Proposal for a Council Decision establishing the position to be adopted on behalf of the European Union with regard to proposals for amendment of the Appendices of the Convention on the conservation of migratory species of wild animals with a view to the eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties

The Convention on the conservation of migratory species of wild animals (also known as the CMS or Bonn Convention) aims to conserve terrestrial, marine and avian migratory species throughout their range. It is an intergovernmental treaty, concluded under the aegis of the United Nations Environment Programme, concerned with the conservation of wildlife and habitats on a global scale. The European Union has been a Party to the CMS since 1 November 1983.

The eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention will take place in Quito (Ecuador) from 4 to 9 November 2014. For this meeting, it is proposed that the Union makes a proposal to amend Appendix I to the Convention to increase the protection of a species of whales, namely the Mediterranean subpopulation of Ziphius cavirostris, and the bird species Coracias garrulus, throughout their distribution range, including outside the Union, on the basis of the following considerations: (1) the inclusion of such species is scientifically sound; (2) such an inclusion is consistent with the EU legislation; and (3) the Union is committed to international cooperation for the protection of biodiversity. This proposal would not require any change in Union law, as it concerns a species which already benefits from appropriate protection under Union law, notably the Birds and Habitats Directives.

For this meeting, it is furthermore proposed that the Union makes a proposal to amend Appendix II to the Convention to increase the protection of three species of thresher sharks, namely Alopias superciliosus, Alopias vulpinus and Alopias pelagicus, throughout their distribution range, including outside the Union, on the basis of the following considerations: (1) the inclusion of such species is scientifically sound; (2) such an inclusion is consistent with the EU legislation and (3) the Union is committed to international cooperation for the protection of biodiversity. Without requiring any change in Union law, the proposal would provide additional support for introducing collaborative management of these species through the CMS itself and through possible inclusion of the species in the CMS global Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the conservation of migratory sharks, to which the Union is a Party. It would also complement and encourage improved fisheries management efforts within the Regional Fisheries Management Organisations.

It is therefore necessary for the Council to take a decision for the purpose of establishing the position to be adopted on behalf of the Union with a view to the eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties with regard to proposals for amendment.

See also:
- Proposal for a Council Decision establishing the position to be adopted on behalf of the European Union with regard to proposals from various parties to the Convention on the conservation of migratory species of wild animals for amendments to the Appendices of the Convention at the eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties

• Primary Source

EUR-Lex: COM(2014)267: Follow the progress of this proposal through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2014:267:FIN

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