UN Protects 40 New Migratory Species at COP15 Summit in Rio De Janeiro

UN Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) approved 40 new species for international protection at COP15 summit in Campo Verde, Brazil. The summit gathered representatives from 132 countries and the European Union.

The snowy owl, featured in Harry Potter saga, Hudsonian godwit, great hammerhead shark, striped hyena, and giant otter were among the newly listed species. These include land mammals and aquatic wildlife threatened with extinction or at risk of disappearing.

Countries party to CMS are legally obligated to protect these species, conserve their habitats, prevent obstacles to migration, and cooperate with other range states. Habitat destruction, overfishing, and water pollution from Amazon to Danube threaten hundreds of migratory species crucial for river health and livelihoods of millions of people.

According to a report ahead of the summit, 49 percent of CMS catalogued species are declining, and nearly one in four is threatened with extinction globally. Another UN assessment warned that migratory freshwater fish populations vital to river health and sustaining the livelihoods of millions are at risk of collapse.