Credit: USFWS

Adopted in 1979 and entered in to force in 1983, the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) aims to build and strengthen global conservation efforts for migratory species in the air, on land, and in the seas. CMS, also known as the Bonn Convention, is an international and intergovernmental treaty backed by the United Nations Environmental Programme. Its current membership is 116 nations who work to conserve migratory species throughout their range and across national borders.

The Convention divides species into two appendices, Appendix I, lists species that are threatened with extinction and Appendix II, species that need or would benefit greatly from international cooperative conservation efforts.  Parties work to conserve the listed species and their habitats through formal Agreements, and less formal Memorandums of Understanding (MOU).  The Agreements and MOUs work to incorporate all Range states of the target species, and not just parties to the convention. The Convention participates in the Western Hemisphere Migratory Species Initiative.

For more information on the Convention on Migratory Species visit their webpage at http://www.cms.int/ and learn about the role the convention plays in conserving migratory species.