Preparations for AEWA MOP5 in full swing

Bonn, 2 August 2011 - The UNEP/AEWA Secretariat is pleased to report that preparations are well underway for the 5^th Session of the Meeting of the Parties to AEWA (MOP5) which will take place from 14 - 18 May 2012 in La Rochelle, France.

In late May 2011, a joint visit to La Rochelle was undertaken by representatives of the AEWA Secretariat and the French Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development, Transport and Housing. Among other things, the one-day visit included a tour of the conference venue and meetings with representatives of both La Rochelle Town Hall and the local tourist office. The visit offered an excellent opportunity to scrutinize the professional facilities offered by La Rochelle Conference Centre, discuss specific logistic requirements related to MOP5, and explore various accommodation, transport and excursion possibilities.

In addition to the good progress made in terms of logistical preparations, the official meeting logo and slogan have now been agreed by the MOP5 organizing committee. “Migratory waterbirds and people – sharing wetlands” is the slogan that will promote the next Meeting of the Parties. It will be accompanied by an emblematic logo depicting a heron, which was developed by the Ministry’s communication unit.

Furthermore, the Secretariat finalized the MOP5 provisional agenda which was recently sent out to Contracting Parties.

A novelty of MOP5 will be an online reporting facility: for the first time, Parties will be able to use this Internet-based tool in order to submit their national reports. The new format is expected to facilitate the collection, analysis and distribution of the information contained in Parties’ national reports.

The UNEP/AEWA Secretariat would like to take this opportunity to remind Parties and other stakeholders of the following MOP5-related deadlines:

To be submitted:	Deadline
Nominations for the AEWA Waterbird Conservation Award	extended to 31 August 2011
Reports on the phasing out of lead shot for hunting in wetlands	31 August 2011
Proposals for amendments to the Agreement and/or its annexes	15 December 2011
National Reports	14 January 2012
New proposals (including draft resolutions)	14 March 2012

More information on the preparations of MOP5 will be made available throughout the year.

For information about previous Meetings of the Parties please visit

http://www.unep-aewa.org/meetings/en/mop/mop_overview.htm