U.N. Grants International Protection to 40 New Species, Including Snowy Owl

The U.N. Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) approved 40 new species for international protection at the COP15 summit in Campo Verde, Brazil. The list includes the snowy owl from the Harry Potter saga, Hudsonian godwit, great hammerhead shark, striped hyena, cheetah, and giant otter.

The CMS statement said that countries party to the convention are legally obliged to protect species listed as at risk of extinction, conserve and restore their habitats, prevent obstacles to migration, and cooperate with other range states.

According to a report ahead of the summit, nearly half (49 percent) of all species catalogued by the CMS are showing signs of declining numbers, and nearly one in four are threatened with extinction on a worldwide scale.

Another major U.N. assessment warned that migratory freshwater fish populations crucial to river health and sustaining the livelihoods of millions of people are in freefall and risk collapse due to habitat destruction, overfishing, and water pollution from the Amazon to the Danube.