Highlights for Monday, 8 February 2010

On Monday morning, 8 February 2010, Elizabeth Mrema, Executive Secretary of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), opened the Technical Meeting for the Elaboration of a Conservation and Management Plan for Migratory Sharks. She noted the goal of finalizing the conservation and management plan (CMP) to feed into the third meeting on International Cooperation on Migratory Sharks under the CMS (Sharks III). In the morning, delegates: elected David Hogan (US) as Chair of the technical meeting and Stephen Manegene (Kenya) as Vice Chair; adopted the agenda and rules of procedure; received an update on the conservation status of migratory sharks; and began an initial reading of the draft CMP.

Delegates discussed the need for a preambular paragraph that highlights the non-legally binding status of the CMP. On the objective of improving understanding of migratory shark populations through research, monitoring and information exchange, delegates considered prioritizing actions, traditional ecological knowledge and the role of periodic review and evaluation. On reducing direct and incidental fisheries-related causes of shark mortality, some delegates noted that not all shark fisheries need to be reduced and others noted that sustainability of shark fisheries should be reflected in the objective.

Trondheim Conference on Biodiversity resources
Provisional Agenda of SHARKS III
Meeting Documents
Meeting Documents from SHARKS II

IISD RS resources
IISD RS coverage of SHARKS II, 6-8 December 2008, UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Headquarters, Rome, Italy
IISD RS coverage of the Ninth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 9) to the CMS, 1-5 December 2008, FAO Headquarters, Rome, Italy
IISD RS coverage of the Fourth Meeting of the Parties (MOP-4) to the African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA), 15-19 September 2008, Antananarivo, Madagascar
IISD RS coverage of the First Meeting to Identify and Elaborate an Option for International Cooperation on Migratory Sharks, 11-13 December 2007, Mahé, Seychelles
IISD RS coverage of CMS COP 8, 20-25 November 2005, Nairobi, Kenya
IISD RS coverage of CMS COP 7 and AEWA MOP-2, 25-27 September 2002, Bonn, Germany
IISD RS coverage of CMS COP 6, 4-16 November 1999, Cape Town, South Africa
IISD RS archive of meetings on biodiversity, and backgrounder
Linkages Update - Bi-weekly international environment and sustainable development news
MEA Bulletin - Newsletter on key MEAs and their secretariats
Climate Change Policy & Practice - News and information on the actions of international organizations in responding to the problem of global climate change
African Regional Coverage