The African Regional Preparatory Meeting for the 8th Session of the Meeting of the Parties to AEWA (Pre-MOP8) took place from 4-7 July 2022. Due to COVID-19 restrictions still in place, the meeting was held in a virtual format.

The AEWA African Pre-MOP8 provided an important opportunity for the AEWA Contracting Parties in Africa to deliberate on the key issues related to migratory waterbird conservation which will be addressed at the 8th Session of the AEWA Meeting of Parties (MOP8) and, in this regard, review relevant documents to be submitted to MOP8. The AEWA MOP8 is scheduled for 26-30 September 2022 in Budapest, Hungary.

The AEWA African National Focal Points also had the chance to identify and discuss issues of common interest for the region ahead of the AEWA MOP8, propose and prepare documents for submission to MOP8 and strengthen collaboration amongst each other as well as enhance their negotiation skills.

The AEWA African Pre-MOP8 was made possible thanks to a generous financial contribution from the Governments of Switzerland (through the Federal Office for the Environment) and Germany (through the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection).