AEWA News

"Dim the Lights for Birds at Night!" – The World Migratory Bird Day 2022 Slogan Announced!

“Dim the Lights for Birds at Night!” has been selected as the official slogan of the 2022 edition of the UN-backed global World Migratory Bird Day campaign. This year, the campaign’s focus is on the impacts of light pollution on migratory birds.  “World Migratory Bird Day 2022 is not only about raising awareness on the negative effects of light pollution on migratory birds. We also hope the campaign will trigger concrete commitments and pledges from Parties, cities, and other key stakeholders across the world,” said Amy Fraenkel, Executive Secretary of CMS.

25 February 2022

Alert: Increased Risk of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Outbreaks in Wild Bird Populations in Africa

FAO recommends countries in Africa to be on high alert for wild bird mortalities due to H5 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). Given recent reports from West and Southern Africa detecting the virus in Great White Pelicans and coastal birds respectively, the risk of HPAI introduction into other African countries and outbreaks in wild bird populations is regarded as high. Countries should have in place enhanced measures for early detection, diagnosis and outbreak response, in both wild birds and poultry.

21 February 2022

17th AEWA Technical Committee Meeting Successfully Held Online

Bonn, 10 February 2022 – The 17th Meeting of the AEWA Technical Committee (TC17) was held virtually on 8 February, bringing together experts from a wide spectrum of fields as well as 14 Party Observers and several key partner organisations of the Agreement.

11 February 2022

Avian Influenza Task Force Statement on Recent HPAI Outbreaks in Wild Birds

The multi-stakeholder Scientific Task Force on Avian Influenza and Wild Birds has issued a statement in response to recent large-scale outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in wild birds reported in the UK, The Netherlands, Israel, and India.

25 January 2022

8th Session of the Meeting of the Parties (MOP8) in Budapest Confirmed

The 8th Session of the Meeting of the Parties to AEWA (MOP8) will take place on 26 – 30 September 2022 in Budapest, Hungary. The Government of Hungary, which had originally invited the MOP8 to take place in October 2021 in the framework of the ‘One with Nature’ exhibition in Budapest, renewed its kind invitation after MOP8 had to be postponed due to the pandemic and confirmed the dates of 26 – 30 September 2022.

14 January 2022

2021 End of Year Message

Dear friends of AEWA, As 2021 draws to a close, I would like to take a moment to reflect on the past year and share some of its highlights for AEWA with you. 2021 will now be the second year in which the COVID-19 pandemic has held much of the world hostage. Globally, the pandemic has had a dramatic effect on life as we know it and my sincere condolences go to everyone who has suffered loss or has struggled in some form during this difficult period.   

21 December 2021

Red List Update: A Cause of Relief and Concern for AEWA Species

The rapidly declining population has led the status of the Maccoa Duck, a waterbird species protected under the African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA), to be uplisted to Endangered in the updated IUCN Red List of Endangered Species released last week. Seven other AEWA species were downlisted to lower categories, providing a more hopeful news about the status of these species.

14 December 2021

Satellite Tracking of Lesser Flamingos : A Training Workshop in Senegal

A training workshop on satellite tagging and satellite telemetry monitoring of Lesser Flamingos (Phoeniconaias minor) took place at the Djoudj National Bird Park (PNOD) in Senegal from 2 to 5 December 2021. Hosted by the government of Senegal, the 4-day training was jointly organized by the Senegal National Parks Directorate (DPN), the Mauritanian Directorate for the Protection and Restoration of Species and the  Environment (DPREM), the UNEP/AEWA Secretariat and the Tour du Valat research institute.

14 December 2021

World Migratory Bird Day 2022 Theme to Focus on Light Pollution

Light Pollution will be the focus of the World Migratory Bird Day 2022 campaign.  Artificial light is increasing globally by at least 2 per cent per year and it is known to adversely affect many bird species. Light pollution is a significant threat to migratory birds, causing disorientation when they fly at night, leading to collisions with buildings, perturbing their internal clocks, or interfering with their ability to undertake long-distance migrations.  

09 December 2021

New Study: Most African Wetlands Used by Migratory Birds to be Degraded by Climate Change

As much as 87% of the Critical Sites in Africa are predicted to become less suitable for waterbirds by 2050 because of the impact of climate change. These are the findings of a new study by a group of international experts published in Global Change Biology. The research – coordinated by Wetlands International – was supported by the African-Eurasian Waterbirds Agreement (AEWA) and funded by the International Climate Initiative (ICI) of Germany.

25 November 2021