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On 20 November 2005,
in the margins of the 8th Conference of the Parties to CMS,
the Executive Secretary of AEWA, Bert Lenten, together with
Marco Barbieri (Technical Officer of the CMS), Jim Knight
(UK Minister for Rural Affairs, Landscape and Biodiversity)
and David Morgan (Chief Scientific Support Officer of the
CITES), held a press conference on Avian Influenza (HPAI)
to announce plans for the creation of an early warning system
to track the flight patterns of migratory birds and alert
and better prepare countries and communities for the arrival
of potentially infected wild birds. This project, for which
UNEP has announced financial support of US$ 30,000, will
include, among other things, the identification of centres
dealing with migratory birds, the training of officials
and capacity building.
The need for national surveillance and
monitoring mechanisms, especially in African countries and
the need for international cooperation in dealing with HPAI
has also been emphasized by the AEWA Parties in a resolution
on Avian Influenza adopted at MOP3. Among other
things, the resolution highlights the importance of AEWA
being represented in the Scientific
Task Force on Avian Influenza in order to disseminate
information and scientific assessments of the situation
as it develops. The Task Force was convened by CMS earlier
this year in response to the recent incidents and meets
on a regular basis. The AEWA Resolution was the first and
was followed later by similar Resolutions at the Ramsar
COP9 and CMS
COP8.
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