Bonn, 12 December 2012 - If populations of migratory
waterbirds are to be maintained in a favourable conservation
status, it is essential that any exploitation of these
populations be carried out on a sustainable basis. Article
III, paragraph 2 (b) of the Agreement requires that Parties
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.

More specifically, in paragraph 4.1.1 of the Action Plan,
Parties are required to co-operate to ensure that their
hunting legislation implements the principle of sustainable
use as envisaged in the Action Plan, taking into account
the full geographical range of the waterbird populations
concerned and their life history characteristics.

The present guidelines promote the establishment of 'harvest
frameworks' at both international and national levels,
and identify a series of steps to assist Range States
in adopting a sustainable approach to the harvesting of
waterbirds. These steps include, for example, the introduction
of procedures to maintain high standards amongst hunters;
the commitment to and the support of international harvest
management or the adjustment of harvest frameworks to
address national objectives.

A series of twelve Conservation Guidelines, which deal
with inter alia, species and habitat management
and management of human activities has been developed
to assist the Parties in the implementation of the AEWA
Action Plan.

Guidelines 2, 6 and 10 were revised by the AEWA Technical
Committee and adopted by the 5th Meeting of the Parties
to AEWA (MOP5) in May
2012. In addition two newly developed Conservation Guidelines;
Guidelines on How to Avoid or Mitigate Impact of Electricity
Power Grids on Migratory Birds in the African-Eurasian
Region and Guidelines for the Translocation of
Waterbirds for Conservation Purposes: Complementing the
IUCN Guidelines were adopted by MOP5. The revised
and newly developed guidelines will be published in due
course.

For more information please see:

http://www.unep-aewa.org/publications/conservation_guidelines.htm