New Party: The Republic of Zimbabwe Accedes to AEWA

Bonn, 22 June 2012 – The UNEP/AEWA Secretariat is pleased to announce the accession of the Republic of Zimbabwe as the 66th Party to the Agreement on 1 June 2012. The UNEP/AEWA Secretariat regards the accession of Zimbabwe as a very positive development with the potential to have a significant impact on conservation activities for migratory waterbirds in the Southern African region. Zimbabwe has also acceded to the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) bringing its membership to 117 Parties.

The Republic of Zimbabwe, a land locked country covering some 39 million hectares, is located between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers in the southern part of the African continent. With 80 per cent of its territory lying above 600m, Zimbabwe contains an impressive variety of woodlands and open savannah grasslands.

Furthermore, the availability of water from rivers, swamps and artificial impoundments provides an ideal environment for a variety of wildlife. Indeed, the variations in topography, flora and wetlands create a range of unique habitats, making Zimbabwe a key point on the crossroad of main inland migratory routes.

According to the Wings Over Wetlands (WOW) Critical Site Network (CNS) Tool, 135 different migratory waterbird species occur in Zimbabwe, including inter alia the Maccoa Duck Oxyura maccoa (Near Threatened), Great Snipe Gallinago media (Near Threatened), Black-winged Pratincole Glareola nordmanni (Near Threatened), Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa (Near Threatened), the Eurasian Curlew Nurmenius aquata (Near Threatened), the Madagascar Pond-heron Ardeola idae (Endangered) and the Lesser Flamingo Phoeniconaias minor (Near Threatened) – all species of global conservation concern.

The UNEP/AEWA Secretariat warmly welcomes Zimbabwe and is looking forward to closely working with the responsible national authorities and other stakeholders in Zimbabwe to support implementation of the Agreement in the country and to strengthen regional waterbird conservation efforts within the framework of the new Plan of Action for Africa adopted by the AEWA Parties at the 5th Session of the Meeting of the Parties to AEWA, 14-18 May 2012 in La Rochelle, France

Interview with Olivia Mufute, International Conventions Manager from the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority and Focal Point for AEWA, recorded on the occasion of the 5th Session of the Meeting of the Parties to AEWA, 14-18 May 2012 in La Rochelle, France.