Event details

The 15th Anniversary of AEWA will be celebrated on 14-15 June at a special Symposium hosted by the Government of the Netherlands in The Hague, where AEWA was concluded on 16 June 1995 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

This two-day Symposium will provide an opportunity to look back on the achievements made under AEWA as well as at the challenges lying ahead. Six workshops will be carried out, each with a different focus:

1) land use developments in the AEWA region with a special focus on Africa;

2) management of waterbird site networks on national level;

3) sustainable management of migratory birds and invasive species;

4) the wider flyway approach and priorities for each single species;

5) establishment of international site networks; the role of the International Waterbird Census;

6) migratory waterbirds and climate change in the light of human interferences.

The outcome of these workshops will result in a declaration, which will be tabled for approval. This statement will be of importance for the development of new ideas on the role of AEWA in the conservation of migratory waterbirds, which will, in turn, provide feedback to the 5th Meeting of the Parties to AEWA, which is scheduled to take place in May 2012 in France.

The symposium is being facilitated by Dr. Gerard C. Boere, one of the founding fathers of AEWA. He was involved in drafting the Agreement text, the consultations with all the major stakeholders as well in the final negotiations 15 years ago.

The sixth meeting of the AEWA Standing Committee will be held back to back with the Anniversary Symposium in the Hague on the 16 and 17 of June.

For more information regarding the Symposium, please do not hesitate to contact the UNEP/AEWA Secretariat (E-mail: aewa@unep.de) or go to the Symposium website: http://www.unep-aewa.org/meetings/symposium/symposium.htm