Proposal for a Council Decision on the position to be adopted at the twelfth meeting of the Conference of the Parties with regard to proposals for amendments to the Convention on the conservation of migratory species of wild animals

The Convention on the conservation of migratory species of wild animals 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 Agreement since it entered into force on 1 November 1983.

Article III of the Agreement provides that Appendix I shall list migratory species which are endangered and that Parties that are Range States of the species concerned shall endeavour to take various conservation measures and shall prohibit the taking of animals belonging to such species.

Article IV to the Agreement stipulates that Appendix II shall list migratory species which have an unfavourable conservation status and which require international agreements for their conservation and management, as well as those which have a conservation status which would significantly benefit from the international cooperation that could be achieved by an international agreement. If the circumstances so warrant, a migratory species may be listed both in Appendix I and Appendix II.

The Conference of the Parties is the principal decision-making body of the Agreement. On 23-28 October 2017 during its twelfth meeting in Manila, the Philippines, the Conference of the Parties is due to adopt a decision regarding proposals for amendments to Appendix I and Appendix II of the Agreement. The Union should support all proposals because they are science-based and in line with the Union's commitment to international cooperation for the protection of biodiversity.

EUR-Lex: COM(2017)455: Follow the progress of this proposal through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2017:455:FIN

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