Bonn, 17 June 2013 - An amazing 350 registered events in 88 countries worldwide made World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) 2013, celebrated on 11-12 May 2013, the most successful campaign ever!

All across the world, governments, wildlife conservation organizations, scientists, journalists, teachers, students, clubs, and many other dedicated groups and individuals celebrated World Migratory Bird Day 2013. People came together to celebrate World Migratory Bird Day by organizing events, such as birdwatching, exhibitions, educational activities, film screenings, concerts and other public events united by the global theme "Networking for migratory birds".

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Bonn, 5 June 2013 - Today is World Environment Day (WED) and it will be celebrated under the theme Think.Eat.Save. Think.Eat.Save is an anti-food waste and food loss campaign that encourages you to reduce your foodprint. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), every year 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted. [Read on]

Bonn, 26 May 2013 - The Greek BirdLife partner, the Hellenic Ornithological Society (HOS), has launched an ambitious crowd-funding campaign for activities targeting illegal spring hunting of migratory birds in Greece. The campaign is part of a larger project to reduce illegal killing of protected wild birds in Italy, Greece and Spain. [Read on]

Bonn, 24 May 2013 - Completing another milestone in the EU LIFE+ project "Safeguarding the Lesser White-fronted Goose Fennoscandian population in key wintering and staging sites within the European flyway", the Hortobágy National Park Directorate organized a National Action Planning Workshop in Balmazújváros, Hungary on the 3 - 5 April 2013. [Read on]

Bonn, 24 May 2013 - A group of 19 highly motivated participants from 13 Eastern and Southern African countries successfully completed the first-ever AEWA Regional Training of Trainers (ToT) workshop on the Flyway Approach to the Conservation and Wise Use of Waterbirds and Wetlands. [Read on]

Bonn, 21 May 2013 - The first meeting of the AEWA Svalbard Pink-footed Goose International Working Group (AEWA SPfG IWG) took place on the 23rd April 2013 in Copenhagen, hosted by the Danish Nature Agency. The meeting was well attended by national delegations from three of the four range states along the flyway of the Svalbard population of the Pink-footed Goose (Anser brachyrhynchus). [Read on]

Sandy/Bonn, 15 May 2013 - A new conservation plan has been announced to help save the Eurasian Curlew.

With its large appearance, long down-curved bill and evocative call, the curlew is one of the most easily recognised wading birds. However, it is also a wader in trouble - such serious declines have been recorded in recent decades that plans for an international action plan to save it have begun. [Read on]

The Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF), the biodiversity working group of the Arctic Council has released the “Arctic Biodiversity Assessment (ABA),” a report containing the best available science informed by traditional ecological knowledge on the status and trends of Arctic biodiversity and accompanying policy recommendations for biodiversity conservation – www.arcticbiodiversity.is. [Read on]

Bonn, 14 May 2013 - An estimated three hundred keen opera lovers and music enthusiasts attended the first ever CMS-sponsored benefit concert given by the Bologna Opera Choir. Held in the recently renovated baroque Namen-Jesu Church in Bonn, the event was organized as part of the celebrations of World Migratory Bird Day.

CMS Executive Secretary, Bradnee Chambers opened the concert and expressed his thanks to the Namen-Jesu Church for making available the wonderful setting, to the Cultural Office of the City of Bonn, the Federal Ministry of the Environment and the Lions Club for their generous support as well as to the choir for providing the prospect of a feast for the ears. [Read on]

Bonn/Nairobi, 10 May 2013 - The annual migration of an estimated 50 billion birds - around 19 per cent of the world’s 10,000 bird species - is one of the world’s great natural wonders, yet the critical staging areas migratory birds need to complete these journeys are being degraded or are disappearing completely.

These increasingly vulnerable sites, which act as stepping stones on migration routes, serve as a place for the birds to rest, feed and breed during their annual migration cycles. As a result of the degradation, some species may be extinct within a decade, while others are facing population losses of up to nine per cent each year.

