Hannes Jaenicke Speaks up for Migratory Animals

21 May 2010 - The German actor and conservationist, Hannes Jaenicke, has released a message on the International Day of Biodiversity to highlight the plight of endangered migratory species worldwide.
He started a series of documentaries on endangered animals as a public appeal for active commitment towards conservation. Following his films on orang utans and polar bears, his most recent one "Wildlife Underground Sharks" was launched at the Berlin Film Festival in February. At the same time, CMS concluded the first global agreement on sharks. Jaenicke's environmental credentials include winning the DIVA Earth Award. Hannes Jaenicke is also supporting the Convention on Migratory Species in his capacity as chair of the German charity "Friends of CMS".



[Click here to view the video] [Klicken Sie hier für die deutsche Version]

HELCOM 2010 Holistic Assessment: the Baltic Sea in Trouble

20 May 2010 - A holistic assessment of the Baltic Sea was released today at the HELCOM Ministerial Meeting taking place in Moscow. According to the report the Baltic Sea ecosystem has degraded to such an extent that its capacity to deliver goods and services to humans living in the nine coastal states has been hampered. None of the open basins of the Baltic Sea has an acceptable ecosystem health status. The full press release by HELCOM can be found here.

The poor condition of the Baltic Sea environment is of concern also to ASCOBANS, where the only population of small cetaceans listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN is found: the Baltic harbour porpoise. Abundant only a few decades ago, this genetically distinct subpopulation is now reduced to a few hundred animals.

ASCOBANS is cooperating with HELCOM to achieve a better the protection of the species. For example, in a joint project a database on harbour porpoise sightings, strandings and by-catch is being updated and integrated in the HELCOM environmental information system. There is mutual representation at relevant meetings, such as the ASCOBANS Jastarnia Group, which supports the implementation of the ASCOBANS Recovery Plan for Baltic Harbour Porpoises, and the HELCOM Fisheries/Environment Forum.

A Day for the Harbour Porpoise in the Baltic Sea: Reports Received

Some highlights of the events that took place in Poland, Lithuania, Sweden and Germany are outlined here.

A Day for the Harbour Porpoise in the Baltic Sea: 16 May 2010

14 May 2010 - On Sunday, 16 May 2010 the International Day of the Baltic Harbour Porpoise will be marked. Since 2003, this special day is being celebrated by institutions and organizations around the Baltic Sea to inform the public about this critically endangered population of marine mammals and the threats it faces.

The full press release in English and German provides further information, including a preview of planned activities around the Baltic Sea. The ASCOBANS Secretariat would like to express its gratitude to all who participate in the event!

Following the event, reports of all activities focusing on this year's International Day of the Baltic Harbour Porpoise will be published with photos on this website.

!!! 17th Meeting of the Advisory Committee POSTPONED !!!

19 April 2010 - Due to the ongoing flight restrictions in large parts of Europe, which make it impossible for the majority of national delegations to be present, the Secretariat today had to take the decision to postpone the 17th Meeting of the ASCOBANS Advisory Committee (AC) until further notice. Originally the meeting was foreseen to take place this week from 21-23 April in Cornwall at the 'Eden Project'. The Secretariat and host country are now trying to find alternative dates. Possible time slots will be announced as soon as possible.
For any questions, please contact the ASCOBANS Secretariat.

ASCOBANS Jastarnia Group met at Hel Marine Station, Poland

Credit: Pawel Bloch, Hel Marine Station

1 March 2010 - Upon the kind invitation of the Polish Ministry of Environment, the ASCOBANS Jastarnia Group gathered for its 6th meeting in Hel, Poland. This working group was established to take forward the implementation of the Recovery Plan for the Baltic Harbour Porpoise (also called Jastarnia Plan). 22 participants from the environment and fisheries sectors met at the Hel Marine Station near Gdynia.
Under the chairmanship of Mr Rüdiger Strempel the Group considered the progress made with respect to the various recommendations of the Jastarnia Plan and agreed on recommendations to be forwarded to the ASCOBANS Advisory Committee. These cover topics such as the support of the SAMBAH Project (Static Acoustic Monitoring of the Baltic Harbour Porpoise), by-catch reduction, research priorities, awareness-raising and cooperation with the fisheries sector and HELCOM. The Group also considered how the gap area between the two ASCOBANS harbour porpoise action plans, i.e. the western Baltic, Inner Danish Waters and Kattegat/Skagerrak, should best be covered.
The report of the meeting will become available shortly and will be published on this website.

