Convention on Migratory Species (CMS)

Why in news?

• The Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme/ Convention on Migratory Species (UNEP/CMS) had organized a meeting of Range Countries to strengthen conservation efforts for migratory birds and their habitats in the Central Asian Flyway (CAF).

About Convention on Migratory Species (CMS):

• The Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) or the Bonn Convention, aims to conserve terrestrial, aquatic and avian migratory species throughout their range.
• It is worked out under United Nations
• CMS brings together the States through which migratory animals pass, the Range States, and lays the legal foundation for internationally coordinated conservation measures throughout a migratory range.
• It is the only global convention specializing in the conservation of migratory species, their habitats and migration routes.

Appendix I and Appendix II of the Convention:

• Migratory species threatened with extinction are listed on Appendix I of the Convention.
• CMS Parties strive towards strictly protecting these animals, conserving or restoring the places where they live, mitigating obstacles to migration and controlling other factors that might endanger them.
• Besides establishing obligations for each State joining the Convention, CMS promotes concerted action among the Range States of many of these species.
• Migratory species that need or would significantly benefit from international co-operation are listed in Appendix II of the Convention.

Is it binding on parties?

• The Convention encourages the Range States to conclude global or regional agreements. In this respect, CMS acts as a framework Convention.
• The agreements may range from legally binding treaties (called Agreements) to less formal instruments, such as Memoranda of Understanding, and can be adapted to the requirements of particular regions.
• The development of models tailored according to the conservation needs throughout the migratory range is a unique capacity to CMS.

Add ons:

• The Fourteenth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP14) to the Convention on Migratory Species will be hosted by the Government of Uzbekistan, in Samarkand from 23 to 28 October 2023.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

With reference to ‘Convention on Migratory Species’, consider the following statements:

1. All the agreements under the convention are binding on the parties

2. India is not a party to the convention

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer