AEWA grows to 63 Parties with Ethiopia joining the Agreement
Bonn,
23 November 2009 - The UNEP/AEWA Secretariat is very
pleased to announce that the Federal Democratic Republic
of Ethiopia will become the 63rd Party to the
Agreement as of 1st February 2010. In addition, Ethiopia
has deposited its instruments of accession to the Convention
on the Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS)
and will become the 113th Party to CMS with effect from
1 January 2010.
The major portion of Ethiopia lies on the Horn of Africa and the country spans an area over 1,100,000 km2 in the northeast of Africa and shares its borders with Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia and Kenya. It is a country with great geographical diversity, characterized primarily by variations in altitude. Ethiopia lies on the West Asian/African Flyway and is part of the Great Rift Valley, which is an important corridor for many migratory birds.
Ethiopia is a range state for many AEWA species including the Corncrake (Crex crex), the Ferruginous Duck (Aythya nyroca), the Lesser Flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor) and the White-winged Flufftail (Sarothrura ayresii) – all species which are listed on the IUCN Red List for which International Single Species Action Plans have been prepared under AEWA.
According to the BirdLife Conservation Series No. 11: “Important Bird Areas in Africa and associated Islands,” Ethiopia has a total of 69 Important Bird Areas (IBAs) covering at least 47,757km2, equivalent to at least 4,3% of the country’s land area.
In addition, Ethiopia is populated by many other threatened migratory species that are covered by CMS. Some of the migratory species listed in CMS Appendix I are the Basra Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus griseldis), the Grevy's zebra (Equus grevyi) and some birds of prey like the Greater Spotted Eagle (Aquila clanga) and the Imperial Eagle (Aquila heliaca). African Elephants (Loxodonta africana) can also be found in Ethiopia. They are listed in CMS Appendix II and are classified as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
The UNEP/AEWA Secretariat welcomes the accession of Ethiopia to AEWA and CMS and looks forward to further fruitful cooperation in implementing the Agreement in Ethiopia!
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