COP14: Draft resolutions on the Atlas on animal migratory species, and maltreatment of seabirds submitted

Subject: Environment

Section: International conventions

Context:

At the 14th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (COP14) held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, draft decisions were submitted on the development of an Atlas on Animal Migration.

“Atlas on Animal Migration” initiative:

This initiative is proposed by the European Union (EU).
It aims to document and understand the migration patterns of migratory mammals in Central Asia and birds in the Eurasian-African region, including the impact of human activities like hunting.
The atlas is seen as a crucial tool for conservation efforts, assisting in identifying key sites for migratory species and informing policy and management decisions to align with global biodiversity goals, such as the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
The draft decisions encourage parties to utilize the atlas in their conservation strategies and direct the Secretariat to enhance and expand the atlas’s modules for better accessibility and usability.
Additionally, the COP14 addressed the issue of seabird bycatch in fisheries, particularly in the southwest Atlantic Ocean, urging measures to prevent harm to these species and highlighting the significant threat posed by overexploitation, with millions of birds, including albatrosses and petrels, killed annually in fishing operations.

Source: DTE