Bonn, 18 May 2016 - Article III, paragraph 2 (c) of the Agreement requires Parties to AEWA to encourage the protection, management, rehabilitation and restoration of sites and habitats for migratory waterbirds, occurring within their territory.

More specifically, Paragraph 3.2.1 of the AEWA Action Plan, requires Parties to endeavour to continue establishing protected areas to conserve habitats important for the populations listed in Table 1 of the Action Plan, and to develop and implement management plans for these areas. These guidelines set forth the basic procedures for the design and implementation of management plans, with special reference to sites of importance for migratory waterbirds.

The present guidelines include a detailed summary of procedures for the development of site management plans. Presenting eight major steps, the reader is given an overview of the most important actions which should be taken by each country to manage the key sites for migratory waterbirds. These include, for example, the prioritisation of sites in need of urgent management and the assessment of the type of management required or the implementation of the management plan itself.

So far, a series of twelve Conservation Guidelines has been developed to assist Parties to AEWA with the implementation of the Action Plan. These guidelines deal, inter alia, with species and habitat conservation and management of human activities.