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Introduction
and Perspective
Throughout history, migration of animals
has been a universal phenomenon. Many animals migrate in
response to biological requirements, such as the need to
find a suitable location for breeding and raising their
young, and to be in favourable areas for feeding. In some
cases, these specific requirements are fulfilled in locations
separated by distances of thousand of kilometres.
During their migration, these animals cross
political boundaries between nations; boundaries that have
no inherent meaning for animals, but which have a dramatic
influence on their annual life-cycles and their individual
survival chances, due to the great differences that exist
between countries in conservation policy. Migratory species
are dependent on the specific sites they find at the end
of their journey and along the way. Increasingly these sites
are threatened by man-made disturbances and habitat degradation.
Migratory animals may also fall victim to adverse natural
phenomena, such as unfavourable climatic conditions.
The above mentioned influences are aggravated
by the fact that it has long been held that migratory species
legally do not fall within the jurisdiction of one particular
country which could be held responsible for any harm occurring
to them.
1972 In 1972 the United
Nations Conference on the Human Environment, recognized
the need for countries to co-operate in the conservation
of animals that migrate across national boundaries or
between areas of national jurisdiction and the high seas.
This recommendation resulted in the Convention on the
Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals
1983 This Convention,
commonly referred to as the Bonn Convention, (after the
German city where it was concluded in 1979), came into
force in 1983. The goal of the Convention is to provide
conservation for migratory terrestrial, marine and avian
species over the whole of their range. This is very important,
because failure to conserve these species at any particular
stage of their life cycle could adversely affect any conservation
efforts elsewhere. The fundamental principle of the Bonn
Convention therefore, is that the Parties of the Bonn
Convention acknowledge the importance of migratory species
being conserved and of Range States agreeing to take action
to this end whenever possible and appropriate, paying
special attention to migratory species, the conservation
status of which is unfavourable, and taking individually
or in co-operation appropriate and necessary steps to
conserve such species and their habitat. Parties acknowledge
the need to take action to avoid any migratory species
becoming endangered. In particular, the Parties:
*shall endeavour to provide immediate
protection for migratory species included in Appendix
I;
*shall endeavour to conclude Agreements
covering the conservation and management of migratory
species included in Appendix II.
Agreements are the primary tools for the implementation
of the main goal of the Bonn Convention. Moreover, they
are more specific than the Convention itself, involve more
deliberately the Range States of the species to be conserved,
and are easier to put into practice than the whole Bonn
Convention.
A Brief Historical
Overview
The African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement
is an international agreement aiming at the conservation
of migratory waterbirds.
1988 After the first
Conference of Parties of the Bonn Convention, where it
was decided to prepare an Agreement for the Western Palearctic
Anatidae, in 1988 the Dutch Government began developing
a draft Western Palearctic Waterfowl Agreement as part
of its Western Palearctic Flyway conservation programme.
During the process of drafting and consultation, the name
of the Agreement was changed into the African-Eurasian
Waterbird Agreement (AEWA), emphasizing the importance
of Africa for migratory birds.
1994 The first consultative
meeting of Range States of AEWA was held in Nairobi in
June 1994. This meeting strongly supported the concluding
of AEWA, and consensus could be achieved on almost all
matters of substance.
1995 In June 1995 the
final negotiation meeting was held in The Hague. The Meeting
adopted the Agreement by consensus and accepted with appreciation
the offer of the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
to act as Depositary, to provide at its own expense until
1 January 1999, an Interim Secretariat and to host the
first session of the Meeting of the Parties. For more
information go to Agreement
page.
1996 The Dutch Government,
Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries,
established the Interim Secretariat on 1 January 1996.
On 15 August 1996, the Agreement was opened for signature
at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.
1999 In accordance with
Article XIV, in 1999 the required number of at least fourteen
Range States, comprising at least seven from Africa and
seven from Eurasian, was achieved and the Agreement entered
into force on 1 November 1999. Only a few days later the
first Session of the Meeting of the Parties (MOP1) took
place in Cape Town, South Africa. The Meeting of the Parties
is the governing body of the Agreement. For more information
on this Meeting you are referred to the Meetings
section.
2000 As adopted by the
Meeting of the Parties, a permanent Secretariat was established
and co-located with the Convention Secretariat in Bonn.
Following the decision of the Meeting of the Parties,
this Secretariat is administered by UNEP.
2002 The second Session
of the Meeting of the Parties took place from 25 - 27
September 2002 in Bonn, Germany. The Proceedings of the
Meeting can be
downloaded here.
2005 The African-Eurasian
Waterbird Agreement, which was concluded under the aegis
of the Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals
in The Hague, the Netherlands, on 16 June 1995 celebrated
its 10th Anniversary. For more information please
visit the news
section on the AEWA website.
2005 To mark the 10th
anniversary of the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian
Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) the Standing Committee of
AEWA has established the AEWA
Waterbird Conservation Award in order to
recognise and honour institutions and individuals within
the Agreement area that have significantly contributed
towards the conservation and sustainable use of waterbirds.
2005 The third Session
of the Meeting of the Parties took place from 23-27 October
2005, in Dakar, Senegal. For more information please visit
the meetings
section on the AEWA website.
2006 AEWA, together
with the Convention on Migratory Species ( CMS)
and other partner organizations, launched the first World
Migratory Bird Day ( WMBD)
on the weekend of 8/9 April 2006.
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