New era for Central Asian migratory bird protection

The 14th Conference on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS COP14) has ended

UPDATE | 19 February 2024 - Over and done and a resounding success: Over the weekend, the 14th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS COP14), also known as the Bonn Convention, concluded in Uzbekistan. The conference marked a milestone for Central Asian bird conservation. In an international conservation agreement, the governments committed to securing the Central Asian Flyway in 30 countries. NABU and BirdLife International had strongly supported this initiative of India's at the conference.

Other species will also benefit from the results of the conference. Harbour porpoises are to be more strongly protected. This species has been added to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals. In this way, the CMS COP14 delivered a clear impulse to the political arena for the implementation of effective measures for harbour porpoise conservation.

12 February 2024 - The 14th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS COP14) started today in Uzbekistan. It's main goal is to provide important impulses for cross-border nature conservation. NABU and BirdLife International therefore support India's initiative to establish an international conservation program for the Central Asian Flyway, one of the most important migratory bird flyways in the world.

The Central Asian Flyway covers 30 countries from Siberia to West and South Asia and to the British Indian Ocean Territory, including Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. This migratory bird flyway is used by more than 600 species of migratory birds, including bar-headed geese, black-necked cranes and collared scoters.

India is working towards a joint conservation agreement between the countries involved and has presented an exemplary action plan.

At least 48 of these species are threatened worldwide and 40 percent are in decline. International cooperation and cross-border conservation efforts are therefore essential.

Thomas Tennhardt, NABU Director International

Flying, swimming, wandering

In addition to the protection of individual bird species such as the steppe eagle, bearded vulture and great bustard, mammals such as the saiga antelope are also at the centre of negotiations. After a dramatic population decline that led to the near extinction of the species, its population numbers have recovered thanks to intensive conservation measures. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has now categorised the saiga antelope, which was previously considered to be threatened with extinction, as potentially endangered. NABU has been committed to the conservation of the saiga antelope for many years and is a co-signatory of the CMS Saiga Declaration of Intent to protect the species.

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