The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals

Signed in Bonn, Germany in 1979 this agreement is known as CMS, and also as the Bonn Convention.

CNS aims to conserve terrestrial, marine and avian migratory species throughout their range. It aims at cooperation, actions towards protection of migratory species, and taking necessary steps to conserve migratory species and their habitat, especially those species and habitats whose conservation requires the cooperation of several nations, and to promote such cooperation.

Parties to CMS also exchange information and coordinate their research and conservation programmes with other parties in the region. Membership in CMS complements a given country's participation in the Ramsar Convention and the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Since the Convention's entry into force on November 1, 1983, its membership has grown steadily to include 84 parties (as of December 2003) from Africa, Central and South America, Asia, Europe and Oceania.

<www.unep-wcmc.org/cms/>