COP13: Italy’s Costa will attend Un conference on migratory species

GANDHINAGAR (INDIA), FEBRUARY 17 – The ‘super year’ for biodiversity kicked off with the 13th session of the Conference of Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals.

Hosted by India from 15-22 February in Gandhinagar, the conference brings together parties to the convention, partners and scientific experts to address the alarming decline of migratory species, including birds, aquatic species and terrestrial animals.

CMS COP13 brings together Ministers and high-level officials from all over the world as well as the heads of all the global UN treaties that deal with nature – the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, the International Whaling Commission, Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and CMS. Italy’s Minister for the environment Sergio Costa leads the Italian delegation.

• Ten new species are expected to be added to CMS, including the Asian Elephant and the Great Indian Bustard – which is the mascot of COP13.

• Concerted actions with targeted conservation plans are proposed for 14 new species.

• Emerging threats such as light pollution, plastics pollution in terrestrial and freshwater environments and impacts of roads and railways will also be addressed.

CMS COP13 is the first of a series of international nature-related meetings in 2020, which will culminate in the UN Biodiversity Conference at the end of this year, when a new global biodiversity strategy for the next decade will be adopted – the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.

‘Migratory species connect the planet and together we welcome them home,’ an ancient Sanskrit saying and theme of the meeting, highlights the need to provide a hospitable place for migratory animals. (@OnuItalia)