The evening of 4 July 2005 was dedicated to the opening of the AEWA exhibition "Impressions of traveling birds" by the German Federal Minister for the Environment, Mr. Jürgen Trittin. The ceremony was attended by the members of the AEWA Standing Committee, representatives of the German government, International NGOs and IGOs as well as of the local private sector. The exhibition was one of the activities organized by the AEWA Secretariat to mark the 10th Anniversary of AEWA.

After welcoming addresses by the Executive Secretary of AEWA, Mr. Bert Lenten, and the Director of Museum Koenig, Professor Wolfgang Wägele, the Minister stressed the success of AEWA, which had led to a better conservation status for several waterbird species such as the Black Stork, the Goosander, the Red-crested Pochard and the Sandwich Tern. Another piece of good news announced by the Minister was that the European Parliament would decide on the accession of the European Community to AEWA the next day. Finally, he reconfirmed that the German government would co-fund the GEF "African-Eurasian Flyway Project" to the tune of 1 Mio. €, and expressed his hope that the exhibition would help to initiate more local support for migratory waterbirds.

The Minister also congratulated Dr. Gerard Boere as "the father of AEWA" for the Agreement's success. Dr. Boere recalled the first steps towards the development and conclusion of AEWA, and stressed the success of the Agreement's flyway approach as an instrument to coordinate and provide clear targets for waterbird conservation. The Executive Secretary of CMS, Mr. Robert Hepworth, outlined the role of AEWA as the largest Agreement concluded under CMS serving as a model in bridging conservation, poverty alleviation and sustainable development. He also thanked the German government for the support given to AEWA.

The exhibition "Impressions of traveling birds" is a fascinating combination of information panels about the Agreement and watercolours by the Belgian animal illustrator Yves Fagniart. The German BirdLife partner Naturschutzbund Deutschland e.V. (NABU) has contributed to the exhibition with an informative section on the White Stork. The exhibition can be seen until 28 August 2005 at

For more information please see:

Speech by Minister Jürgen Trittin (German Federal Minister of Environment), (PDF Format)
Speech by Dr. Gerard Boere ("Father of the Agreement"), (PDF Format)
Speech by Mr Robert Hepworth (Executive Secretary of UNEP/CMS), (PDF Format)
Welcoming Address of Prof. Dr. J. W. Wägele (Director of Museum Koenig), (PDF Format)
Welcoming Address of Mr Bert Lenten (Executive Secretary of UNEP/AEWA), (PDF Format)