Final scenes from Manila - CMS CoP 12

Another view of the great hall at the Philippines International Conference Centre during CMS CoP1

Speech by Erik Solheim, Executive Director of United Nations
Environment Programme in which, among other things he highlighted
concerns about marine debris

Alfred Apau Oteng-Yeboah the Conference-appointed councillor for African fauna
who chaired the working group looking at the African animal proposals

An intervention from Nicola Hodgins of
Whale and Dolphin Conservation

The Humane Society International Team and the troop of Filipino performers who are supporting the shark proposals 

Colin Limpus - the CoP-Appointed Councillor for Turtles.

New Zealand delegatres

South Africa's spokesman

Rod Hay the Chair of the Committee of the Whale (and the plenary session) listening to an NGO intervention.

Mark Jones of  Born Free

The hall during the first ever vote on a species listing proposal.

Fishy display in the reception area.

LPPCHEA - 'the last natural bastion' in Metro Manila

Little egret at LPPCHEA

I was fortunate enough to be able to join an early morning visit to the Las Pinas Paranaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area (LPPCHEA) hosted by the government of the Philippines. This is a bird sanctuary and an area of natural vegetation that includes a 36 hectare mangrove forest, coastal lagoon and shore area. LPPCHEA is on the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance.

Equally remarkable is that it is only about 15 minutes drive from the busy urban heart of Manila.

LPPCHEA provides a home for some 80 species of birds including three that are endangered. My visit coincided with that of Philippines senator Cynthia A. Villar one of the champions of this special area. She graciously joined the tour and chatted to me and other delegates from the CMS CoP.

An early morning view across the sea.

Collared kingfisher

Visiting delegates and media mingle outside the bird hide over-looking the lagoon.

View across the lagoon from the bird hide
(terns and other birds in view)

Large egrets across the sea

A small group of Black-Crowned Night Herons

A view of the mangrove swamp showing the aerial roots

A view across the bay looking back towards the city.

Momentos and map of LPPCHEA

Manila - days 2 and 3

Further to the celebrations and exhortations of day one of the CMS CoP in Manila, the days that follow are filled with the key work (during long hours) that needs to be done here.

The Earth Negotiations Bulletin is running its professional reporting system from here and so those that are keen to read the discussions in detail please go there. Here meanwhile are some images to show what has been happening:

John Scanlon, Executive Secretary of CITES gives an inspiring speech, including promising that
elephants will not go extinct!

Oceancare side event

In another side event Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara launches his new report on Red Sea cetaceans

Rod Hay the Chair of the Committee of the Whole (the CoW) and
Melanie Virtue (CMS Secretariat)

That new Red Sea report

Dinner on day 2 was accompanied by a carberet again - quite loud music and impassioned pleas from the winner of the Phillipines 'search for a star', who also sang for us. 

  

Nicola Crockford of RSPB

Professor Chris Wold of Lewis and Clark University -
legal adviser to CMS.

Sri Lanka signs onto an MoU on shark conservation

Saras Sharma of Fiji

The redoubtable Heidrun Frisch-Nwakanma of the secretariat reports from the stage 

Sarah Ferris of the IWC Secretariat

Margi Prideaux of Oceancare/Wildmigration and Niki Entrup (right)
and  Joanna Toole 

The Argentine delegation

Suddenly Manila! CMS CoP12

The great meeting hall during the 'high level panel'

Suddenly it is the Twelfth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS COP12). Which, as its theme has 'Their Future is Our Future – Sustainable Development for Wildlife & People'. 

This is the first time that CMS has met in Asia since the international treaty was adopted in Bonn, Germany in 1979 and came into force in 1985. CMS has some 120 parties (nations that have adhered to it) and at this meeting ('the CoP') hundreds of people from all over the world are in attendance. We  are meeting in the vast concrete structure of the Philippines International Conference centre and here - over the next few days - 31 proposals from 24 countries to add species to the Convention’s two Appendices will be considered alongside a slew of other issues impacting global wildlife such as marine debris and climate change.

But first bring on the dancing girls..... and boys. 

The first day of meetings here (Sunday) features the 'Standing Committee' which considers matter such as how to manage the large number of proposals on the agenda and the executive secretary of CMS explains that there will be taxonomic working groups to consider proposals before they come back to the CoW (the meeting of the whole). There will be a marine working group (dealing with marine species), a terrestrial one and the third will focus on bird-related matters.

The standing committee in action - Bradnee Chambers, second from left

After this administrative session, a 'High Level Panel' breaks out and the podium hosts a long line of dignitaries from various countries and some experts who - each in their own way - are encouraged to consider the theme of the CoP and how we might do better. 

A scene from the High Level Panel

The sprightly Philippines moderator

The third part of the day is taken up with the 'Champions' event and here various nations are thanked for their contributions to CMS. This included Germany, the EU and Monaco (the last for its work on marine conservation).  

The delegate from Monaco takes her award 

Abu Dhabi gets an award for its work on Dugongs

Finally... we move in a long stream of people to the nearest hotel for the 'Champions Reception'. A nice vegetarian buffet and a floor show - which is a remarkable mix of different dance traditions - is enjoyed by all. 

Dancers with coconut shells in unexpected places

Delegates are all given a fine 'goody bag' by the hosts - this includes two notebooks, a T-shirt, a flask, a document wallet, a dugong-shaped memory stick and much more.

La Spezia - on the Ligurian Sea

The next meeting of the European Cetacean Society will be in Italy in the coastal city of La Spezia.

Here are some photos from the locality - mainly based on a sunny trip offshore along the beautiful coast of the Cinque Terre to the west of the city and, in addition some images of the city and  main ECS venue. 

The coast includes some remarkable geology: sheer cliffs with wonderful rock layers and, beyond, the Maritime Alps in the west and the Apennines in the east. 

This is a landscape of many layers.

La Spezia which has long big a major naval port also has a modern marina and hosts a significant fishing fleet. 

A view of La Spezia city from the marina with fishing boats in the foreground

The palm-lined promenade

Ancient fort  in the Golfo dei Poeti.

Luis Freitas enjoys the sea trip.

A remarkable landscape comes into  view 

And  looking back another - layers of maritime mountains.

A coastline guarded by the Madonna on the edge of the
Island of Tino, which marks the end of the protected waters
of the Golf of La Spezia.

Lighthouse on Tino.

An important prehistoric site in the wonderfully layered cliffs.

Were these the homes of the original humans that came to live in the region?

Approaching the church of St Peter.

Fortezza con la Chiesa oi San Pietr

A passing 'pirate' vessel.

Back along the coast past Porto Venere

....with it remarkable lopsided buildings.

The Council of the European Cetacran Society at sea.

Moving to the venue of the event.

Here the the better partv of the ECS Council gathers outside La Spezia Teatro Civico.

A view of the theatre from the upper stalls

The theatre  and much of the city are products of the 1930s and the enthusiasm at that time for the 'art noveau' - here is just a little sample: