Considerations on COM(2011)591 - EU position with regard to proposals for amending Appendices I and II to the Convention on the conservation of migratory species of wild animals at the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties

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dossier COM(2011)591 - EU position with regard to proposals for amending Appendices I and II to the Convention on the conservation of migratory ...
document COM(2011)591 EN
date September 29, 2011
 
1. As a Party to the Convention on the conservation of migratory species of wild animals[6], the European Union may make proposals for amendment of the Appendices to the Convention which list the species to be conserved;

2. The Conference of the Parties is the decision-making body of the Convention and the powers conferred upon it include the capacity to assess the conservation status of migratory species and subsequently amend Appendices I and II to the Convention;

3. In accordance with Article XI of the Convention, an amendment to the Appendices enters into force for all Parties ninety days after the meeting of the Conference of the Parties at which it is adopted, except for those Parties which make a reservation;

4. With a view to the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, that will take place in Bergen (Norway) from 20 to 25 November 2011, the Union communicated to the Secretariat of the Convention proposals[7] for amendment of Appendix I to include the species Falco cherrug and Falco vespertinus ;

5. Other Parties to the Convention have also presented proposals to give protection to several new species by amending Appendices I and II to the Convention;

6. The Union should support these proposals because they are science-based, in line with Union legislation and with the Union's comitment to international cooperation for the protection of biodiversity in accordance with Article 5 of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity[8] and decisions taken at the Conference of the Parties, in particular with the global target agreed at the Tenth meeting: 'By 2020 the extinction of known threatened species has been prevented and their conservation status, particularly of those most in decline, has been improved and sustained';

7. None of the proposals for amendments regarding bird or mammal species would require any change in Union law;

8. The proposals regarding the fish species Manta birostris would require a change to Union legislation on the conservation and sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources under the Common Fisheries Policy in order to guarantee protection to this species;

9. To the extent that the Convention on the conservation of migratory species of wild animals falls both within the competence of the Union and the competence of the Member States, the Commission and the Member States should cooperate closely for the adoption of the amendments to the Appendices of the Convention, in view of aiming for unity in the international representation of the Union.