The Secretariat of the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (UNEP/AEWA) would like to inform you that the 14^th Meeting of the Technical Committee (TC14)

August 31 is Wadden Sea Day, a celebration organized by the Common Wadden Sea Secretariat and the National Park Lower Saxon Wadden Sea and taking place at the UNESCO Wadden Sea World Heritage Visitor Centre in Wilhelmshaven. This year’s event focuses on “Partnering for World Heritage” and showcases examples of successful cooperation across sectors and borders from the Wadden Sea region and beyond.

Members of the Energy Task Force, including the CMS and AEWA Secretariats, BirdLife International, and the German Ministry for the Environment (BMUB) joined forces at the UNFCCC Bonn Climate Change Conference to raise awareness of the importance of reconciling migratory species conservation with the deployment of renewable energy and power lines globally.

The sudden onset of winter in parts of Europe, particularly in the south-east of the continent, with extreme low temperatures and heavy snow storms has been affecting waterbird populations. In light of these harsh conditions, the AEWA Secretariat has contacted Contracting Parties that have been affected or potentially affected by the cold spell and encouraged them to evaluate the situation in their countries and consider enacting emergency measures, such as the temporary suspension of waterbird hunting.

An AEWA Workshop to develop an International Single Species Action Plan (ISSAP) for the conservation of the Dalmatian Pelican (Pelecanus crispus) took place in Lithotopos, Greece from 22 to 24 November. More than 30 participants from 12 countries met to discuss status, distribution, threats and conservation issues in key Range States of the Dalmatian Pelican. The aim was to identify the goal and objectives of an ISSAP and to build the corresponding action framework.

The 2nd Meeting of the North-Western European Range States of the AEWA Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa) International Working Group took place from 23 to 24 November in The Hague, the Netherlands hosted by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs at their premises. Meeting participants included Working Group members from Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands as well as the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) from the United Kingdom and the UNEP/AEWA Secretariat. The meeting was chaired by the AEWA Focal Point for the Netherlands, Wilmar Remmelts.

The 12th meeting of the AEWA Standing Committee is taking place in Paris from 31 January to 1 February at the kind invitation of the French Ministry for the Environment, Energy and the Sea. This will be the first inter-sessional meeting of the Committee of the current triennium. It will also be the first to be presided over by Uganda (Chair) and France (Vice-Chair), who were both elected at the 11th meeting of the Committee, held immediately after the last session of the Meeting of the Parties, held in Bonn in November 2015.

A regional workshop aiming to enhance cooperation and implementation of AEWA for countries situated along the Adriatic Flyway was held 13 – 15 September in Samobor, Croatia. The Adriatic Flyway is an important corridor which runs along the east coast of the Adriatic Sea for waterbirds migrating between the eastern half of Europe and North and sub-Saharan Africa. Twice a year large numbers of waterbirds use this flyway to migrate between their breeding and wintering grounds.

A regional workshop aiming to enhance cooperation and implementation of AEWA for countries situated along the Adriatic Flyway is being held 13 – 15 September 2016 in Samobor, Croatia. The Adriatic Flyway is an important migratory corridor that runs along the east coast of the Adriatic Sea for waterbirds migrating between the eastern half of Europe and North and sub-Saharan Africa.

Governments throughout the Mediterranean have agreed the need for tougher penalties and stricter surveillance in order to enforce a new “zero tolerance” policy that seeks to clamp down on the annual slaughter of millions of migratory birds in the region.