Bonn, 17 January 2007 - The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (UNEP/CMS) celebrated the accession of the Republic of Yemen at the new UN Premises in Germany today. Yemen's Minister for the Environment Mr. Abdul-Rahman F. Al-Eryani, the Lady Mayor of Bonn, Ms. Bärbel Dieckmann and Mr. Jochen Flasbarth, Director General of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment were the key-note speakers at the event. The festive celebration marking the accession of Yemen as 100th Party to CMS was attended by several international guests, including Dr. Gerard C. Boere, one of the "founding fathers" and Honorary Patron of AEWA and Mr. Edoardo Zandri, the Chief Technical Advisor of the Wings Over Wetlands - African-Eurasian Flyways Project.

The AEWA Secretariat would like to congratulate Yemen for becoming the 100th Party to the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) as from 1st December 2006. It is the fifth and last Party to accede to CMS in 2006, joining Angola, Cook Islands, Cape Verde and Kazakhstan.

The Republic of Yemen, located in the southwest of the Arabian Peninsula, is host to 11 endemic bird species and lies on one of the great bird migration routes in the African-Eurasian region. Particularly during the spring and autumn migrations, thousands of raptors and migratory waterbirds traveling across the continents cross the Bab-al-Mandeb straits between Yemen and Africa on the most southern edge of the Palaearctic.

In fact, from an eco-tourism point of view, one of Yemen's main attractions is its birdlife. Each year, approximately three billion birds migrating along the north-south and east-west routes use this important flight corridor between Africa, Asia and Europe.

BirdLife International has identified 57 Important Bird Areas (IBAs) in Yemen and 12 bird species occurring in the country which are already declared as threatened. Among them are the Nothern Bald Ibis (Geronticus eremite) and the Socotra Cormorant (Phalacrocorax nigrogularis), two species which are covered by AEWA.

AEWA is the largest multilateral environment agreement developed under CMS specifically dedicated to the conservation of migratory waterbirds along their entire migration routes (flyways) in Africa and Eurasia. Although Yemen is not yet a Party to AEWA, it is hoped that its recent accession to CMS as well as the country’s active participation in the Wings Over Wetlands Project will help pave the way for further cooperation.

Further Information:

For more information please visit the CMS website or read the CMS 100th Party Press Release.