Summary of WDCS's time at the Conference on Migratory Species (part 1)

I recently learned about “clearing house’ blog, where you include links to all of your other articles on a given subject…and thought it a perfect thing for something as complex as a the Conference on Migratory Species (CMS). The CMS aims to conserve terrestrial, aquatic and avian migratory species throughout their range – that alone is a huge task. However, that task grows when you consider that 116 member countries have to work together. So what follows is a summary of the first few blogs from our CMS team, the links will take you to the actual in depth blog where you can read more.

This year’s CMS was in Bergen, Norway where sunshine was rare and official papers and badges got stopped by customs. On the agenda is a draft global
work plan for cetaceans, which will hopefully ensure enhanced action on all
species of cetacean currently listed on Appendix I and II of CMS. Appendix I
are endangered species and Appendix II are species with unfavorable conservation status, they include approximately 40 of the 86 species currently recognized by CMS. Other important draft resolutions up for consideration that directly affecting cetaceans concern marine debris, fisheries bycatch, and marine noise.

WDCS attended CMS’s Scientific Council meeting where our Director of Science, Mark Simmonds, tell about the importance of CMS. The primary and most important mechanism CMS uses to help all species is independent regional agreements that relevant countries join. For the whales and dolphins CMS has established one regional agreement for the North Atlantic (ASCOBANS) and another for the Mediterranean and Black seas and contiguous Atlantic area (ACCOBAMS). There is also a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for cetaceans off West Africa and another for cetaceans in the vast Pacific Ocean.

After the Scientific Council, begins the Conference of Parties (COP ) which takes place every three years. This year’s grand opening ceremony was wonderful, full of inspiring words. Words like: wildlife belongs to all of us
and we belong to it and we are allowing erosion of biodiversity at a time when our dependence on biological services and diversity is increasing rapidly. The opening ceremony speeches also highlighted successes (the recovering Saiga Antelope in Russia), the importance of not only working together, but also working with other multilateral conventions and treaties (like CITIES), and the importance of single decisions like Tanzania’s recent decision not to build a road through the migratory route of many wild animals across the Serengeti. All of this is necessary to restore the ecological infrastructure on the planet. It is not so strong now, but will be important for adaptation to climate change.

In this grand opening it is pointed out that it is no coincidence it is being held in Bergen, the most international place in Norway. And Norway is built on migratory species. People followed reindeer, and then moved from southern France, once they discovered the migratory salmon (once common and huge). And still today Norwegians take their migratory species seriously. The most popular song in Norway is about migratory birds. To me, the most inspiring speech relayed by our CMS COP team in this grand opening blog was the idea that we need people to understand the beauty of nature and not impair it with jargon. We need people to understand the ecosystems argument - destroying one species can have enormous impacts on the rest, and the economic argument – healthy species population have economic potential and not just for tourism. The environment is most important thing; it is holy, our life, our home, our food, we are part of it.

So this is just a summary of the first few blogs from our CMS COP team. The best is yet to come….