Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2004)531 - Conclusion by the EC of the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2004)531 - Conclusion by the EC of the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds. |
|---|---|
| source | COM(2004)531  |
| date | 03-08-2004 |
Article IV of the Bonn Convention provides for the conclusion of regional agreements which for Appendix II species (those with an unfavourable conservation status) should be concluded as soon as possible.
The waterbirds of the African-Eurasian flyways, which are Appendix II species, merit immediate attention in order to improve their conservation status and to gather information as a basis for sound management decisions.
Resolution 1.6 of the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Bonn Convention called for the development of an Agreement for Western Palaearctic Anatidae. From 1988 to 1991, a draft Agreement, including an Action Plan for Anatidae and a Management Plan was elaborated by the Government of the Netherlands, acting in agreement with the Community, in collaboration with the Convention Secretariat, IUCN, a Working Group of the CMS Scientific Council and the International Waterfowl and Wetland Research Bureau (IWRB). This was followed by an initiative from the Convention Secretariat which resulted in a new draft agreement with a larger scope including other species of migratory waterbirds.
An informal negotiating meeting took place in Nairobi from 12-14 June 1994 after the fourth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Bonn Convention which was held in Nairobi from 7 to 11 June 1994. The meeting was attended by representatives from the Commission.
A revised draft Agreement was prepared by the Convention Secretariat and submitted to the negotiating meeting which took place in Hague from 12-16 June 1995 as a basis for negotiations. The Agreement was finally adopted by consensus by sixty-three Range States and by the European Community. The Agreement was opened for signature from
16 October 1995.
It was signed on behalf of the Community on 1 September 1997, following a proposal from the Commission i.
The Agreement aims at creating the legal framework for a concerted conservation policy of the Range States of migratory waterbirds species and populations, individuals of which migrate in the Western Palaearctic and Africa, irrespective of their current conservation status.
The Agreement covers:
- 235 species of birds ecologically dependent on wetlands for at least part of their annual cycle
- an area of 60 million square kilometres encompassing 116 Range States and covering the entire continents of Africa and Europe as well as part of Asia.
The Agreement text includes three annexes:
- a map showing the geographical area covered by the Agreement,
- a list of migratory waterbirds species covered by the Agreement,
- an action plan.
Resolution 1.9, adopted at the first Meeting of the Parties in Cape Town, South Africa in November 1999, and Resolution 2.1, adopted at the second Meeting of the Parties in Bonn, Germany in September 2002 have amended the Annexes to the agreement, including the action Plan.
The Agreement requests in particular coordinated measures to achieve and maintain a favourable conservation status for African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds. Article III of the Agreement provides for the conservation measures to be taken. Annex III (the Action plan) specifies actions which the Parties shall undertake in relation to priority species consistent with the general conservation measures specified in Article III of the Agreement.
The Agreement mainly refers to matters falling within Community competence which at the internal level are regulated by Council Directive 79/409/EEC on the conservation of wild birds i and 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora i.
Furthermore, the Community is a Party to the Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats i and of the Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution i and to its protocols, in particular to the Protocol on Specially Protected Areas i.
Accordingly, having signed the Agreement, it is appropriate that the Community should now conclude the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds.