The 9th Session of the Meeting of the Parties to the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement (AEWA MOP9) is set to take place from 11- 14 November 2025 at the United Nations Premises in Bonn, Germany. Convening under the theme “United for Flyways” the meeting will bring together government representatives, NGOs and experts as well as a range of AEWA partners and key stakeholders from across Africa and Eurasia in what promises to be the largest intergovernmental gathering for migratory waterbird conservation in recent years.

Convened under the theme “Protecting Wetlands for Our Common Future”, the 15th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands concluded in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe today. Over the past two weeks, governments, experts, and civil society from across the globe came together at Ramsar COP15 to reaffirm the essential role of wetlands in sustaining life on Earth – for people and for nature.

As the world rallies behind the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, collaborative efforts are underway to safeguard and rehabilitate some of Africa’s most critical transboundary wetland habitats. “Wetlands are the lifeblood of biodiversity. They play a crucial role in supporting ecosystems, mitigating climate change, and are critical for migratory waterbirds – as resting, refuelling, breeding, nesting and feeding grounds,” says Jacques Trouvilliez, Executive Secretary of the African Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA).

Today marks the solemn 30 year anniversary of the last indisputable sighting of the Slender-billed Curlew (Numenius tenuirostris), at Merja Zerga, Morocco, on 25  February 1995. Now considered extinct, this tragic loss stands as the first recorded extinction of a former widespread species since records began, the other cases of extinction concern mainly island or non-migratory birds with a restricted range.