Delegation from Turkmenistan visit the CMS and AEWA Secretariats

Bonn, 6 August 2009 – A delegation from Turkmenistan met CMS Acting Executive Secretary Elizabeth Mrema and Information and Capacity-building Officer Francisco Rilla in the CMS Secretariat in Bonn. Francisco Rilla explained the benefits and obligations resulting from a membership of CMS to Tezegur Japarowa and Viktoria Kim, who both work for the Ministry of Nature Protection in Turkmenistan.

Turkmenistan plays a crucial role in Central Asian wildlife conservation strategies. Its many different kinds of ecosystems offer a variety of habitats for animals. Numerous migratory species found in Turkmenistan are listed under Appendices I and II of the Convention. Three important MoUs for Central Asia have already been signed by Turkmenistan: the MoU concerning Conservation Measures for the Siberian Crane, the MoU concerning Conservation and Restoration of the Bukhara Deer and the MoU concerning Conservation, Restoration and Sustainable Use of the Saiga Antelope.

To promote the membership of Turkmenistan to AEWA, Florian Keil (Information Officer) and Nina Mikander (Coordinator for the Lesser White-fronted Goose) from the AEWA Secretariat gave an overview of the benefits of joining AEWA and provided the guests with information on the 92 waterbird species protected under AEWA which occur in Turkmenistan, underlying the importance of Turkmenistan for many of these species, including the Critically Endangered Slender-billed Curlew (Numenius tenuirostris) and Sociable Lapwing (Vanellus gregarius).

Turkmenistan is located at the crossroads of several migration routes (the Black Sea-Mediterranean, West Asian-East African, and Central Asian-South Asian flyways) and Turkmenistan is a Range State to a large number of Single Species Action Plans (SSAP) developed under AEWA, such as the International Action Plan for the Conservation of the Lesser White-fronted Goose (Western Palearctic population).

Two further participants at the meeting were Oliver Schall from the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) and Angelina Heidrich from the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN). They both encouraged Turkmenistan to join CMS and AEWA.