Following a week of global meetings held entirely online, the 52nd Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) concluded with important outcomes to take the work forward under the Convention.
CMS Executive Secretary, Amy Fraenkel, said: “The 52nd Session of the Standing Committee, held online for the first time, advanced important work under the Convention. The CMS Secretariat has been able to function and deliver on its mandate by making progress in implementing the current Programme of Work.”
The Standing Committee is responsible for carrying out interim activities on behalf of the Conference of the Parties (COP13) to ensure that its decisions and resolutions are implemented.
The meeting was the first since then and helped make progress on the ambitious programme of work adopted at COP13.
Among the key outcomes, the Committee agreed to:
- Adopt a revised Format for National Reports that will be used by CMS Parties to report on progress at COP14 in 2023;
- Endorse the CMS-CITES Joint Work Programme 2021-2025. This Work Programme, already endorsed by the CITES Standing Committee at its 73rd meeting, includes joint conservation and management activities for species shared between the two Conventions such as Argali, Saiga Antelope, big cats, Great Apes, African Elephant, Saker Falcon, marine turtles and sharks;
- Approve the Joint CITES-CMS African Carnivores Initiative (ACI). The ACI aims to ensure efficient implementation of resolutions and decisions of both Conventions on the African lion, cheetah, leopard, and wild dog, and to related recommendations of Range States.
The Standing Committee also appointed Dr. Ruth Cromie (UK) as a new Scientific Councilor, who brings expertise on zoonotic diseases to the work of the Convention.
Standing Committee Chair, Soumitra Dasgupta, said: “The 52nd Standing Committee meeting was a historic event, being the first ever online meeting of the Standing Committee of the CMS. Fruitful decisions were taken on many accounts and a roadmap for many laid to further the cause of the migratory species. Congratulations to the efforts of the CMS Secretariat and delegates in making it successful.”
