Overeenkomst inzake de bescherming van Afrikaans-Euraziatische trekkende watervogels

The Contracting Parties,

Recalling that the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, 1979, encourages international cooperative action to conserve migratory species;

Recalling further that the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention, held in Bonn in October 1985, instructed the Secretariat of the Convention to take appropriate measures to develop an Agreement on Western Palearctic Anatidae;

Considering that migratory waterbirds constitute an important part of the global biological diversity which, in keeping with the spirit of the Convention on Biological Diversity, 1992, and Agenda 21 should be conserved for the benefit of present and future generations;

Aware of the economic, social, cultural and recreational benefits accruing from the taking of certain species of migratory waterbirds and of the environmental, ecological, genetic, scientific, aesthetic, recreational, cultural, educational, social and economic values of waterbirds in general;

Convinced that any taking of migratory waterbirds must be conducted on a sustainable basis, taking into account the conservation status of the species concerned over their entire range as well as their biological characteristics;

Conscious that migratory waterbirds are particularly vulnerable because they migrate over long distances and are dependent on networks of wetlands that are decreasing in extent and becoming degraded through non-sustainable human activities, as is expressed in the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, especially as Waterfowl Habitat, 1971;

Recognizing the need to take immediate action to stop the decline of migratory waterbird species and their habitats in the geographic area of the African-Eurasian waterbird migration systems;

Convinced that the conclusion of a multilateral Agreement and its implementation through coordinated or concerted action will contribute significantly to the conservation of migratory waterbirds and their habitats in the most efficient manner, and will have ancillary benefits for many other species of animals and plants; and

Acknowledging that effective implementation of such an Agreement will require assistance to be provided to some Range States for research, training and monitoring of migratory waterbird species and their habitats, for the management of those habitats as well as for the establishment or improvement of scientific and administrative institutions for the implementation of this Agreement,

Have agreed as follows:

Article I. Scope, Definitions and Interpretation

• a). “Convention” means the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, 1979;

• b). “Convention Secretariat” means the body established under Article IX of the Convention;

• c). “Waterbirds” means those species of birds that are ecologically dependent on wetlands for at least part of their annual cycle, have a range which lies entirely or partly within the Agreement Area and are listed in Annex 2 to this Agreement;

• d). “Agreement secretariat” means the body established under Article VI, paragraph 7, subparagraph b), of this Agreement;

• e). “Parties” means, unless the context otherwise indicates, Parties to this Agreement; and

• f). “Parties present and voting” means the Parties present and casting an affirmative or negative vote; those abstaining from voting shall not be counted amongst the Parties present and voting.

In addition, the terms defined in Article I, subparagraphs 1(a) to (k), of the Convention shall have the same meaning, mutatis mutandis,in this Agreement.

Article II. Fundamental Principles

Article III. General Conservation Measures

• a). accord the same strict protection for endangered migratory waterbird species in the Agreement Area as is provided for under Article III, paragraphs 4 and 5, of the Convention;

• b). ensure that any use of migratory waterbirds is based on an assessment of the best available knowledge of their ecology and is sustainable for the species as well as for the ecological systems that support them;

• c). identify sites and habitats for migratory waterbirds occurring within their territory and encourage the protection, management, rehabilitation and restoration of these sites, in liaison with those bodies listed in Article IX, paragraphs (a) and (b) of this Agreement, concerned with habitat conservation;

• d). coordinate their efforts to ensure that a network of suitable habitats is maintained or, where appropriate, re-established throughout the entire range of each migratory waterbird species concerned, in particular where wetlands extend over the area of more than one Party to this Agreement;

• e). investigate problems that are posed or are likely to be posed by human activities and endeavour to implement remedial measures, including habitat rehabilitation and restoration, and compensatory measures for loss of habitat;

• f). cooperate in emergency situations requiring international concerted action and in identifying the species of migratory waterbirds which are the most vulnerable to these situations as well as cooperate in developing appropriate emergency procedures to provide increased protection to these species in such situations and in the preparation of guidelines to assist individual Parties in tackling these situations;

