THIS WAS a convention not many have heard of. Yet, it’s crucial for the several birds and mammals that move from one country to another in search of food and shelter, and for breeding. The Indian Elephant, for instance, which migrates from India to Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Myanmar, is an endangered species and must be protected. The excitement was, therefore, palpable at the United Nation Environment Programme’s 13th Conference of Parties to the Convention on Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (cms cop13) when the Indian Elephant, along with the critically endangered Great Indian Bustard and Bengal Florican was adopted for additional protection.
CMS, a treaty agreed by 130 countries, is also called the Bonn Convention as it started in the city, in Germany, way back in 1979. It is amongst the several conventions on biodiversity, such as the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). But it holds importance for being the only one to work towards conservation of migratory species. This year, it was special for India as for the first time cop was hosted in the country. Delegates of 78 countries attended the conference held in February end, in Gujarat.
WIDESPREAD TRADE
This story is from the March 01, 2020 edition of Down To Earth.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the March 01, 2020 edition of Down To Earth.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
The Pill That's Roiling US Drug Regulation
The hard right is challenging FDA's authority to regulate drugs with its lawsuit to ban America's most used abortion pill
TURN OVER A NEW LEAF
The young leaves of pilkhan free are a worthy alternative to leafy vegetables in the spring season
FAIR PRICE
Using a calculator, Uttar Pradesh scientifically fixes fee for transporting faecal sludge to treatment plants
THE FOREVER POLLUTANT
From production to usage to disposal, plastic is a threat to those who come in its contact SIDDHARTH GHANSHYAM SINGH
Seeds from the past
For a decade,200 villages in Odisha have conserved and grown 190 indigenous rice and millet varieties with proven climate resilience
TESTING TIMES
While the world is trying to identify uniform tests to measure soil biodiversity, it still needs investment and infrastructure to make them available to all
BREAKING NEW GROUND
Soil health is typically measured by its nutrient content, by presence of elements like nitrogen and phosphorus. No country in the world measures it in terms of soil biodiversity-a counting of underground faunal populations and microorganisms.
PRIME TRIGGER
Heat stress dominates debate on the causes of a mysterious chronic kidney disease that continues to baffle health experts and is on the rise globally
Coral catastrophe
Consistent ocean heating puts global corals at risk of mass bleaching in 2024
CHIPKO A DISTANT MEMORY
Whenever a dictionary of green terms is written, no matter in what language, it will contain at least one Hindi word-Chipko, which means to hug.