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AEWA News

5th Meeting of the AEWA European Goose Management International Working Group (EGM IWG5)

Taiga Bean Geese in flight © Adobe Stock

Originally scheduled to take place in Helsinki, Finland, the 5th Meeting of the AEWA European Goose Management International Working Group (EGM IWG5) went ahead for the first time in an online conference format from 15 to 18 June 2020.  The meeting was chaired by Ms Camilla Uldal from Denmark, who was succeeded as Chair for the next two years by the UK’s Mr Danny Heptinstall. 

02 July 2020

Armenia – AEWA Party No. 81

Flag of the Republic of Armenia

The Republic of Armenia is acceding to AEWA becoming the 81st Party on 1 July. It has been a Party to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), since 2011. Armenia, whose capital is Yerevan, is a landlocked country situated in the southern Caucasus, between the Black and Caspian Seas, where Europe meets Asia.  Armenia has a population of 3 million people and an area of just under 30,000 km2.  It shares borders with Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan and the Islamic Republic of Iran.

01 July 2020

25 Years of AEWA – Statement by Dr Christiane Paulus, Director-General, Nature Conservation and Sustainable Use of Natural Resources

25 Years of AEWA – Statement by Dr Christiane Paulus, Director-General, Nature Conservation and Sustainable Use of Natural Resources ©ENB/IISD

On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety and my Minister, it is my pleasure to congratulate AEWA and its Secretariat to the 25th anniversary of AEWA. We welcome the tireless efforts of AEWA and its Secretariat to improve the conservation status of migratory waterbirds. Among many issues, I would like to highlight in this regard the lead role of AEWA in the international efforts to reduce lead shot in particular in wetlands as well as the ongoing efforts to meaningfully address the illegal killing of birds, in particular in the Mediterranean Region, e.g. through "MIKT".

29 June 2020

25 Years of AEWA – Statement by Carola Schouten, Minister for Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, the Netherlands

25 Years of AEWA – Statement by Carola Schouten, Minister for Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, the Netherlands

I would like to congratulate all the people involved in AEWA on the 25th anniversary of the Agreement. These past years we have achieved much concerning the protection and conservation of migratory waterbirds. With all the challenges these birds face, it is good to see more and more countries willing to work together for their protection. As the Dutch Minister for Nature, I am proud that the Netherlands was involved in the creation of this Agreement and that AEWA has grown from 14 Parties then, to 80 Parties today. We can look back proudly at the achievements of the last 25 years and I am excited to look forward to the progress we will make in the next 25 years to offer waterbirds safe flyways and a safe future.

18 June 2020

25 Years of AEWA – Statement by Dr. Akankwasah Barirega, Former Chair of the Standing Committee

25 Years of AEWA – Statement by Dr. Akankwasah Barirega, Former Chair of the Standing Committee

AEWA has over time raised the profile of waterbird conservation on the African Continent. Conservation of birds in Uganda, for example, has benefited immensely from the tools, processes and knowledge-sharing materials developed under AEWA. Birds now receive the same level of attention from policy makers hitherto accorded mainly to mammal conservation.

18 June 2020

AEWA - A Short History

Negotiation meeting: The team coordinating the work at the formal negotiation meeting, June 1995, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Hague, The Netherlands.

A significant date in the development of the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) is 16 June 1995 – twenty-five years ago – when negotiators representing 54 governments signed the ‘Final Act’. The rest is – as they say – history …

16 June 2020

25 Years of AEWA – Statement by Øystein Størkersen, Former Chair of the AEWA Standing Committee

25 Years of AEWA – Statement by Øystein Størkersen, Former Chair of the AEWA Standing Committee

AEWA is a favourite of mine among Conventions, simply because it deals with concrete issues, such as species or concrete sites and it gives strong guidance through obligatory requirements. I am also pleased that AEWA is not afraid of difficult issues or of giving advice on how to solve issues. This is not least thanks to the very active and competent AEWA staff. Due to its ability to rapidly adapt to changing issues, AEWA is increasingly becoming a treaty that aims to make a difference. This has been possible not least to a network of professsional experts and national managers. 

16 June 2020

25 Years of AEWA – Statement by Ashok Sridharan, Mayor of the City of Bonn

25 Years of AEWA – Statement by Ashok Sridharan, Mayor of the City of Bonn

Happy Birthday, AEWA! Congratulations to the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement, an appreciated member of the UN Bonn Family, on 25 years successful work! It is with gratitude that we look up to the sky every autumn around UN Day - when the common cranes pass Bonn on their way to Africa. 

16 June 2020

A Call for Cooperation: Saving the Places Migratory Birds Call Home

A Call for Cooperation: Saving the Places Migratory Birds Call Home

To coincide with the 25th Anniversary of AEWA, the UNEP/AEWA Secretariat and partners across the African-Eurasian Flyway are pleased to present “A Call for Cooperation: Saving the Places Migratory Birds Call Home”, a new video production of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Center for Conservation Media.

16 June 2020

25 Years of AEWA – Statement by Simon Mackown, Chair of the AEWA Standing Committee

25 Years of AEWA – Statement by Simon Mackown, Chair of the AEWA Standing Committee

AEWA is more than the set of rules, commitments and obligations set out in a treaty. It brings together Governments, local communities, conservationists, and hunters from across Africa and Europe; all with a shared interest in flourishing wetland habitats and thriving waterbird populations. The successes of the Agreement are many and are ultimately due to the commitment, expertise and professionalism of all these individuals.  And of course, the Agreement could not continue to achieve as much as it does  without the exemplary work of the AEWA Secretariat, to whom I, on behalf of the Parties to the Agreement, would like to express my appreciation and gratitude. 

12 June 2020