[pic] | COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES |

Brussels, 3.11.2008

COM(2008) 695 final

Proposal for a

COUNCIL DECISION

establishing the position to be adopted on behalf of the European Community with regard to proposals for amending Appendices I and II to the Convention on the conservation of migratory species of wild animals at the ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties

(presented by the Commission)

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

1. The Convention on the conservation of migratory species of wild animals (also known as the CMS or Bonn Convention) aims to conserve terrestrial, marine and avian migratory species throughout their range. It is an intergovernmental treaty, concluded under the aegis of the United Nations Environment Programme, concerned with the conservation of wildlife and habitats on a global scale.

2. The ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention will take place in Rome (Italy) from 1 to 5 December 2008. The European Community has been a Party to the CMS since 1 November 1983[1].

3. The Conference of the Parties (COP) is the decision-making body of the Convention with powers to assess the conservation status of migratory species and, subsequently, to review the listing of Appendices I and II to the Convention. For this COP, a number of Parties have presented proposals to give protection to several new species by amending Appendices I and II to the Convention.

4. In accordance with Article XI of the Convention, an amendment to the Appendices enters into force for all Parties ninety days after the meeting of the Conference of the Parties at which it is adopted, except for those Parties which make a reservation. It is therefore necessary for the Council to take a decision based on Article 300(2), second subparagraph, for the purpose of establishing the positions to be adopted on behalf of the Community at the ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties.

5. None of the proposals for amendments tabled by Parties would require any change in Community law. They concern either migratory species which already benefit from appropriate protection under Community law, including the Birds[2] or Habitats[3] Directives or the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP)[4], or species not falling within the CFP and whose range occurs outside the European territory of the Member States . The Community should support these proposals on the basis of the following considerations: (1) they are scientifically sound; (2) for reasons of consistency between its internal and external action; and (3) the EC is committed to international cooperation for the protection of biodiversity, in accordance with Article 5 of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity and with the target agreed at the World Summit on Sustainable Development “to significantly reduce the current rate of biodiversity loss by 2010”.

Proposal for a

COUNCIL DECISION

establishing the position to be adopted on behalf of the European Community with regard to proposals for amending Appendices I and II to the Convention on the conservation of migratory species of wild animals at the ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 175(1), in conjunction with the second subparagraph of Article 300(2), thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission[5],

Whereas:

(1) The Community is a Party to the Convention on the conservation of migratory species of wild animals (CMS or Bonn Convention)[6].

(2) The Conference of the Parties is the decision-making body of the Convention and the powers conferred upon it include the capacity to review and assess the conservation status of migratory species and review the progress made for the conservation of migratory species, especially those listed in Appendices I and II to the Convention.

(3) For the ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, that will take place in Rome (Italy) from 1 to 5 December 2008, a number of Parties have presented proposals to give protection to several new species by amending Appendices I and II to the Convention.

(4) In accordance with Article XI of the Convention, an amendment to the Appendices enters into force for all Parties ninety days after the meeting of the Conference of the Parties at which it is adopted, except for those Parties which make a reservation.

(5) None of the proposals for amendments tabled by Parties would require any change in Community law.

(6) The Community should support these proposals because they are scientifically sound, in line with Community legislation and with the Community’s commitment to international cooperation for the protection of biodiversity, in accordance with Article 5 of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity[7] and with the target agreed at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002 to significantly reduce the current rate of biodiversity loss by 2010,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Sole Article

At the ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the conservation of migratory species of wild animals (CMS or Bonn Convention), the Commission shall present the following position of the Community at the voting on the proposals for giving protection to several new species by amending Appendices I and II to that Convention:

6. the Commission is hereby authorised to support the addition to Appendix I of the following species:

7. Neophron percnopterus ;

8. Tursiops truncatus ponticus (population of the Black Sea);

9. Falco cherrug ;

10. Orcaella brevirostris ;

11. Souza teuszii ;

12. Acinonyx jubatus ;

13. Trichechus senegalensis ;

14. Ammotragus lervia ;

15. Aythya baeri ;

16. Sterna lorata ;

17. Emberiza aureola ;

18. Dendroica caerulea ;

19. Acrocephalus sorghophilus;

20. the Commission is hereby authorised to support the addition to Appendix II of the following species:

21. Phocoena phocoena (North-West African population);

22. Grampus griseus (Mediterranean population);

23. Tursiops truncatus (whole Mediterranean population);

24. Stenella clymene (West African population, Eastern Atlantic Tropical area);

25. Lycaon pictus ;

26. Saiga tatarica ;

27. Oxyura maccoa ;

28. Rhychops flavirostris ;

29. Isurus oxyrinchus ;

30. Isurus paucus ;

31. Lamna nasus ;

32. Squalus acanthias .

Done at Brussels, […]

For the Council

The President […]

[1] Council Decision 82/461/EEC of 24 June 1982 on the conclusion of the Convention on the conservation of migratory species of wild animals, OJ L 210, 24.6.1982, p. 10.

[2] Council Directive 79/409/EEC of 2 April 1979 on the conservation of wild birds, OJ L 103, 25.4.1979, p. 1.

[3] Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora, OJ L 206, 22.7.1992, p. 7.

[4] Council Regulation (EC) No 2371/2002 of 20 December 2002 on the conservation and sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources under the Common Fisheries Policy, OJ L 358, 31.12.2002, p. 59.

[5] OJ C , , p. .

[6] Council Decision 82/461/EEC of 24 June 1982 on the conclusion of the Convention on the conservation of migratory species of wild animals, OJ L 210, 24.6.1982, p. 10.

[7] Council Decision 93/626/EEC of 25 October 1993 concerning the conclusion of the Convention on Biological Diversity, OJ L 309, 13.12.1993, p. 1.