UAE Environment and Water Mnister Rashid bin Fahad signing the raptor MoU.

Endangered migratory birds of prey in Europe, Asia and Africa are scheduled for greater protection following the conclusion of a new international Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, promoted jointly by the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi, EAD, and the UK’s Department of Food and Agriculture, DEFRA, in association with the UNEP-supported Convention on Migratory Species, CMS.

At the end of a three-day meeting organised in Abu Dhabi by EAD, a total of 28 countries signed the new MoU, under which the signatories have agreed to take coordinated measures to achieve and maintain the favourable conservation status of birds of prey throughout their range and to reverse their decline when and where appropriate.

An Interim Co-ordinating Unit to manage the MoU has been established in Abu Dhabi, with the support of EAD, which will also support two other recently-signed MoUs on the conservation of dugongs and turtles in the Indian Ocean region.

Negotiations for the Memorandum of Understanding began in Scotland in late 2007 at a meeting in Loch Lomond jointly organised by DEFRA and EAD and the Governments of the UAE and the UK.“I am delighted that we have been able to reach an international agreement to protect some of the world’s most important birds of prey such as ospreys, golden eagles and snowy owls,” Britain’s Minister of Wildlife, How Irranca-Davies, said after the signature of the MoU. “We need these measures to protect birds of prey along the whole route that they travel on their annual migration, which can cross the boundaries of many different countries with different laws to protect wildlife.”

John Clorley , a DEFRA spokesman, added: “this is an excellent outcome for the conservation of migratory birds of prey. I am extremely pleased that the cooperation between DEFRA and the EAD has resulted in the acceptance of the MoU. The offer from UAE to host the co-ordination unit means that action to conserve these birds can now be undertaken across their flyways”and culture, we have a chance to establish a new UN base for wildlife conservation. The co-ordinating unit for raptors will also promote the CMS dugong and turtles agreements in the Indian Ocean and beyond. We must now seize the opportunity presented to us by the commitment and generosity of the people of Abu Dhabi. “

Signatories of the agreement agreed to endeavour to identify important habitats, significant routes and congregatory sites for birds of prey occurring within their territory and encourage their protection, and appropriate management, assessment, rehabilitation and restoration; and coordinate their efforts to ensure that a network of suitable habitats is maintained or, where appropriate, established where such habitats extend over the territory of more than one Signatory.

The Signatories also agreed to investigate problems that are posed or are likely to be posed by human activities or from other causes and will seek to implement remedial and preventative measures; cooperate in emergency situations requiring concerted international action and ensure that any utilization of birds of prey is based on an assessment using the best available knowledge of their ecology and is sustainable for the species as well as for the ecological systems that support them.

They also agreed to take appropriate measures for the recovery of bird populations and re-introduction of birds of prey native to their territory and take appropriate measures to prevent the introduction into their territory of non-native birds of prey.

A provisional seven-year Action Plan has been prepared, with three key objectives. These include halting and reversing the population declines of globally threatened and Near Threatened birds of prey and alleviate threats to them; halting and reversing the population declines of other birds of prey with an Unfavourable Conservation Status within Africa and Eurasia and alleviate threats to them in order to return their populations to Favourable Conservation Status; and to anticipate, reduce and avoid potential and new threats to all bird of prey species, especially to prevent the populations of any species undergoing long-term decline.