Bonn,
23 November 2009 - The UNEP/AEWA Secretariat is very
pleased to announce that the Federal Democratic Republic
of Ethiopia will become the 63^rd Party to the
Agreement as of 1st February 2010. In addition, Ethiopia
has deposited its instruments of accession to the Convention
on the Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS)
and will become the 113th Party to CMS with effect from
1 January 2010.

The major portion of Ethiopia lies on the Horn of Africa
and the country spans an area over 1,100,000 km2 in the
northeast of Africa and shares its borders with Sudan,
Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia and Kenya. It is a country
with great geographical diversity, characterized primarily
by variations in altitude. Ethiopia lies on the West Asian/African
Flyway and is part of the Great Rift Valley, which is
an important corridor for many migratory birds.

Ethiopia is a range state for many AEWA species including
the Corncrake (Crex crex), the Ferruginous Duck
(Aythya nyroca), the Lesser Flamingo (Phoeniconaias
minor) and the White-winged Flufftail (Sarothrura
ayresii) – all species which are listed on
the IUCN Red List for which International Single Species
Action Plans have been prepared under AEWA.

According to the BirdLife Conservation Series No. 11:
“Important Bird Areas in Africa and associated
Islands,” Ethiopia has a total of 69 Important
Bird Areas (IBAs) covering at least 47,757km2, equivalent
to at least 4,3% of the country’s land area.

In addition, Ethiopia is populated by many other threatened
migratory species that are covered by CMS. Some of the
migratory species listed in CMS Appendix I are the Basra
Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus griseldis), the Grevy's
zebra (Equus grevyi) and some birds of prey like
the Greater Spotted Eagle (Aquila clanga) and
the Imperial Eagle (Aquila heliaca). African
Elephants (Loxodonta africana) can also be found
in Ethiopia. They are listed in CMS Appendix II and are
classified as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened
Species.

The UNEP/AEWA Secretariat welcomes the accession of Ethiopia
to AEWA and CMS and looks forward to further fruitful
cooperation in implementing the Agreement in Ethiopia!

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