Greater protection secured for elephants, tigers, dolphins and turtles

The Convention focused on endangered species from all corners of the earth and saw decisions made to further protect elephants in Africa, tigers in Asia, turtles in the Pacific, dolphins in South East Asia and seals, narwhals and polar bears at risk from climate change.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) congratulates CMS Parties for making such excellent progress during the week-long meeting where many countries made commitments to robust agreements and cross border alliances to actively protect wildlife and their habitats. There were also crucial discussions and agreements on how to tackle some of the main threats to marine species such as ocean noise, climate change and by-catch from fishing practices.

However, IFAW believes that adequate resources are essential to the success of this unique conservation treaty as it approaches its 30th anniversary next year and therefore it is vital that after such a successful meeting, countries provide the time and money needed to ensure that these agreements are properly implemented.

“The Convention was far reaching, covering gravely threatened species from all corners of the globe,” said Darren Kindleysides, IFAW’s Programmes Manager and Head of Delegation to the CMS meeting.

“We were delighted to see solid agreements made to protect many key species from polar bears in the cold of the arctic to turtles in the warm seas of the Pacific. Now it is critical that countries pledge funding to ensure these much-needed collaborative agreements are fully implemented to protect some of the planet's most threatened animals.

“Our wildlife is facing its very own global financial crisis.  Without further investment we cannot hope to fully safeguard migratory species.”

For media-related inquiries, contact:
Amanda Gent (IFAW, UK)
Tel: +44(0)20 7587 6765
Mobile: +44(0)7747 567 635
Email: agent@ifaw.org