Almaty, 19 May. The Siberian Crane, one of the most threatened of the world’s fifteen crane species, breeds in Russia and winters in China, Iran and, formerly, India. The epic annual migration of these beautiful cranes links eleven countries, as the birds stop to rest and feed along a chain of wetlands scattered across western, central and eastern Asia.

Once numerous in the western part of its range, that population of Siberian Cranes has dwindled to no more than a few individuals, only one of which was seen at its traditional wintering ground in Iran in Spring 2007. The Eastern population, thought to comprise some 3-4,000 birds, appears to be stable but it faces increasing pressure from development activities in China and Russia.

All eleven countries of the Siberian Cranes’ range are now participating in the CMS Memorandum of Understanding Concerning Conservation Measures for the Siberian Crane. This pioneering CMS instrument – the first of its kind – was created in 1993 to foster greater cooperation among governments and partner organizations.

The Republic of Kazakhstan hosted the sixth of a regular series of meetings of the signatories, in the former capital of Almaty, from 15-19 May 2007. Hosted by the Forestry and Hunting Committee, with organizational support from CMS and the International Crane Foundation, the meeting brought together 50 participants from across the region. For the first time, there was official and/or technical representation from all eleven Range States (Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, India, Islamic Republic of Iran, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Russian Federation, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan). The Convention on Migratory Species was represented by its Senior Advisor, Douglas Hykle, based in Bangkok.

Among the positive outcomes of the meeting were the following:

• The official launch of the Western and Central Asian Site Network for Siberian Cranes and other Waterbirds (WCASN-SC), with the inclusion of an initial 10 sites from five countries (see related press release);

• Elaboration and adoption of new, detailed Conservation Plans for each of the three flyways covered by the Siberian Crane MoU, as well as agreement in principle on a new streamlined reporting template to measure implementation progress;

• Presentation and discussion of an exciting project already begun by Russian colleagues to explore the potential for releasing Siberian cranes into the wild using a human-led migration technique; and agreement to set up a project steering committee to ensure inputs from other partners;

• Review of important considerations related to the eventual integration, within the MoU framework, of activities currently being conducted under the GEF Siberian Crane Wetlands Project, which will draw to a close in 2009;

• Agreement to investigate the possible establishment of an international trust fund in order to leverage funds from governments and other sources to support future Siberian Crane conservation efforts;

• The inclusion of two additional partner organisations in the ranks of the Memorandum of Understanding, with signatures of representatives of Wetlands International and the Cracid Conservation and Breeding Centre; and

• Recognition of other important initiatives with which the Siberian Crane MoU will increasingly interact, including the CMS Central Asian Flyway Action Plan and the East Asia-Australasia Flyway Partnership.

The signatories tentatively agreed to hold their next meeting around mid-late 2009, with several countries and partners expressing interest in hosting the gathering. It is hoped that, by then, the intensive conservation efforts undertaken over the past two decades will have begun to bear fruit

To learn more about the Kazakhstan meeting and related Siberian Crane conservation activities, please visit the following websites:

International Crane Foundation: www.savingcranes.org
GEF Siberian Crane Wetland Project: www.scwp.info

For more information please contact:

UNEP/CMS Secretariat
Mr. Lyle Glowka
Hermann-Ehlers-Str. 10
53113 Bonn, Germany
Tel.: +49 228 815-2422
Fax: +49 228 815-2449
E-mail: lglowka@cms.int
Website: www.cms.int

Mr. Douglas Hykle
Co-ordinator / Senior CMS Advisor
IOSEA Marine Turtle MoU Secretariat
c/o UNEP Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific United Nations Building,
Rajdamnern Nok Avenue
Bangkok 10200 THAILAND
Tel: (+662) 288 1471
Fax: (+662) 280 3829
E-mail: hykle@un.org

Ms. Elena Ilyashenko
ICF/CMS Siberian Crane Flyway Coordinator
UNEP/GEF Siberian Crane Wetlands Project
Moscow Zoo,
B. Gruzinskaya Str. 1
123242, Moscow RUSSIA
Tel: (+7 495) 205 90 01
Fax: (+7 495) 205 90 01
Email: eilyashenko@savingcranes.org