Samarkand, Uzbekistan, Feb. 17, 2024 – The following statement was issued by Susan Lieberman, Vice President of International Policy for the Wildlife Conservation Society:

“At CMS COP14, governments from around the world came together to ensure collaboration around conserving and protecting migrating species and their habitats.

“At WCS, we are leaving Samarkand, optimistic that the global community is uniting behind the protection of nature, and energized by the tremendous spirit of collaboration at this meeting.

“The threats to biodiversity across the globe have never been as destructive—including overexploitation, habitat destruction, deforestation, climate change, pollution and other harmful human activities. This was the first major intergovernmental biodiversity meeting since the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 2022. It is encouraging that governments here committed to including migratory species and their conservation needs in their implementation of the GBF, including in the establishment of protected and conserved areas (the 30x30 commitment), and ensuring that any use or trade of wildlife is legal and sustainable. We are also encouraged by adoption of important decisions here at the CMS CoP, such as those on wildlife health issues, including prevention of pathogen spillover from wildlife; climate change and migratory species; jaguars; African carnivores; Central Asian mammals; and so much more.

“We greatly welcome the decisions here in Samarkand to list the critically endangered sand tiger shark on Appendices I and II of the Convention, and to list the guanaco and two species of giant migratory catfish of the Amazon on Appendix II. WCS was pleased to work with proponent governments on those proposals, and we thank Brazil, Panama, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, and Peru for their leadership on these proposals. We appreciate the engagement here with our partners in Central Asia on the many issues and threats facing migratory animal species in this region.

“The theme of this conference is “Wildlife Knows No Borders.” Migratory wild animals, more than any others, need collaboration between governments, conservation organizations, civil society, and communities across their range. Some species, such as the Amazon catfish and sharks, travel thousands of kilometers through multiple countries, and will not survive without the shared commitments and collaboration so apparent at this meeting. The conservation of these species also benefits those local communities that are dependent on many of these migratory animals for their livelihoods and cultural expression.

“At WCS, we work with our partners on the conservation of wildlife and wild places in close to 60 countries around the world. As we leave Samarkand, we highlight our commitment to continue to partner with governments and all stakeholders to help achieve the goals of CMS on behalf of nature and people for generations to come.”

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