18 September 2008: Climate change is a major threat to
migratory waterbirds and international cooperation is required to reduce the
many pressures they face, according to a new report launched at the fourth
Meeting of the Parties (MOP) to the Agreement on the Conservation of
African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA), taking place from 15-19 September
2008, in Antananarivo, Madagascar.

The report was authored by Ilya M.D.
Maclean, Mark M. Rehfisch and Robert A. Robinson of the British Trust for
Ornithology, and Simon Delany of Wetlands International, and published by the
AEWA Secretariat as part of its Popular Series. According to the report, of 235
species of migratory waterbirds protected in Europe and Africa under AEWA, all
except one are experiencing some threat from climate change. Nine species face
severe threats that could cause extinction. AEWA is an agreement developed
under the auspices of the UNEP Convention on Migratory Species (CMS). [The
report] [UNEP
Press Release] [IISD RS
coverage of AEWA MOP-4]