Context:
Recently, COP-14 held at Uzbekistan concluded with new initiatives for migratory species.
Key Highlights of CMS COP 14:
- Adoption of Listing Proposals for 14 migratory species.
- Focus on Threats faced by species such as habitat degradation, fragmentation, illegal trade,oil and gas development, mining, underwater noise etc.
- Recognition of Endangered Status to several species – Lahille’s bottlenose dolphin, Peruvian pelican, and Magellanic plover
- Initiatives adopted to protect specific species populations at Baltic sea, Mediterranean Sea etc.
Convention on Migratory Species (CMS):
- Popularly known as Bonn Convention
- An intergovernmental treaty
- Under the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
- Signed in – 1979
- Came into force – 1983.
- Number of Parties – 133 (as of 1st March 2022)
- India – A party to CMS (since 1983)
- Aim –
- To conserve terrestrial, marine and avian migratory species throughout their range.
- Lays the legal foundation to conduct conservation measures on a global scale.
- Legal instruments under CMS may range from legally binding Agreements to less formal MoU.
- Appendices –
- Appendix I – Threatened Migratory Species
- Appendix II – Migratory Species requiring international cooperation
India and the CMS:
- Signed a non-legally binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with CMS on conservation and management
- Siberian Cranes (1998)
- Marine Turtles (2007)
- Dugongs (2008)
- Raptors (2016).
- Contributes to around 8% of the known global biodiversity out of 2.4% of the world’s land area.
- Provides temporary shelter to several migratory species
Initiatives Taken by India for Migratory Species:
- National Action Plan for the Conservation of Migratory Birds (2018-2023)
- To conserve transboundary of migratory species along the Central Asian Flyway.
- To reduce pressure on critical habitats and migratory routes
- To stop the decline of migratory birds and reverse the scenario by 2027.
- To ensure their sustainability for future generations by avoiding threats to habitats and migratory routes.
- Project Snow Leopard
- Dugong Conservation Reserve
- India established its 1st Dugong conservation reserve in Tamil Nadu.
India Announced:
- Conservation of marine turtles –
- By launching its Marine Turtle Policy and Marine Stranding Management Policy, by 2020,
- Reduction of pollution from micro-plastic and single-use plastic,
- Transboundary protected areas for conservation of species
- Sustainable infrastructure development like Linear Infrastructure Policy Guidelines to tailor development in ecologically fragile areas.
Source: Down To Earth
Previous Year Question
Consider the following pairs:
International agreement/set-up: Subject
1. Alma-Ata Declaration: Healthcare of the people
2. Hague Convention: Biological and chemical weapons
3. Talanoa Dialogue: Global climate change
4. Under2 Coalition: Child rights
Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2020 Prelims]
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 4 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 2, 3 and 4 only
Answer: (c)
Explanation:
Option 2 is not correct:
Hague Convention – Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, etc.
Option 4 is not correct:
Under2 Coalition – A global community of state and regional governments committed to ambitious climate action in line with the Paris Agreement.
