This
year’s World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) will take place on Saturday and
Sunday May
10-11, 2008. WMBD is a global initiative devoted to celebrating migratory
birds and for promoting their conservation worldwide.
WMBD was
launched two years ago when the Secretariat of the African-Eurasian
Migratory Waterbird Agreement (AEWA)
and the Secretariat of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS)
both of United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) saw the need for a
global awareness campaign to inspire people to take action for the
conservation of migratory birds. This year’s event will be the third
following those held in 2006 and 2007.
The theme
for this year's WMBD: "Migratory Birds - Ambassadors for Biodiversity"
draws attention to the link between migratory birds and wider biodiversity
as well as the overall state of our environment. Birds are considered to
be some of the best indicators for the status and trends of wider
biodiversity as they connect, and are inhabitants of, virtually all
ecosystems in the world.
Many sites - identified as important for birds - host
numerous other threatened species of plants and animals. Therefore
areas essential for birds represent hot spots for other biodiversity as
well.
All
through their annual cycle, migratory birds cross many countries and
continents, some of them from the tundra to the tropics, linking different
ecosystems. By conserving them and their environment we ensure the
conservation of biodiversity on a wider scale.
Birdwatchers and
conservationists in dozens of countries will mark this year’s WMBD with
concerts, films and other public events to draw attention to the rising
threat to migratory birds and global biodiversity.
The events will be
focussing on one of the world's most magnificent natural phenomena - bird
migration and the birds' journeys of thousands of miles between their
breeding and wintering grounds.
For more information
please go to the WMBD website or the websites
of the partners:
WMBD website:
www.worldmigratorybirdday.org
The Partners:
United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP)
Convention on the Conservation
of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS; also known as the Bonn
Convention) - A convention that aims
to conserve terrestrial, aquatic and avian migratory species throughout
their range. It is an intergovernmental treaty concluded under the aegis of
the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Since the Convention's
entry into force, its membership has grown steadily to include 108 (as of 1
March 2008) parties from Africa, Central and South America, Asia, Europe and
Oceania.
African-Eurasian
Migratory Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) is an intergovernmental treaty
developed under the CMS dedicated to the conservation of migratory
waterbirds. The Agreement covers 235 species of birds ecologically dependent
on wetlands for at least part of their annual cycle. The treaty covers a
large geographic area, including Europe, parts of Asia, Canada, the Middle
East and Africa. So far 59 out of the 118 countries found in this area have
become Contracting Parties to the International Agreement.
BirdLife International
is a global partnership of conservation organisations that strives to
conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity. BirdLife
International has long been committed to the conservation of migratory birds
and the habitats upon which they depend. The BirdLife Partnership is engaged
in migratory bird conservation at numerous scales, from projects focused on
individual species or key sites, to broader policy and advocacy work to
promote migratory species conservation, and involvement in flyway-scale
projects.
Wetlands International
is an independent, not-for-profit, global organisation, dedicated to the
conservation and wise use of wetlands. Wetlands International works
globally, regionally and nationally to achieve the conservation and wise use
of wetlands, to benefit biodiversity and human well-being.