• g). prohibit the deliberate introduction of non-native waterbird species into the environment and take all appropriate measures to prevent the unintentional release of such species if this introduction or release would prejudice the conservation status of wild flora and fauna; when non-native waterbird species have already been introduced, the Parties shall take all appropriate measures to prevent these species from becoming a potential threat to indigenous species;

• h). initiate or support research into the biology and ecology of migratory waterbirds including the harmonization of research and monitoring methods and, where appropriate, the establishment of joint or cooperative research and monitoring programmes;

• i). analyze their training requirements for, inter alia, migratory waterbird surveys, monitoring, ringing and wetland management to identify priority topics and areas for training and cooperate in the development and provision of appropriate training programmes;

• j). develop and maintain programmes to raise awareness and understanding of migratory waterbird conservation issues in general and of the particular objectives and provisions of this Agreement;

• k). exchange information and results from research, monitoring, conservation and education programmes; and

• l). cooperate with a view to assisting each other to implement this Agreement, particularly in the areas of research and monitoring.

Article IV. Action Plan and Conservation Guidelines

• a). species conservation;

• b). habitat conservation;

• c). management of human activities;

• d). research and monitoring;

• e). education and information; and

• f). implementation.

Article V. Implementation and Financing

• a). designate the Authority or Authorities to implement this Agreement which shall, inter alia,monitor all activities that may have impact on the conservation status of those migratory waterbird species of which the Party is a Range State;

• b). designate a contact point for the other Parties, and communicate without delay its name and address to the Agreement secretariat to be circulated forthwith to the other Parties; and

• c). prepare for each ordinary session of the Meeting of the Parties, beginning with the second session, a report on its implementation of the Agreement with particular reference to the conservation measures it has undertaken. The format of such reports shall be determined by the first session of the Meeting of the Parties and reviewed as may be necessary at any subsequent session of the Meeting of the Parties. Each report shall be submitted to the Agreement secretariat not less than one hundred and twenty days before the ordinary session of the Meeting of the Parties for which it has been prepared, and copies shall be circulated forthwith to the other Parties by the Agreement secretariat.

• a). Each Party shall contribute to the budget of the Agreement in accordance with the United Nations scale of assessment. The contributions shall be restricted to a maximum of 25 per cent of the total budget for any Party that is a Range State. No regional economic integration organization shall be required to contribute more than 2.5 per cent of the administrative costs.

• b). Decisions relating to the budget and any changes to the scale of assessment that may be found necessary shall be adopted by the Meeting of the Parties by consensus.

Article VI. Meeting of the Parties

• a). adopt its rules of procedure by consensus;

• b). establish an Agreement secretariat within the Convention Secretariat to perform the secretariat functions listed in Article VIII of this Agreement;

• c). establish the Technical Committee provided for in Article VII of this Agreement;

• d). adopt a format for the reports to be prepared according to Article V, paragraph 1, subparagraph c), of this Agreement; and

• e). adopt criteria to define emergency situations which require urgent conservation measures, and determine the modalities for assigning responsibility for action to be taken.

• a). consider actual and potential changes in the conservation status of migratory waterbirds and the habitats important for their survival, as well as the factors which may affect them;

• b). review the progress made and any difficulty encountered in the implementation of this Agreement;

• c). adopt a budget and consider any matters relating to the financial arrangements for this Agreement;

• d). deal with any matter relating to the Agreement secretariat and the membership of the Technical Committee;

• e). adopt a report for communication to the Parties to this Agreement and to the Conference of the Parties of the Convention; and

• f). determine the time and venue of the next session.

• a). make recommendations to the Parties as it deems necessary or appropriate;

• b). adopt specific actions to improve the effectiveness of this Agreement and, as the case may be, emergency measures as provided for in Article VII, paragraph 4, of this Agreement;

• c). consider and decide upon proposals to amend this Agreement;

• d). amend the Action Plan in accordance with Article IV, paragraph 3, of this Agreement;

• e). establish such subsidiary bodies as it deems necessary to assist in the implementation of this Agreement, in particular for coordination with bodies established under other international treaties, conventions and agreements with overlapping geographic and taxonomic coverage; and

• f). decide on any other matter relating to the implementation of this Agreement.

Article VII. Technical Committee