Bonn, 13 July 2023 – The Scientific Task Force on Avian Influenza and Wild Birds – co-convened by the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) – has sounded the alarm on the current near-global spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) and the unparalleled scale of mortality among wild birds. Among other recommendations, the Task Force urges countries to consider HPAI as a conservation issue, plan accordingly and avoid culling measures of wild birds. It also calls for a ‘One Health’ approach to ensure appropriate cross-sectoral attention to human, animal and environmental health.

Bonn, 1 June 2023 - The UNEP/AEWA Secretariat is pleased to announce the accession of Greece as AEWA’s 84th Party with the country’s membership of the Agreement taking effect on 1

An AEWA Training of Trainers (ToT) workshop for Western Indian Ocean islands has helped build capacity on the flyway approach to the conservation and wise use of waterbirds and wetlands. From 6 to 10 February 2023, the workshop, which was hosted by the government of Mauritius, brought together 35 participants from Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius including Rodrigues Island, Seychelles, Mayotte and Réunion.

Jointly organized by the Croatian Society for Birds and Nature Protection, the Department of Biology University of Osijek, the CASA Institute of Ornithology, and the Tour du Valat, Research Institute for the Conservation of Mediterranean Wetlands, this workshop gathered 29 participants from 15 different countries. The group was created in 1992, and this workshop takes place every three years. It involves staff from various nature conservation organizations, including scientists, members of NGOs, managers of breeding sites, students, all passionate about this emblematic wetland species.