS instruments.

The Group met from 1-2 November 2012, in Bonn, Germany, and discussed the draft CMS Family Manual and draft concept on the CMS Family National Focal Point (NFP) E-Community Platform. The CMS Family Manual is expected to guide the CMS Family National Focal Points in contributing more effectively to the implementation of CMS Family instruments. The Platform will support implementation through an online community of practice, facilitating the daily work of NFPs.

Based on this meeting, the CMS Secretariat notes, capacity building tools will be further refined and finalized by the end of February 2013.

This initiative is part of the joint activities implemented under the project title, “Effective Implementation of CMS, African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) and Other CMS Family Instruments across Various Regions and Languages through Capacity Building the Period 2012-2014”. It is funded by the Thematic Programme for Environment and Sustainable Management of Natural Resources including Energy (ENRTP) Strategic Cooperation Agreement (SCA) between the European Commission – Directorate General Environment and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). [CMS Press Release]