Vacancy Announcement: ASCOBANS Coordinator/CMS Marine Mammals Officer (deadline for applications: 18 April 2010)
17 February 2010 - Today, the position of ASCOBANS Coordinator (75%) and CMS Marine Mammals Officer (25%) has been announced online for recruitment. This P2 position, officially termed 'Associate Programme Officer', has been launched following the decision of ASCOBANS Parties at their 6th Meeting (2009) to continue the joint Secretariat arrangement with CMS, installed in January 2007, for a second triennium, i.e. until the end of the year 2012.
Recruitment will be exclusively through the United Nations Human Resources 'Galaxy' e-Staffing System. The deadline for applications is 18 April 2010.

New Scientific Review on Toothed Whales Now Online

4 February 2010 - Co-sponsored by CMS, ASCOBANS, WWF and the Loro Parque Foundation, an update and expansion of the "Review of Small Cetaceans" has been launched online today on the website of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (UNEP/CMS). This encyclopaedia on all 72 species of toothed whales includes the most recent scientific findings on the distribution, migration, behaviour and threats to this group of whales. Maps showing the currently known distribution of each species were provided by IUCN and the Global Mammal Assessment.
A corresponding poster available online shows for the first time all toothed whale species sorted according to their conservation status as defined by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species ™.
Press release -English- -German-
See the Encyclopaedia and the Poster. The poster can be ordered from the Secretariat.

21-23 April 2010: 17th Meeting of the Advisory Committee, Cornwall, United Kingdom

14 January 2010 - The ASCOBANS Secretariat gratefully accepted the kind offer of the United Kingdom government to host the 17th Meeting of the ASCOBANS Advisory Committee (AC) in Cornwall at the 'Eden Project' Conference Centre. More information on the venue, transport and accommodation will be posted shortly.
The AC's role is to provide advice and information to the Secretariat and the Parties between the sessions of the decision-making body of the Agreement, the Meeting of Parties (MOP), thereby facilitating the implementation of the Agreement. Observers are usually welcome to attend these meetings. Those interested are required to inform the Secretariat in writing of their intention to participate no later than 20 February 2010 to allow Parties time to decide on their admission. Please refer to the official invitation letter for details.
For any questions, please contact the ASCOBANS Secretariat.

23-24 February 2010: 6th Meeting of the Jastarnia Group, Hel Marine Station, Poland

14 January 2010 - The ASCOBANS Jastarnia Working Group was established to take forward the implementation of the Recovery Plan for the Baltic Harbour Porpoise (also called Jastarnia Plan) will meet for the sixth time on 23 and 24 February 2010. At the kind invitation of Poland, the participating experts from the environment and fisheries sectors from around the Baltic Sea, will meet at the Hel Marine Station near Gdansk.
A revised version of the Jastarnia Plan was adopted by the Parties to ASCOBANS at their 6th Meeting of Parties in September 2009. Originally finalised in 2002, the Jastarnia Plan was developed in reaction to the critical conservation status of the only cetacean species native to the Baltic Sea, which despite strict protection on all political levels still experiences higher human-induced mortality than the small population can sustain.
Participants are requested to register by 12 February 2010. More information can be requested from the ASCOBANS Secretariat.

Welcome to Borja Heredia as ASCOBANS Senior Advisor
Bonn, 12 January 2010 - Borja Heredia has entered on duty as the new Scientific and Technical Officer at the CMS Secretariat. He will also serve as the ASCOBANS Senior Advisor, replacing Marco Barbieri in this function. Borja is well known to many in CMS circles as he has been Spain's representative on the Scientific Council, and has participated in several CMS COPs and MOU meetings, as well as being involved in other MEAs such as CBD and CITES.
Borja is a biologist with a PhD in Ecology from the University of Madrid. Since 1986 he has worked at the Spanish Ministry of Environment focussing on the conservation of threatened species, planning research, drawing up strategies and organising projects in the field. He has been involved in the conservation of several CMS Appendix I species including the Spanish Imperial Eagle, the White-headed Duck and the Mediterranean Monk Seal. The recovery of the Iberian Lynx has also been one of his main occupations in recent years. He also has experience of conflict resolution among different interest groups and has addressed many other factors affecting migratory species such as electrocution and invasive alien species.
From 1992 to 1995 he worked for BirdLife International in Cambridge, developing action plans for globally threatened birds of prey in Europe.
In relation to the marine environment, Borja has been involved in the designation of a marine protected area in the Bay of Biscay, the so called Le Danois Bank, a submarine mountain extremely rich in biodiversity. He has also been instrumental in the approval of an ad-hoc regulation for the protection of cetaceans in Spain. He has also been responsible of a project to cooperate with the Ministry of Defence in order to prevent damage to marine mammals due to the use of sonar for military purposes.

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