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Bonn/Nairobi, 11 May 2013 - To celebrate World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) on 11 May this year, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) hosted a regional WMBD event on the shores of Lake Elementaita to raise awareness about the need to conserve migratory birds and their habitats.
The event was celebrated under this year’s WMBD theme “Networking for migratory birds” and was hosted by the government of Kenya through the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), the focal point of the Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) and the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) in collaboration with the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement Secretariat (UNEP/AEWA) and with funding from the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU). [Read on]

Bonn, 24 April 2013 - The World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) 2013 campaign team is excited to announce the release of the campaign trailer! The two-minute animated video is inspired by this year’s World Migratory Bird Day theme “Networking for migratory birds” (www.worldmigratorybirdday.org). The trailer aims to show the importance of ecological networks for the survival of migratory birds as well as to encourage the international community - governments, conservation organizations and dedicated individuals alike – to work together to conserve migratory birds around the world. [Read on]

Bonn, 2 April 2013 - National stakeholders and international experts came together for a three-day workshop in Sofia to launch the drafting process for a Bulgarian National Action Plan for the Lesser White-fronted Goose (Anser erythropus). The workshop was organized by the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB/BirdLife Bulgaria) within the framework of the EU LIFE+ project Safeguarding the Lesser White-fronted Goose and was facilitated by the UNEP/AEWA Secretariat. [Read on]

Bonn, 28 March 2013 - The UNEP/AEWA Secretariat is happy to announce that Iceland will become the 71st Party to the Agreement as of 1 June 2013.

Iceland is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, located between Greenland to the west and Great Britain to the southeast. [Read on]

Bonn, 28 March 2013 - The 5th Meeting of the Committee for Captive Breeding, Reintroduction and Supplementation of Lesser White-fronted Geese in Fennoscandia (RECAP) took place on 12 February 2013, at the UN Campus in Bonn. Representatives from Finland, Germany, Norway and Sweden came together to discuss Lesser White-fronted Goose conservation issues being dealt with under the RECAP Committee in preparation for the revision of the AEWA Single Species Action Plan for the species which is set to take place this year. [Read on]

Bonn, 28 March 2013 - The UNEP/AEWA Secretariat is pleased to announce the recruitment of Ms. Nina Mikander as full-time Associate Programme Officer for Single Species Action Plans. Nina will be supporting the AEWA Technical Officer in his work.

Nina is of Finnish nationality and holds a M.A. in Political Science as well as a postgraduate Master’s degree in European Studies. [Read on]

Bonn, 28 March 2013 - The UNEP/AEWA Secretariat has extended the deadline for nominations of National Focal Points for Communication, Education and Public Awareness (CEPA) until 30 April 2013. Contracting Parties are invited to nominate a suitable candidate, either from the governmental or non-governmental sector, by filling out the designation form and returning it together with a short curriculum vitae (CV) and a portrait photo of the person nominated. [Read on]

Bonn, 14 March 2013 - Each year on the second weekend in May, dedicated organizations and people around the world plan World Migratory Bird Day events to celebrate migratory birds in their region and to raise awareness about the need for their conservation. Since World Migratory Bird Day began in 2006, events have reached 118 countries.

In 2012 alone, over 250 events were celebrated for World Migratory Bird Day and this year we hope to motivate even more people and organizations to connect and work together towards conserving migratory birds worldwide. [Read on]

Bangkok/Bonn, 12 March 2013 - As the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP16) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) winds up in Bangkok, Thailand (3-14 March 2013), a decision related to the suspension of trade related to the Black and Grey Crowned Cranes has already been announced. [Read on]

Bonn/Tunis, 12 March 2013 - A new identification guide to waterbirds in Northern Africa in Arabic language was presented to the public during a workshop organized by Association "Les Amis des Oiseaux” (AAO) in Tunis on 2 March 2013. The small, richly illustrated pocket guide allows for the identification of 200 waterbird species recorded in the region from the North of Sudan to Mauritania, passing through Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco.

The guide aims to stimulate participation in the International Waterbird Census in the region and will be a contribution to the implementation of AEWA and the African Initiative on the African continent. The guide was developed in partnership between AAO and the National Office for Hunting and Wildlife in France, the ONCFS with the financial support of the French Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy and the MAVA Foundation.

Read the full AAO Press Release: [english] [français]

Bonn, 12 March 2013 - The UNEP/AEWA Secretariat warmly welcomes Dr. Bradnee Chambers who has entered on duty as the new Executive Secretary of Convention on Migratory Species (CMS). He succeeds Mrs. Elizabeth Maruma Mrema who took up her new post at United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Headquarters in January 2012. Prior to his appointment, Bradnee headed the Law and Governance Branch of the Division of Environmental Law and Conventions at UNEP Headquarters in Nairobi. [Read on]

Bonn, 11 March 2013 - The UNEP/AEWA Secretariat is pleased to announce the accession of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire as the 70th Party to the Agreement, effective on 1 June 2013. The accession of Côte d’Ivoire brings the number of AEWA African Contracting Parties to 31, thereby contributing to the implementation of the AEWA Plan of Action for Africa 2012-2017, adopted by the AEWA Parties at the 5th Session of the Meeting of the Parties to AEWA, 14-18 May 2012 in La Rochelle, France. [Read on]