Proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION establishing the position to be adopted on behalf of the European Union with regard to proposals for amending Appendices I and II to the Convention on the conservation of migratory species of wild animals at the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties
Date: 2011-09-29
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: animal life, biodiversity, international convention, protected species, protection of animal life

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 29.9.2011 
COM(2011) 591 final 

2011/0252 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

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

 
 
  
 
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.  The  European  Union  has  been  a  Party  to  the  CMS  since  1 
November 19831. 

2. The migratory species to be conserved are listed in Appendices I (endangered species) and 
II (species to be the subjects of agreements) to the Convention. 

3. The Conference of the Parties is the decision-making body of the Convention with powers 
to  assess  the  conservation  status  of  migratory  species  and,  subsequently,  to  amend 
Appendices I and II to the Convention. 

4. In accordance with Article XI of the Convention, proposals for amendment may be made 
by any Party. 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.  The  tenth  meeting  of  the  Conference  of  the  Parties  to  the  Convention  will  take  place  in 
Bergen (Norway) from 20 to 25 November 2011. For this meeting, Parties to the Convention 
have presented proposals to give protection to several new species by amending Appendices I 
and II of the Convention. 

6.  Two  of  these  proposals  have  been  made  by  the  European  Union  and  submitted  to  the 
Secretariat of the Convention as required by Council Decision2. It had already been assessed 
that these proposals are in line with the objectives of the Birds Directive3 and the Regulation 
on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein4. Therefore, the 
Union should actively support adoption of these proposals it submitted itself. 

7. Other Parties to the Convention submitted six proposals for amendments of Appendices I 
and II. None of these proposals regarding bird or mammal species would require any change 
in  Union  law.  The  proposals  regarding  the  fish  species  Manta  birostris  would  require  a 
change  to  Union  legislation  on  the  conservation  and  sustainable  exploitation  of  fisheries 
resources under the Common Fisheries Policy in order to guarantee protection to this species. 
The Union should support these proposals on the basis of the following considerations: (1) the 
inclusion of such species is science-based; (2) for reasons of consistency between its internal 

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4 

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. 
Council Decision authorising the European Commission to submit, on behalf of the European Union, a 
proposal for amendment to Appendix I to the Convention on the conservation of migratory species of 
wild  animals  with  a  view  to  the  tenth  meeting  of  the  Conference  of  the  Parties  (adopted  on  23  June 
2011 by written procedure) (doc. 11078/11 ENV 432). 
Directive  2009/147/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  30  November  2009  on  the 
conservation of wild birds, OJ L 20, 26.1.2010, p. 7. 
Regulation  338/97/EC  of  9  December  1996  on  the  protection  of  species  of  wild  fauna  and  flora  by 
regulating trade therein, OJ L 61, 3.3.1997, p. 1. 

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and  external  action;  and  (3)  the  Union  is  committed  to  international  cooperation  for  the 
protection of biodiversity. 

8. It is therefore necessary for the Council to take a decision for the purpose of establishing 
the position to be adopted on behalf of the Union at the tenth meeting of the Conference of the 
Parties with regard to proposals for amendment. 

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2011/0252 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

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

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 192 (1), in conjunction with Article 218 (9), thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission5, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

As  a  Party  to  the  Convention  on  the  conservation  of  migratory  species  of  wild 
animals6, the European Union may make proposals for amendment of the Appendices 
to the Convention which list the species to be conserved; 

The Conference of the Parties is the decision-making body of the Convention and the 
powers  conferred  upon  it  include  the  capacity  to  assess  the  conservation  status  of 
migratory species and subsequently amend Appendices I and II to the Convention; 

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; 

(4)  With a view to the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, that will take place 
in Bergen (Norway) from 20 to 25 November 2011, the Union communicated to the 
Secretariat of the Convention proposals7 for amendment of Appendix I to include the 
species Falco cherrug and Falco vespertinus; 

(5) 

Other  Parties  to  the  Convention  have  also  presented  proposals  to  give  protection  to 
several new species by amending Appendices I and II to the Convention; 

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6 

7 

OJ C […], […], p. […]. 
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. 
Proposals as adopted by Council Decision authorising the European Commission to submit, on behalf 
of the European Union, a proposal for amendment to Appendix I to the Convention on the conservation 
of migratory species of wild animals with a view to the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties 
(adopted on 23 June 2011 by written procedure) (doc. 11078/11 ENV 432). 

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(6) 

(7) 

(8) 

(9) 

The Union should support these proposals because they are science-based, in line with 
Union legislation and with the Union's comitment to international cooperation for the 
protection  of  biodiversity  in  accordance  with  Article  5  of  the  UN  Convention  on 
Biological Diversity8 and decisions taken at the Conference of the Parties, in particular 
with the global target agreed at the Tenth meeting: "By 2020 the extinction of known 
threatened  species  has  been  prevented  and  their  conservation  status,  particularly  of 
those most in decline, has been improved and sustained"; 

None  of  the  proposals  for  amendments  regarding  bird  or  mammal  species  would 
require any change in Union law; 

The  proposals  regarding  the  fish  species  Manta  birostris  would  require  a  change  to 
Union  legislation  on  the  conservation  and  sustainable  exploitation  of  fisheries 
resources under the Common Fisheries Policy in order to guarantee protection to this 
species; 

To  the  extent  that  the  Convention  on  the  conservation  of  migratory  species  of  wild 
animals  falls  both  within  the  competence  of  the  Union  and  the  competence  of  the 
Member States, the Commission and the Member States should cooperate closely for 
the  adoption  of  the  amendments  to  the  Appendices  of  the  Convention,  in  view  of 
aiming for unity in the international representation of the Union. 

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: 

Sole Article 

At the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the conservation of 
migratory species of wild animals, the Commission shall present the following position of the 
Union in respect of the proposals to amend Appendices I and II to the Convention: 

(1) 

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

(a)  Falco cherrug; 

(b)  Falco vespertinus; 

(c)  Numenius madagascariensis; 

(d)  Numenius tahitiensis; 

(e)  Manta birostris; 

(2) 

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

(a)  Ovis ammon; 

8 

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. 

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(b)  Dolichonyx oryzivorus; 

(c)  Manta birostris. 

Done at Brussels,  

For the Council 
The President 
[..] 

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